Artist's Sketchbook: Exercises and Techniques for Sketching on the Spot


Cathy Johnson - 2016
    She and other artists have opened their sketchbooks to share their favorite subjects, ranging from nature's paraphernalia to aging buildings, crashing waves and beloved pets. You will travel the world through sketches and stories, through deserts and deep woods, cities and small towns. Along the way, you'll pick up helpful tips and clever, on-location improvisations for making your sketching sessions pleasurable, safe and productive.- Chapters focus on sketching subjects close to home, on travels, in nature, in urban settings and from everyday life. - 10+ artists share favorite sketches, tips and techniques. - 15+ demos reveal on-the-spot sketches as they come together. - Includes expert advice on getting the best results from a range of mediums, including graphite, ink, colored pencil, watercolor and gouache.The Artist's Sketchbook is pure delight, full of passion and possibility, ideas and inspirations. You'll learn ways to be prepared, simplify, still your inner critic, embrace the here and now, and in doing so, discover wonders you never thought to look for.

Print Stamp Lab: 52 Ideas for Handmade, Upcycled Print Tools


Traci Bunkers - 2010
    In this book, she shows readers how to see overlooked, everyday objects in a new way, and how to "MacGyver" them into easy to use printing blocks and tools. Readers learn to create 52 print blocks and stamp tools, all from inexpensive, ordinary, and unexpected materials--string, spools, bandaids, flip flops, ear plugs, rubber bands, school erasers, and a slew of other repurposed and upcycled items. The book also shows how to use those simple tools to make gorgeous, multi-layered prints and patterns that can be used to enhance journal covers, stationery, fabrics, accessories, and more.

Sketch Your World: Essential Techniques for Drawing on Location


James Hobbs - 2014
    The creative possibilities are as unlimited as the world around you!

Celtic Knots for Beaded Jewellery


Suzen Millodot - 2006
    Now Suzen Millodot has created beautiful jewellery from real three-dimensional Celtic knots tied with cords and embellished with beads and pendants. Suzen demonstrates techniques such as button and braid knots, plaits and Turk's Head knots and shows how to use them to make eighteen stunning projects including necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches and earrings.

DIY Watercolor Flowers: The Beginner's Guide to Flower Painting for Journal Pages, Handmade Stationery and More


Marie Boudon - 2019
    Marie Boudon's beautifully presented creative course will give you a good grounding in this new-to-you medium and teach you all you need to know to get started with painting flowers in watercolor. Find out about paper, brushes and paints, color mixing, wet and dry techniques, blending and gradients, contrast and even how to digitize your work. Then learn to paint roses, peonies, carnations, dahlias, anemones, poppies, leaves, details and textures and how to bring all of these together into beautiful compositions which make lovely art pieces, journal pages, handmade stationery and greetings cards, inspirational quote frames, personalized gifts and more.

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.

Printmaking + Mixed Media


Dorit Elisha - 2009
    From screen printing to collagraphy to sun printing, the techniques are shown with step-by-step photographs and can be done without printing presses or special papers. A variety of projects are included to demonstrate a wide range of possible creations, such as fabric-arts books, hand-printed calendars, wall-art collages, aprons, holiday books, greeting cards, and more. For further inspiration beyond the projects, a gallery of completed works by the author and other artists make up the final portion of this resource.

Watercolor Painting: A Comprehensive Approach to Mastering the Medium


Tom Hoffmann - 1979
    However, the very features that define the beauty of the medium can make it difficult to master. This complete guide to understanding the relationships between color, value, wetness, and composition unravels the mysteries of watercolor to help your practice evolve.  Experienced teacher and acclaimed artist Tom Hoffmann offers a unique, inquiry-based approach that shows you how to translate any subject into the language of watercolor. With Hoffmann as your guide, you’ll learn the key questions to ask yourself at every turn and time-tested methods to help you reach solutions.  Hoffmann’s thorough explanations and step-by-step demonstrations delineate the process of composing a painting in watercolor, while art from more than thirty-five past and present masters, including John Singer Sargent, Ogden Pleissner, George Post, Emil Kosa, Jr., Mary Whyte, Trevor Chamberlain, Lars Lerin, Torgeir Schjølberg, Piet Lap, Leslie Frontz, and Alvaro Castagnet serve to illustrate and inspire. Whether you’re a serious beginner or a seasoned practitioner, this book will guide you toward the all-important balance between restraint and risk-taking that every watercolorist seeks.

