Draw Your Day: An Inspiring Guide to Keeping a Sketch Journal


Samantha Dion Baker - 2018
    In Draw Your Day, Baker guides you through her inspirational practice and provides guidance for starting your own. Part instructional guide and part encouraging manifesto about how making art--even art that's not museum-worthy--can make your life more mindful and meaningful, Draw Your Day is ideal for both seasoned artists looking for fresh inspiration, as well as aspiring artists who need a friendly nudge to get started.

Collage Techniques: A Guide for Artists and Illustrators


Gerald F. Brommer - 1994
    As a result of its experimental genesis, collage has continued to serve not only as a primary form of expression for many prominent artists, but as a principal means of evaluating and developing new creative strategies. Conceived and written by renowned artist, author, and teacher Gerald Brommer, Collage Techniques first presents the medium within the context of a wide variety of materials, including washi (oriental and rice papers) and watermedia; stained, prepared, and found papers; photographs; and fabrics and fibers. Each category of material is examined through a step-by-step demonstration and works by artists who approach collage in original and refreshing ways. The latest trends in technologically enhanced collage, including such high-tech applications as multiple photocopying and digital scanning, are also discussed. The author then explores how the elements and principles of design are used in collage, and how they in turn are employed in all the major genre, including still life, landscape, the human figure, abstraction, and nonobjective imagery. Beautifully illustrated with the work of more than eighty noted artists, including Edward Betts, Jae Carmichael, Margo Hoff, Katherine Chang Liu, and Fred Otnes, Collage Techniques is an essential reference for all artists and illustrators, regardless of their creative focus or choice of medium.

Sew Wild: Creating With Stitch and Mixed Media


Alisa Burke - 2011
    Get wild with printing, painting, drawing, stenciling, and other surface design methods and unique materials such as plastic bags, photographs, and cardboard. Dive into 12 simple sewing projects to make colorful, wearable, and hip designs, including a stunning wall quilt, adorable hats for kids or adults, a pretty wreath, cuff bracelets, and a modern ruffled apron.Artist Alisa Burke demonstrates many of the techniques and essentials of surface design and sewing on an included DVD. In addition to the in-depth video instruction, you’ll get a bonus project exclusively on the DVD.Whether you’re already a rule-breaker or you’re looking to improvise, Sew Wild shows you how to create fabric and designs that explode with color, pattern, and soul.

The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson


David P. Silcox - 2003
    These paintings of the wilderness evoke the same response in viewers today as they did when first exhibited.The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson includes many never -- before reproduced paintings and presents the most complete and extensive collection of these artists' works ever published. The 400 paintings and drawings reveal the remarkable genius of all 10 painters who at some point were part of the movement. Tom Thomson, who died before the Group was established, was always present in the public mind. Included are works by:Frank Carmichael Frank Johnston A.J. Casson Arthur Lismer Le Moine FitzGerald J.E.H. MacDonald Lawren Harris Tom Thomson Edwin Holgate F.H. Varley A.Y. Jackson The artwork is organized by the various regions of Canada, with additional sections on the war years and still-life paintings. Introductory essays provide a context for a greater understanding and appreciation of Canada's most celebrated artists.

Shape by Shape Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters: 70+ Designs for Blocks, Backgrounds & Borders


Angela Walters - 2014
    User-friendly and visually exciting, the contents are first divided into three sections: Blocks, Negative Space, and Borders. Then, to make it even more accessible, the Blocks section is further organized by five shapes: Squares, Triangles, Circles, Diamonds, and Hexagons. With an illustrated index, 70 free-motion quilting designs, crystal-clear instructions, and gorgeous full-page photographs, this is the go-to resource you'll want handy before starting any quilting project.

You Had Better Make Some Noise: Words to Change the World


Phaidon Press - 2018
    Familiar figures - Thomas Paine to Bertrand Russell, Augustine to Gloria Steinem, Harvey Milk to Ai Weiwei, James Baldwin to Margaret Mead - are joined by a chorus of voices that have made their own indelible marks on the legacy of protest and progress."When the history of our times is written, will we be remembered as the generation that turned our backs in a moment of global crisis or will it be recorded that we did the right thing?" Nelson Mandela asked that question, and this positive and reinforcing book urges us to heed the call.

