Archive for category Medium: Craft
Decorated Lettering || Jan Pickett
Posted by Henry in Author: Jan Pickett, Medium: Calligraphy, Medium: Craft, Publisher: Search Press, Subject: Techniques on May 5, 2016
Pitched rather nicely between craft and calligraphy, this is a project book for those who aspire to what we might call fancy pen-work.
It starts with some useful guides to techniques and letterforms before moving on to more freestyle work. This then develops into a look at ways of decorating letters that could be described as informal illumination. This is a book for those who want to have some fun rather than make a serious study, and it’s none the worse for that. Further ideas, under headings such as “going dotty” and “fun with pastels”, follow and there are hints, tips and demonstrations where and when they’re required.
The whole is relaxed and colourful while also being informative and inspiring and it’s an easy book to like.
Click the picture to view on Amazon
Mould Making for Glass || Angela Thwaites
Posted by Henry in Author: Angela Thwaites, Medium: Craft, Publisher: A&C Black, Subject: Glass on Aug 17, 2011
You couldn’t exactly call it a series, but this comes as part of a tradition from Black’s which gives us well-produced and generously-illustrated books on what can reasonably be described as niche crafts. To be fair, glass-working is hardly an obscure pursuit, but it’s also reasonable to say that it’s not mainstream either. General craft publishers have largely ignored it. Découpage, anyone?
I’m not qualified to comment on the quality of what the author says, but I can confirm that the book is well up to Black’s usual standard in this field and that it all looks comprehensive and well laid out. What appears to be a slim paperback turns out to have 144 pages, so it would be unfair to suggest that it’s superficial, either.
The form of the book is to work through all the stages of making and casting from moulds and it’s illustrated (in full colour, making its cover price of £15.99 look very reasonable) with pictures that show both the processes and the work of a variety of contemporary practitioners.
All-in-all, it has the look and feel of a solid introduction to, and a survey of, the subject it covers.
Design & Make Scarves, Collars, Ties & Belts || Christina Brodie
Posted by Henry in Author: Christina Brodie, Medium: Craft, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Methods & Techniques, Subject: Fashion Design on Jun 9, 2009
This new series from Black’s has every appearance of being aimed at the competent amateur rather than the fashion design student and the production slots it in perfectly. The projects are sufficiently detailed that these are much more than just look-at books but sufficiently well and attractively illustrated that they capture the imagination and maintain the interest. If there’s a quibble, it’s that the stockists listed are all in London, but they all appear to have websites and a little time spent with Google or the Yellow Pages should throw up something in your area if you don’t want to go the mail order route.
Design & Make Fashion Hats || Karen Henriksen
Posted by Henry in Author: Karen Henriksen, Medium: Craft, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Methods & Techniques, Subject: Fashion Design on Jun 9, 2009
This is a modestly priced book that falls somewhere between the pretty, project-based picture book for the amateur and the expert’s detailed manual.
Well and attractively illustrated, it includes a good variety of designs with enough details of how to make them to ensure that you should be able to achieve the desired results without including so much technical information that you lose the will to continue.
Fashion students will probably find the book annoyingly trivial, but the competent amateur needlecrafter should be well satisfied.
Design & Make Fashion Bags & Purses || Christina Brodie
Posted by Henry in Author: Christina Brodie, Medium: Craft, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Methods & Techniques, Subject: Fashion Design on Jun 9, 2009
This new series from Black’s has every appearance of being aimed at the competent amateur rather than the fashion design student and the production slots it in perfectly. The projects are sufficiently detailed that these are much more than just look-at books but sufficiently well and attractively illustrated that they capture the imagination and maintain the interest. If there’s a quibble, it’s that the stockists listed are all in London, but they all appear to have websites and a little time spent with Google or the Yellow Pages should throw up something in your area if you don’t want to go the mail order route.
http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=artbookreview-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&asins=0713688696&md=0M5A6TN3AXP2JHJBWT02&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr
The Knitted Odd-bod Bunch || Donna Wilson
Posted by Henry in Author: Donna Wilson, Medium: Craft, Publisher: CICO Books, Subject: Knitting on Jan 30, 2009
It is quite a joy in itself just to have a quick flick through this book to look at the 35 different little characters you can create. Each has a name and its own personality which makes them all the more lovable. As a novice knitter it’s great to see easy to follow but comprehensive instructions in the back of the book covering the styles of knit and methods used, covering everything you need to know from casting on to casting off, plus everything in between. Instructions for knitting each creature are set out clearly with a step-by-step guide to ensure your kooky animal is perfect. With some characters more complicated than others you can start more simply, building your confidence as you go and work your way up to the more fiddly and elaborate designs. With knitting becoming a hipper pastime, the relevance of a book which shows you how to make quirky creatures is greater than ever.
