Reviews (1)

Beautiful image filled collection of Rodin's creations.
This book contains many wonderful pieces, as well as providing details of Rodin's life during the time he created these enchanting works. I love to turn each page, because his collection always remain fresh and exciting...Jasmine ... Read more

Book Description

Lavishly printed in full color, this exhibition catalogue features over 300 spectacular examples of netsuke carvers' art. Chapters elucidate the historical development and extraordinary breadth of netsuke production with examples from as early as the 17th century to contemporary works by living artists. Matthew Welch, Associate Curator of Asian Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and Sharen Chappell, former president of the International Netsuke Society, discuss iconography, technique and artistic style of each work. All netsuke were selected from the private collections of the International Netsuke Society members, and many have never been published or publicly exhibited. ... Read more

Book Description

This is rare look into the traditional ways of creating the beautiful masks that have brought such admiration to the native American carvers of the Pacific Northwest. The masks of the Kwakiutl people of the Pacific Northwest are noted around the world for their bold colorful designs. Used for dramatic recreations of the ancestors' adventures, they carry a depth of social, historical, and religious meaning.Lelooska has spent a lifetime creating these masks, a privilege bestowed upon him by the Kwakiutl. He has recreated many of the ceremonial masks which were lost or destroyed when the potlach was, for a time, outlawed. His masks are used in the traditional dances both at the revived gatherings and at recreations of the dances presented by the Lelooska Foundation in Ariel, Washington. Now he shares the traditional carving techniques with carvers everywhere. The Kwakiutl carvers are known particular for their transformation or opening masks, which change or open to reveal a second, inner mask. The mask carved in this new book is just such a mask, beautiful in its design and its complexity. Each step is illustrated and described to help the carver recreate the mask on his or her own. This is a unique and much awaited book by one of America's foremost artists., 360 color photos, 8 1/2" x 11" ... Read more

Book Description

Isamu Noguchi, born in Los Angeles as the illegitimate son of an American mother and a Japanese poet father, was one of the most prolific yet enigmatic figures in the history of twentieth-century American art. Throughout his life, Noguchi (1904-1988) grappled with the ambiguity of his identity as an artist caught up in two cultures.

His personal struggles--as well as his many personal triumphs--are vividly chronicled in The Life of Isamu Noguchi, the first full-length biography of Noguchi. Published in connection with the centennial of the artist's birth, the book draws on Noguchi's letters, his reminiscences, and interviews with his friends and colleagues to cast new light on his youth, his creativity, and his relationships.

During his sixty-year career, there was hardly a genre that Noguchi failed to explore. He produced more than 2,500 works of sculpture, designed furniture, lamps, and stage sets, created dramatic public gardens all over the world, and pioneered the development of environmental art.After studying in Paris, where he befriended Alexander Calder and worked as an assistant to Constantin Brancusi, he became an ardent advocate for abstract sculpture.

Noguchi's private life was no less passionate than his artistic career. The book describes his romances with many women, among them the dancer Ruth Page, the painter Frida Kahlo, and the writer Anaïs Nin.

Despite his fame, Noguchi always felt himself an outsider. "With my double nationality and my double upbringing, where was my home?" he once wrote. "Where were my affections? Where my identity?" Never entirely comfortable in the New York art world, he inevitably returned to his father's homeland, where he had spent a troubled childhood. This prize-winning biography, first published in Japanese, traces Isamu Noguchi's lifelong journey across these artistic and cultural borders in search of his personal identity.

... Read more

Book Description

Gabo was one of the inventors of constructed sculpture which arose out of cubism to be one of the major means of sculpture in the twentieth century.Gabo's adoption of metal, glass,plexiglass, and plastic in stereometric constructions made space and light his real medium.Gabo'sstudy of engineering, art and art history equipped him to consider the arts and sciences together. As Gabo refused to accept that art was subservient to politics, his time in revolutionary Russia was limited.But the conflict of art and ideology made him a perceptive and articulate theorist.He had increasing recognition in the West up to the late '60s.Since then much has been publicized on Russian artists who stayed after the Revolution (including Malevich, Tatlin, Lissitzky, Rodchenko, etc.) and Gabo has been shamefully neglected.He is due for reassessment.'