The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Zendikar


James Wyatt - 2016
    We live in an angry world, and we are well acquainted with death." — The Invokers' TalesDanger and adventure await in these pages, lavishly illustrated with the award-winning art of Magic: The Gathering! Explore a tumultuous world fraught with perils and join the fight for survival as the fragments of civilization confront the unnatural Eldrazi. Follow in the footsteps of heroic Planeswalkers as they combine their unique talents, forming the Gatewatch to overcome the greatest threats the Multiverse has ever known. The secrets of Zendikar — its peoples, continents and creatures — are ready for you to discover!

Scribbles: A Really Giant Drawing and Coloring Book


Taro Gomi - 2004
    This is no ordinary coloring book! With playful drawings, funny scenarios and fun-to-follow instructions, this book is not just for coloring, but for doodling, drawing, imagining and thinking!

Accidental Genius: How John Cassavetes Invented the American Independent Film


Marshall Fine - 2006
    Among filmmakers and film buffs, Cassavetes is revered, almost as a god. A major star of live television and a serious actor, he stumbled into making his first film, Shadows, and created a template for working outside the Hollywood system that would produce some of the most piercing and human films of the last thirty years including A Woman Under the Influence and Husbands. He became the prototypical outsider fighting the system for much of his career. Film critic Marshall Fine had unprecendented access to Cassavetes' wife, Gena Rowlands, and other members of their inner circle, as well as industry insiders who worked with Cassavetes -- some speaking publicly for the first time. Together, they tell his daring, tumultuous, and compelling story.

Make Yourself Comfortable: Sewing clothes from stretch knit fabrics


Tilly Walnes - 2018
    Even experienced stitchers are often wary of working with stretch knit fabrics, but in this book Tilly demystifies the techniques needed and shows how to sew stretchy makes on a regular sewing machine – no need for a fancy overlocker. Aimed at dressmakers who have grasped the basics and want to expand their sewing horizons, Tilly's tried-and-tested, learn-as-you-make approach is structured around six made-to-measure, speedy-to-sew garments. Tilly's friendly instructions and the clear step-by-step photographs are accompanied by lots of tips and tricks to make your sewing a breeze, and the multiple variations and ideas will help you customize your garment to suit your own style.

Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days


John Knoll - 2005
    This intimate, lovingly produced look at how the various environments in all six Star Wars movies were created contains literally 1,000 full-color behind-the-scenes photographs (some quite candid!) and insightful commentary by Knoll, as well as a bonus CD-ROM with cool QuickTime panoramas of some of the sets included in the three motion picture prequels. From the old-school motion-control photography in 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope to the revolutionary refinement of digital cinema in 2005's Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith, this book contains it all -- from creating low-altitude shots of the Death Star out of plywood to producing breathtaking digi-matte paintings of the Jedi Council Chamber skyline and aerial views of Coruscant and Naboo. Jaw-dropping surprises abound as well, including deleted scenes, a look into LucasFilm's archive buildings, and a rarely seen Darth Vader custom design concept from 1976. Chronicling the almost three decades between George Lucas's founding of Industrial Light and Magic in 1976 and the release of Star Wars: Episode III in 2005, Knoll's shelf-bending brick of a book (744 pages) is the equivalent of sitting down with an old friend and looking through a gigantic photo album containing stunning pictures of his travels abroad -- except in this case, the journey happened to be to a galaxy far, far away. Simply put, Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days is one of the most enlightening and entertaining books Star Wars fans will ever come across. Prepare to be blown away. Paul Goat Allen

Collage Couture: Techniques for Creating Fashionable Art


Julie Nutting - 2011
    With styles ranging from cute to elegant and sweet to sophisticated, these mixed-media projects will transport your art from the studio to the runway!Collage Couture features:- 22 super-pretty projects, from collages on canvas to framed shadowbox art to gifts for your fashionista. Play with your materials--paper, paints, ink and markets--to create pieces you'll be happy to display and share. - Illustrations and easy instruction for creating fashion sketches and silhouettes. And don't forget the details: learn how to add eyes, lips, hair and, of course, clothing! - Tips and advice on setting the mood in your studio, from enhancing your art space with flowers and china to wearing a tiara as your work! Why not feel as pretty as your art?Indulge your inner girly-girl with Collage Couture!

