Anyone who can hold a pencil can learn to draw.In this book, Bert Dodson shares his complete drawing system--fifty-five "keys" that you can use to render any subject with confidence, even if you're a beginner.These keys, along with dozens of practice exercises, will help you draw like an artist in no time.You'll learn how to:Restore, focus, map, and intensifyFree your hand action, then learn to control itConvey the illusions of light, depth, and textureStimulate your imagination through "creative play"

    Learn how to trust your instincts so you can work more intuitively, and develop a new appreciation for the therapy of sewing without a plan.

    Indie Publishing is a practical guide to creating and distributing printed books regardless of your background, skill set, or ambition. It will help you realize projects of every scale and budget, from the traditional bookmaking techniques used to create zines to the more ambitious industrial production methods required to produce hardcover books in large quantity.Indie Publishing's special focus on the visual design of books makes it unique among publish-it-yourself manuals. Readers are taken step-by-step through the process of designing a book to give it personal style as well as visual coherence and authority. Design principles such as scale, cropping, pacing, and typography are explored in relation to each example, along with commentary on how to create effective title pages, tables of contents, captions, and more. Indie Publishing aims to inspire readers with examples of print projects similar to those they might undertake on their own. Sample designs include a picture book, artist's portfolio, exhibition catalog, poetry chapbook, novel, and zine. Indie Publishing addresses the important business aspects of independentpublishingfrom how and why you should get an isbn number to creating promotional materials and using the internet to market your book. This comprehensive, illustrated guide concludes with a curated portfolio of the most exciting examples of independent publishing from the contemporary scene, reproduced in full color. If you have content to share and you want to give it a fresh and orderly form, this book will kick-start your project and keep you motivated until the ink dries. Indie Publishing is the eighth title in our best-selling Design Briefs series, which has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide.

    Through their shared enthusiasm for this time-honored craft, these two women have worked together to strengthen and deepen their spiritual selves and they encourage readers to do the same. Through the sharing of stories, hands-on explorations, and daily cultivation, the authors help readers to see beyond the surface of a simple craft in order to discover ways in which nuances of knitting can apply to the larger scheme of life and spirituality. The Knitter's Way is a spiritual friend, a teacher, a sanctuary, and an opening to the sacred place beyond thought that will help readers to find community, authenticity, and satisfaction.

    The explosion of user-created content on blogs and social networking sites moved Time magazine to name "You" their 2006 person of the year. But while we may be spending a lot more time in virtual worlds, we have not lost the urge to make our physical world more meaningful. By leaving art and ideas in public places, you can affect someone's day, change their mood or their mind and maybe even change the world in the process! The Guerilla Art Kit shows how small artistic acts can start a revolution. Keri Smith, noted author of Living Out Loud and the blog Wish Jar Journal, uses her unique drawing and handwriting style to help anyone find and release their inner artist or activist. This visually exciting activity book full of step-by-step exercises, cut-out projects, sticker ideas, and more, has both fun assignments and handy tips to help you unleash your creative energy into the streets, where you can really make an impact. From the quick exercises; leaving books for strangers to find, chalking quotes on the sidewalk, to the more involved; making a "wish tree," guerilla gardening, or making your own stencils, The Guerilla Art Kit contains everything you need to put your message out into the world.

    It is organized as a series of exercises, all of which will provide you with essential practice for your brain, eye, and hand. The result is a powerful drawing course that does not feel like a course.

    Artists of every level will be inspired by the amazing new techniques created by Alyona Nickelsen, presented in Colored Pencil Painting Bible for the very first time. Nickelsen’s innovations will delight readers and detailed you-can-do-it processes bring her striking results within reach for every artist. Take colored pencils beyond the ordinary with Colored Pencil Painting Bible!