Much of his sculpture resides in museum in the US. ... Read more

Book Description

The materials, tools, and techniques used by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso, Michelangelo, Holbein, Delacroix

Back in print by popular demand, The Craft of Old-Master Drawings is both a useful manual for contemporary artists and a historical work covering the period from the late Middle Ages to the mid-twentieth century. It presents the old masters’ techniques and provides specific directions for making inks, styluses, reed and quill pens, and fabricated chalks, as well as instructions for preparing grounds for metalpoint drawings. It comprises a body of knowledge that is essential to artists, students of art history, curators, and collectors.

James Watrous (1908–1999) was the Oskar Hagen Professor of Art History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. As an artist he was known especially for his murals and mosaics, and he was the driving force in founding the Elvehjem Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is the author of A Century of American Printmaking, 1880–1980, also published by the University of Wisconsin Press. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very nice
This book was a very useful and resourceful book for me. Any body interested in the historical perspective of materials will want this book in there library. The Author provides valuable information about caulks, pastels, crayons, inks, pens, quills, metal points, and intaglio. The most interesting information the book provided me was recipes for each tool and medium. The author quoted many recipes from old text and sources and then presented more general recipes. One can expect to find the time and region in which these materials and recipes would have been most frequently used.

The information is of great value for a historic perspective on materials and reproducing them. The book is well worth its price. My only complaint is that the book "The craft of old master drawings" doesn't detail information about supports and papers. Despite finding this an intriguing yet disappointing exclusion in a discussion about traditional drawing materials I still give the book five stars for every thing else. ... Read more

Book Description

Songbird Carving is a unique book that can be appreciated on two levels: first, as a step-by-step set of instructions, with exquisite photographs and hand-drawn illustrations covering techniques of carving, texturing, painting and mounting of five songbird projects; second, as a work of art unto itself. The five songbird projects featured are the Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted titmouse, American Goldfinch, House Wren, and Catbird. To complement the instructions there are chapters on tools and supplies, the basics of carving song birds, and the birds habitats. The carefully organized text and clear step-by-step illustrations provided an unsurpassed guide to this form of carving. , 183 color,686 b/w photos, 8 1/2" x 11" ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Rosalyn Diasey can help even a novice painter look great!
My husband, Ron, is an excellent carver and has been doing songbirds for about ten years.He brings life to his carvings by burning the feathers in with such detail nearly everyone reaches out to "pet" his birds.This past year he decided to go beyond the "natural" look and asked me to paint a robin so that the gift to our grandson would be from both of us.
I had only worked with watercolors previously and so, having had no experience with acrylic painting, I was still able to follow the instructions in this wonderful book and came out with a robin that looked very real.In fact, when painting one day, I had to answer the door and the guest flinched, thinking I was holding a real robin.Now if I can only come up with her instructions for painting a blue bird and/or a blue herron I would be grateful beyond words.

Rosalyn Diasey can help even a novice painter look great!
My husband, Ron, is an excellent carver and has been doing songbirds for about ten years.He brings life to his carvings by burning the feathers in with such detail nearly everyone reaches out to "pet" his birds.This past year he decided to go beyond the "natural" look and asked me to paint a robin so that the gift to our grandson would be from both of us.
I had only worked with watercolors previously and so, having had no experience with acrylic painting, I was still able to follow the instructions in this wonderful book and came out with a robin that looked very real.In fact, when painting one day, I had to answer the door and the guest flinched, thinking I was holding a real robin.Now if I can only come up with her instructions for painting a blue bird and/or a blue herron I would be grateful beyond words.

Excellent step by step guide for woodcarvers
Excellent step by step guide for both beginning and advanced woodcarvers. Provides detailed patterns and instructions for five different common songbirds. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

EXCELLENT!! Incredible Reference & Price Guide!
From start to finish, this book is loaded with very sharp images of hundreds of vintage compacts ranging from absolutely gorgeous pieces to whimsical and always with great descriptions and current values. All of the photos are in beautiful color and are very sharp & easily recognizable. I've been collecting vintage compacts for years and was still amazed at the variety of styles and manufacturers that are included in this book! It stays on my desk and is a constant source of reference and pleasure! The only thing I would really like to see (maybe in a future publication) is the approximate age of each piece. Whether you're a serious collector or just a lover of the older compact beauties, you just cannot miss with this book....the author knows her stuff!!

the source for compacts
This volume, along with volume 2, is the best place to learn about compacts and how to collect them. Gorgeous photos, all in color, covering every possible category of compact imaginable. Mueller covers compact and makeup history, from Egyptian times to the turn of the 20th century to the demise of artistically designed compacts in the 1960s. Any reader will be educated in the world of compacts after going through these two volumes. A quality guide/encyclopedia.