[DHM]
Wedding Papercrafts || Ann Brownfield and Jane Cassini
Posted by Henry in Author: Ann Bronwfield, Author: Jane Cassini, Medium: Craft, Publisher: CICO Books, Subject: Papercraft on Jan 30, 2009
This probably needs to come with a reality check. Unless you already have some competence with papercraft, or you are supremely confident of your ability, it’s probably a good idea not to do any of these projects for real. Anything less than perfection is going to result in a day that looks as though it’s been catered from a pound shop and your efforts could eclipse excellence elsewhere. This is not to belittle pound shops, or a lack of extravagance in weddings, but the fact is that, whatever you do in this area, you really do have to do it well.
Having got that out of the way, this is a brilliant little book that could give your day a very considerable edge and save a deal of money into the bargain. This is another project-based craft book, so you get fairly simple demonstrations of 35 attractive and original ideas for boxes, bags, table decorations, albums and keepsakes, all of which are achievable with something more than just a modicum of skill. All of the items preseted are things which tend to appear at weddings and which can be bought at often considerable prices. By making your own, you can add an individual touch that will make the event much more personal and less manufactured.
As long as you’re realistic about your abilities, or you’re prepared to practice until your results are nothing less than perfect, this is a worthwhile purchase.
The Complete Guide to Wire & Bead Jewellery || Linda Jones
Posted by Henry in Author: Linda Jones, Medium: Craft, Publisher: CICO Books, Subject: Jewellery on Jan 30, 2009
This is a simple project-based guide that will satisfy the requirements of the beginner while at the same time giving them a solid jumping-off point if they wish to pursue the craft further.
There is a well-established style of craft book of this kind which offers colourful demonstrations that perhaps make things look a little easier than they are but which, nevertheless, encourages by showing successful results that the reader will, for the most part, feel that they will be able to achieve with a little work. These books are a million miles away from the rather more specialist volumes aimed at the serious, and even professional, practitioner, but they don’t disappoint by covering only the very basics and leaving the reader wanting a great deal more.
If you feel that jewellery-making is something you’d like to have a go at, this will give you enough information and ideas without swamping you. It should satisfy your initial needs and, if you don’t want to progress very much further, may be the only book you’ll need. This is its aim and, as such, it succeeds and represents very fair value for money.
Felt (Textiles Handbook) || Sabine Fouchier
Posted by Henry in Author: Sabine Fouchier, Medium: Craft, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Textiles Handbook, Subject: Felt on Jan 14, 2009
Wool has been felted, it says here, since the discovery of fire. The book opens with the sentence, “To be interested in felt is to be interested in wool”. Can you feel yourself nodding off? Well wake up because the Sabine Fouchier’s introduction, which explains the nature of wool fibre and what felt is, is commendably concise and will give you enough information to better understand the projects that follow. These range from simple puppets to a bag, a hat and wall hangings. The presentation is clear, straightforward and well illustrated and it comes as no great surprise that there’s a section on “felt with children”, because this is a craft that’s admirably suited to small and inexperienced hands.
If you fancy some simple craft work, this is a good place to start, but it’s no instant-read-and-discard type of book and, if you get the bug, you’ll find that Sabine provides you with plenty to get on with and also some background and examples of felting from a number of different cultures.
The Complete Book Of Art Nouveau Designs
Posted by Henry in Medium: Craft, Publisher: Search Press, Series: Pattern Books, Subject: Design on Feb 28, 2008
This book consists of a huge variety of outline patterns you can copy or trace and include in a any craft project. Aimed at those who want to make rather than draw, it means that you can concentrate on what you do best rather then being let down by skills you don’t have and, frankly, don’t need.
The first dozen or so pages are taken up with photographs of various project ideas, with a brief description of each but no detailed process instructions. To be fair, this is not a how-to book and anything further would only take up space that’s best devoted to the matter in hand, the designs.
So, if you want to make a card, fabric, pottery or glass project based on art nouveau but don’t have the skill or the resources to do the basic drawing, this book is for you. It’s not really something you can review in the traditional sense. It does what it says and, if this is what you want, then it’s for you.
Search Press 2008
£9.99
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