One Zentangle A Day: A 6-Week Course in Creative Drawing for Relaxation, Inspiration, and Fun


Beckah Krahula - 2012
    This step-by-step book is divided into six chapters, each with seven daily exercises.  The Zentangle method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas as a way to practice focus and meditation through drawing by using repetitive lines, marks, circles, and shapes. Each mark is called a "tangle," and you combine various tangles into patterns to create "tiles," or small square drawings. Each of the six chapters explores a different aspect of Zentangle:Basics and EnhancementsTangles and Value PatternsGeometric and Organic PatternsUnderstanding and Using ColorDefining and Using StyleCreating the Rest of Your Zentangle JourneyEach exercise includes new tangles to draw in sketchbooks or on Tiepolo (an Italian-made paper), teaches daily tile design, offers tips on related art principles, and contains an inspirational "ZIA" (Zentangle Inspired Art) project on a tile that incorporates patterns, art principals, and new techniques.   Drawing Zentangles is a relaxing and replenishing diversion that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels. In addition to its soothing benefits, a Zentangle practice can also help with self-image, phobias, addictions, pain management, conflict resolution, and coping with grief. Step away from the daily hustle and untangle with a Zentangle.

Jan Saudek


Jan Saudek - 1998
    Internationally famous Czech photographer Jan Saudek is no exception, and equally as uncompromising in pursuit of his own unique vision. For over four decades Saudek has created a parallel photographic universe, a two-dimensional home full of longing, peopled with the most extraordinary characters and colored by desire. The timeless strength of his hand-tinted photographs lies in their poetic compositions and their forceful?at times ribald?pictorial language, with its overtones of medieval genre pictures and Baroque mythology. Rejecting the traditional beauty in his famous nude photographs, Saudek shows the distinctively different: old women, fat women, children; real people in tableaux vivants that remind us of everything from surreal early movies to fin-de-siecle carnival nights. They exist outside time, a uniquely colored and almost mythical theater of dreams. Covering his debut in the 1950s through his lesser-known work to recent images, this dazzling collection offers us the true "velvet revolution," fertile and unsettling images from the dreams we might still have. The author: Daniela Mr?zkov?, critic and editor of the Czech magazines Revue fotografie and Fotografie-Magaz?n, is the author of sixteen books on photography published in the Czech Republic and abroad, and the curator of around fifty photography exhibitions. She has been a member of international juries, and has authored film and television documentaries on photography and photographers. She hasfollowed Jan Saudek's work since his early years and is the author of Saudek's first Czech monograph, The Theatre of Life.

The Cloth Paper Scissors Book: Techniques and Inspiration for Creating Mixed-Media Art


Barbara Delaney - 2011
    Editor Barbara Delaney has assembled a gold mine of hands-on inspiration and ideas for mixed-media artists of all types. Explore the exciting worlds of collage, journaling, encaustic, printing, assemblage, and more. Learn how to make interesting surface designs with Beryl Taylor, how to keep a uniquely-you sketchbook with Jane LaFazio, and how to transform a basic photograph into a whimsical wonder with Kelly Nina Perkins. The only rule in this mixed-media guide is that there are no rules.In addition to the tips and techniques, the experts elaborate on their favorite tools and mediums, including paintbrushes, adhesives, papers, waxes, found objects, and more, taking the guesswork out of achieving tricky effects. Perfect for all skill levels, The Cloth Paper Scissors Book showcases inspiring projects for both those who are new to the world of mixed media and those who already love mixed media and are looking for exciting new ideas.