Another stunning visual feast of compacts
This book is just as beautiful as Gersons' Vintage ladys compacts with just as many color photographs of compacts. How ever Mueller expands her information on compacts with every chapter and the different compacts are catagorized by type ie, military, novalty etc and she also includes face powder boxes and other related Items in her books. I would recommend getting both volumes of her Encyclopedias as one is meant to compliment the other. There was a wonderful wooden box that she includes in one of the books that was originally meant as a bridal gift that I would love to acquire. Mueller has put keepsakes from her own wedding in it to demonstrate what it could be used for. Plus on the top of many pages of her books are quotes from people who were in the cosmetic and compact business when compacts were originally made that I find fun and unique. I highly recommend these books by Mueller .

Wonderful
I bought this and Volume II. The history! The pictures! You know what you are seeing and reading about in a collectors book, AT LAST! I have been collecting for a number of years, just for the beauty and my own personal thoughts about the people that might have owned these compacts. Now I know so much that I have always wanted to know. Now that I have seen these books, even though some of mine are not listed, I know where to look! I would love to talk to Laura, the author, because she must feel the same. ... Read more

Book Description

This book brings together for the first time Moira Roth's influential articles, lectures and interviews on the two men who embodied the very spirit of the avant-garde: Marcel Duchamp and John Cage.
Cage, who died in 1992, and Duchamp, who died in 1968, seemed to live on the permissive border of modernism, and later, of postmodernism. The artists have for almost thirty years fascinated, irritated, inspired, and daunted the author of these essays - Moira Roth.
At first they were an inspiration for her writing and teaching then, with their gradual transformation into 'classical' figures, she felt compelled to reconsider and re-evaluate them. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great!
The more you read, the more you can enter into Duchamp's world! This one must definitly be one in your Duchamp's collection. Make yourself "READY MADE" ... Read more

Book Description

If we rarely think of walls as works of mesmerizing beauty, Erwin Hauer can hardly be blamed. Erwin Hauer: Continua resurrects the extraordinary but little-known work of this Austrian-born sculptor, whose designs of perforated and modular structures are symphonies of measured elegance. Built in Austria, Canada, Italy, Mexico, Holland, the Antilles, Venezuela, and the U.S., Hauer's architectural walls and screens caused a stir when they were erected in the 1950s, but have since been lost in time. This book gathers stunning photographs of these works, many of them now destroyed or no longer accessible.Hauer has exhibited widely in the United States and Europe and his sculptures can be found in many public and corporate collections, including those of the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Chicago Art Institute, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Benson Sculpture Park in Loveland, CO, and the Museum of the National Academy of Design. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The logic of form
The Greeks used the word LOGOS to refer to reasonable speech, articulated reasoning expressed in words. Our modern word LOGIC derives from this root. Erwin Hauer has, over the many years of his career as a working artist, elaborated a visible LOGOS, a logos not of words but of forms. These forms were initially realized to serve a commercial, architectural purpose -- they were built as walls or screens -- but the logic they embody will delight, or thrill, any observer who pays close attention to the display they present. One comes to suspect that this logic, and not just the commercial commision that occasioned them, is the driving force behind Hauer's investigation.

The book is designed and produced with an eye towards clarity and precision, making it totally in sympathy with the vision it presents. Anyone who enjoys seeing an idea recognized, seized, and elaborated with intense concentration will enjoy this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Caricatures demand the same skill and sense of proportion that realistic figures do. This is particularly true of carving heads, which can easily become grotesque looking if certain rules are not followed. With his years of carving, Pete LeClair has developed a sure-fire method for carving great caricature heads. Now he shares it with carvers around the country. He takes the reader step-by-step through the process of carving 33 projects, with each step illustrated with a color photograph and precise caption. A gallery showing the variety that can be achieved by following this method is included in the back., 250 color photos, 33 caricature carvings, 8 1/2" x 11" ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Beginning Wood Carver
I had very little wood carving experience when I picked up this book, so I was a little worried that I would not be able to follow the directions well enough. I started with the rough cut out as described in the book and followed each step trying to understand as I went. Long story short, my results were the best carving I have done so far. Pete has a knack for carving caricatures that is simply fantastic. He has given me the confidence to pursue my new wood carving hobby. I look forward to more books from Pete.