    Whether your intention is magical or medicinal, specially blended essential oils can enrich your life with their mystical, energizing, and transformative power.Within this one-of-a-kind portable apothecary, learn to select and mix 67 essential oils for a myriad of magical, medicinal, and spiritual applications. Spanning every purpose from inner calm and romance to healing and energy work to prayer and spellcraft, all 1,200 recipes are arranged alphabetically to make it easy to find precisely what you need.Step by step, Celeste Rayne Heldstab also shows how to create your own blends for spells, rituals, and remedies. Amp up their potency with correspondences for the elements, day of the week, time of day, Moon phase, astrological sign, herbs, and gemstones.Protection for house & home Love & passion Career & finances Dreamwork & meditation Beauty & skin care Fatigue, headaches, & other common ailments Praise: Celeste skillfully demystifies the process of using and blending oils by providing lucid, detailed, and easy-to-read instructions while emphasizing the magical power inherent in plants.--Judika Illes, author of The Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells

    This is the original book compilation of Foxfire material which introduces Aunt Arie and her contemporaries and includes log cabin building, hog dressing, snake lore, mountain crafts and food, and "other affairs of plain living."

    In this book, artist and workshop teacher Patti Mollica walks you through surprisingly simple and efficient strategies for achieving that kind of powerful composition, whatever your subject. Complete with timed exercises and start-to-finish painting demonstrations, this book is for any artist who feels overwhelmed by where to start or daunted by the urge to paint everything in sight. Patti Mollica's mindful approach will lead you to better, bolder results, as well as greater confidence and joy in the process. So load your palette with ample paint, grab some fat brushes and get ready to paint fast, paint loose, paint bold. Start with a strong, simple value statement Get expressive with color Be brave with your brushwork 5 technique exercises 5 start-to-finish painting demonstrations Paint fearlessly!

    In the ensuing decades, he has led hundreds of metalsmiths to explore and expand on his pioneering work. Now for the first time, the results of those efforts are compiled into a comprehensive review. With practical techniques and over 450 photographs, this groundbreaking book sets a standard for breadth, authority, and inspiration. Eight by 10.5 inches; 160 pages; full color; hardcover with dust jacket; 450+ photos.

    This art instruction book will accompany the acclaimed Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist.James Gurney, New York Times best-selling author and artist of the Dinotopia series, follows Imaginative Realism with his second art-instruction book, Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter. A researched study on two of art's most fundamental themes, Color and Light bridges the gap between abstract theory and practical knowledge. Beginning with a survey of underappreciated masters who perfected the use of color and light, the book examines how light reveals form, the properties of color and pigments, and the wide variety of atmospheric effects. Gurney cuts though the confusing and contradictory dogma about color, testing it in the light of science and observation. A glossary, pigment index, and bibliography complete what will ultimately become an indispensable tool for any artist.This book is the second in a series based on his blog, gurneyjourney.com. His first in the series, Imaginative Realism, was widely acclaimed in the fantastical art world, and was ranked the #1 Bestseller on the Amazon list for art instruction."James Gurney's new book, Color and Light, cleverly bridges the gap between artistic observation and scientific explanation. Not only does he eloquently describe all the effects of color and light an artist might encounter, but he thrills us with his striking paintings in the process." --Armand Cabrera, Artist

    Whatever your experience and wherever the mess, you can sew up a cloth sack or organizer to fit your needs. Gardening tools, groceries, shoes, toys, jewelry, and more will find new homes in these colorful and reusable handmade alternatives to mass-produced products. With Betty Oppenheimer’s easy-to-follow instructions for 31 fun and functional projects, you’ll be inspired to break out your needles and create a more organized, bright, and eco-friendly home.

    Over 500 pages filled with photos, diagrams, and other illustrations.

    In Make Ink, Logan delves into the history of inkmaking and the science of distilling pigment from the natural world. Readers will learn how to forage for materials such as soot, rust, cigarette butts, peach pits, and black walnut, then how to mix, test, and transform these ingredients into rich, vibrant inks that are sensitive to both place and environment. Organized by color, and featuring lovely minimalist photography throughout, Make Ink combines science, art, and craft to instill the basics of ink making and demonstrate the beauty and necessity of engaging with one of mankind’s oldest tools of communication.