Great Caricatures and excellent instruction.
I am a clay artist and I used this book to teach me how to carve caricatures in clay. I loved the outcome and learned a great deal from Pete Leclair. I had borrowed the book from the library and liked it well enough to order my own copy. ... Read more

Book Description

The premier work of author carver Ron Ransom. He offers instructions for three specific versions of Santa Claus and many other variations, as well as painting instructions. Ron's illustrations serve as an impetus for the carver to approach his own work with freedom. His "Old World Santas" are great symbols of happiness and goodness.

, 20 color photos, 57 b/w photos, 5 drawings, 8 1/2" x 11" ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Very nice book to get started in Santa carving
The Santa carving and painting techniques are well illustrated and explained.I also like how he describes how you can modify his patterns to personalize your Santas.He even shows how to cut a wood blank without apower tool.

Easy and useful guidelines to start Santa carving
Ron Ransom's book is highly recommended for the novice carver who would like to produce nice results.Mostly photos and captions, the book takes the reader through the basic steps of making some attractive "folk art" santa figures. Don't be fooled by the sparse text -- the photos offer a wealth of guidance.Ron also describes a simple yet effective way to give the carvings an "antique" look.Warning: once you do a few of these projects, expect to get many requests for your work around the Holidays! ... Read more

Book Description

Benvenuto Cellini is an incomparable source on the nature of artmaking in sixteenth century Italy. A practicing artist who worked in gold, bronze, marble, as well as on paper, he was also the author of treatises, discourses, poems and letters about his own work and the works of contemporaries. By examining how Cellini and those around him viewed the act of sculpture in the late Renaissance, Michael Cole demonstrates his continuing relevance to the broader study of artistic theory and practice in his time. ... Read more

Book Description

This do-it-yourself guide gives detailed instructions for making paper masks—how to cut, fold, score, model, paint and decorate them. Make masks of people, clowns, birds and animals (lion, cat, dog, fox, bear, monkey, more). 93 black-and-white illustrations.
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Reviews (1)

A great invitation to craft, fun, and inspiration
I'm a high School teacher.I bought Michael Grater's book because it looked like even I could use it, and because it looked like I could use it for something. Just browsing it, I had to try it because all I needed was apiece of paper to start with and a pair of scissors. I couldn't stop. Ibrought it into a class in which we were studying Commedia dell arte. Eventhe more multiple-thumbed than I got started. And now with facsimileCommedia models to work from we're making/creating our own. And the kidsLOVE it! I've rarely seen a more user friendly guide lead to suchsophisticated porducts. It's brilliant! ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Simply incredible
Patination is a way of coloring metal, using the chemistry of the metal itself to create colored oxides, chlorides, etc. It's a controlled form of corrosion, usually for decorative effect, but sometimes to put a protective layer on the metal. Outdoor copper and bronze show some of the greens and browns that are possible. This book puts that chemistry, and a much larger palette of colors, into the crafter's hands.

This book is encyclopedic. Three factors affect each patination: the alloy or element being treated, the chemistry of the solutions applied to the metal, and the way the treatment is applied (time, temperature, and so on). Hughes systematically explores all three dimensions. The discussion includes reproducibility of each patina, since some have squirrely chemistry that gives variable results. It also describes the mechanical and chemical durability of each patina, factors that define the kinds of applications where it may be used.

This book is not for the home hobbyist, though. It uses very harsh chemicals in most treatments. Many are highly toxic, and many present special hazards in handling and storage.

The only weakness I found in this book is the range of alloys covered. A number of interesting copper/gold combinations are traditional in Japanese metalwork, valued for the unusual colors of their natural oxides. These were severely under-represented. No book can cover everything, though.

Just thumbing through this book is wonderful, seeing the range of colors and textures that can be coaxed from the metal's surface. It's also helpful to anyone who loves metal artwork, as explanation of effects that you mught see displayed.

A remarkably useful book
Hundreds of formulae and practical advice on how to use them, and reasonably accurate descriptions of outcomes. Problems with techniques are openly discussed, not glossed over. The color photographs of patinated samples are very helpful. I wish the authors had organized the formulae for use on each type of metal by their content rather than randomly. But that is carping. This book is the most helpful one available and I have it in my shop now, experimenting with many of its recipes and techniques. An absolute "must" if you want to patinate metal.

Too nice for the studio, too usefull for the library.
Beautifull book, irreplaceable info. I saw this years ago at a price of over $100 and balked, but I should have bought it then. If you are a commited bronze artist/ craftsperson and you want to get good patinas you will eventually buy this book, as it is the only one in print that is top notch in sophistication and comprehensiveness. Some might think this book with it's great technique descriptions, over 250 high quality patina chip photos, over 1000 distinct patina formulas and an incredible bibliography as esoteric and overly demanding in terms of chemistry and technique, but the rest will consider it priceless. Best patination book in print, possibly the best ever.

Only for certain metals
I bought this book and found it to be very thorough with recipes and pictures for hundreds of types of finishes. However, I did find the title misleading. The recipes are only for copper, brass, bronze, and silver.

The metalwork I do is with steel and I bought the book to color steel. This huge medium is never dealt with in the book.

A valuable reference
A useful reference for the serious metalworker, with color plates of most of the patinas, and a helpful discussion of techniques. One deficiency is the lack of any information on the relative durability of the patinas under the effect of handling or weathering. ... Read more

Book Description

The magnificent bronze doors of Hildesheim Cathedral, the ivory, gold, enameled, and bejeweled book covers made to contain superbly illuminated manuscripts, the startling reliquary caskets made in the shape of the part of the body supposed to be contained within them-these and other sacred objects were contained within church treasuries and cloisters in the early Middle Ages in Europe. This beautiful book traces the development of these so-called Minor Arts and the major role they played alongside the other pictorial arts and architectural sculpture of the period. ... Read more

Book Description

Howard Ben Tre provides a comprehensive survey of the artist's oeuvre in stunning colorplates of his major sculptures, including many recent public projects, as well as his works on paper. ... Read more

Book Description

"...suddenly the most commonplace objects came to have for me such significance that they no longer existed as just objects, but as shape and form in space."--Henry Moore. One of the world's greatest sculptors and a renowned photographer--close friends for thirty years--combine forces to provide insight into what makes a great creative artist. Part personal history and part stunning presentation of Moore's work and inspirations, striking photographs show his major sculptures and collected art, as well as the landscape and natural forms that indelibly influenced him. Compare Moore's own sculpted masks with the African and Mexican tribal pieces he so admires, or his figures--filled with energy--with Hedgecoe's nude studies. Close-ups focus in on small, fine details. Plus: a treasured glimpse of Moore in his workshop.208 pages (16 in color), 230 b/w illus., 8 1/8 x 11 3/8.
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Reviews (1)

Beauty, Vitality, Intelligence, Inspiration
Henry Moore is a wise man and it is nice to know that his words do justice to his talent as a sculptor. Musings is too light a term to use for the warm, down-to-earth essays that Moore provides us as he shares his thoughts and experiences with life, art, and aesthetics. With the words are page after page of photos of Moore, his work, along with images of things that have been his inspirations. This is a book about art appreciation, but grounded in the practicality of a working, master artist who is humble and thoughtful. It is hard to imagine how any sculptor who hopes to create works of lasting greatness could not profit and indeed be inspired by knowing this book. But Moore's basic, fundamental philosophies about art and life make this a book of vital inspiration for just about anyone who likes to think of, and operate in the world, along artistic terms. It is a warm, friendly unimposing book grounded with the weight of deep truth and careful observation. ... Read more

Book Description

Masatoshi is the last netsuke carver to belong to the great tradition of Japanese craftsmanship, belonging, that is, in all particulars but one - this book; for never before has a master carver described himself, his training and his approach to his work.

How does a carver choose his subjects? What influences his choice of materials? What tools does he use to carve with? How long does he spend polishing his work? Masatoshi shares his insights of a master carver, and more; he welcomes us into his realm of ghosts and goblins, owls and lizards, Kabuki heroes and Edo Period entertainers - all of them brought to life in the carver's descriptions of his own netsuke and in the carvings themselves, each one illustrated in color. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Absolutely the finest reference book on the title subject!
This book captures both the beauty of ivory and the art form of Netsuke carving. The artist Masatoshi is a superb carver and the photgraphs of his works and others in this collection epitomize the "best of the best" in the field of this unique Japanese art form. If you like oriental art, this book is a must for the true collector. The book itself is highly collectible, although the First Edition is impossible to find. ... Read more