Creative Revolution: Personal Transformation through Brave Intuitive Painting


Flora Bowley - 2016
    For author Flora Bowley, making art and expressing herself creatively have always served as potent forms of personal evolution and holistic healing. Creative Revolution is the reader's key to unlocking the door to their own personal journey while making beautiful art.Creative Revolution is the culmination of Flora's life's work as an artist, offering guidance for others to embrace their authentic selves through paint. She has taught more than sixty workshops since she wrote her first book, Brave Intuitive Painting, and has witnessed miraculous things when people engage with the intuitive painting process. Creative Revolution is the next best thing to taking a course from Flora. Many readers and students can't help but exclaim, "This was about so much more than painting!" After reading Creative Revolution, readers will have a deeper connection to their intuition, increased confidence to make bolder choices, freedom to let go and explore various options, an understanding that everything is transformable, the trust that it will all work out in the end, and a renewed sense that creating can be fun and playful. All of this powerful transformation begins with paint. Flora has been writing and reflecting on these transformational aspects of the creative process for years. Creative Revolution is an insightful and practical guide for realizing the transformational power of fully embracing your creativity.

Hand Tools: Their Ways and Workings


Aldren A. Watson - 1982
    Crammed with practical information, it is the next best thing to looking over a craftsman's shoulder as he works with his tools, asking questions and getting straight answers in plain language, seeing how each tool is held and manipulated to get the best work out of it. From bit brace, chisel, and mallet to saws, specialized planes, drawknife, and spokeshave, Aldren Watson describes in detail the actions of the tools basic to good woodworking. All the procedures are explicitly illustrated with handsome line drawings, and an appendix gives plans and dimensions for making a workbench and other necessary pieces of shop equipment.

7000 Years of Jewelry


Hugh Tait - 1987
    Since publication, the museum has expanded its collection, with major acquisitions of pieces from Europe and Asia. The new edition includes a complete revision of the section on Europe after 1700, plus revisions to the sections on Celtic Europe, Roman Britain, cameos and finger rings.The book explores the varied styles, techniques and materials used to make jewelry in many civilizations throughout the world and across the millennia. Egyptian necklaces, Celtic torcs, South American gold masks, Renaissance pendants and Art Nouveau buckles are examples of the range of the masterpieces described and illustrated with 400 superb photographs.7000 Years of Jewelry takes readers on an impressive tour that includes, among other times and places:The Middle East: 5000-2000 BC Egypt: 1500-900 BC Phoenician, Greek, Etruscan and Persian Lands: 850-325 BC China, Celtic Europe, Mexico and Peru: 600 BC-AD 600 The Mediterranean, India, Egypt, Roman Britain and Byzantium: 325 BC-AD 600 Europe, China, Korea and Japan: AD 300-1000 Mayan Central America: AD 600-1000 Central and South America: AD 500-1500 Europe, Islam, China, Korea and Java: AD 1000-1500 China, India, Tibet and Mongolia: AD 1500-1850 West Africa: AD 1500-1800 Europe: AD 1500-1950. More comprehensive than before, this reference remains the finest and most beautifully illustrated history of jewelry ever published.

Making Bead & Wire Jewelry


Dawn Cusick - 2000
    The projects include: - earrings - necklaces - bracelets - pendants - a contemporary eyeglass chain - - hair clip - filigree choker - finger rings - pins - eyeglass cord - There are complete instructions on bead and wire crafting basics; materials, tips and techniques, tools and work spaces are all thoroughly covered. * Two best-selling craft subjects - bead jewellery and wire jewellery - together in one book. * Styles range from the delicate and graceful to bold and chunky. * Beads range from small delicate crystals to large brilliant pieces of turquoise. * Wire includes the new wires currently available, textured and dyed every colour of the rainbow, plus copper, gold and silver options.

Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words


Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge - 1996
    Her exuberant, critically acclaimed teaching guide takes instructors, writers, and general readers into the very heart and intensity of life and the craft of expressing what one feels through the written word.

The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire


Francesca Cartier Brickell - 2019
    At its heart are the three Cartier brothers whose motto was "Never copy, only create".Francesca Cartier Brickell, whose great-grandfather was the youngest of the brothers, has traveled the world researching her family's history, tracking down those connected with her ancestors and discovering long-lost pieces of the puzzle along the way. Now she reveals never-before-told dramas, romances, intrigues, betrayals, and more.

The Art of Creative Watercolor: Inspiration and Techniques for Imaginative Drawing and Painting


Danielle Donaldson - 2018
    Her whimsical illustrations are known for their offbeat color combinations, artful arrangements and endearing quirkiness. In this book, you'll learn how to partner with the wonderfully spontaneous medium of watercolor to create your own brand of magic. Start by creating a handmade journal, then follow exercises and start-to-finish projects to fill it with illustrations that are small in size but big on color. Along the way, Danielle shares her fresh takes on color theory, perspective, composition and more. Designed to get your brush moving, this book makes practice feel like play. It's a one-of-a-kind journey for any artist wishing to tap into the utter joy of watercolor painting and make it a cherished part of your daily life. Inside you'll find: Imaginative techniques that help you override perfectionist tendencies while making the most of watercolor's unpredictable nature An inventive approach (using scraps of paper, ribbon and other ephemera) for more creative color choices A simple strategy that makes drawing new subjects less intimidating and more fun Sweet ways to add hand lettering to your artwork Inspirational exercises that make finding subjects to paint as easy as A-B-C "Don't underestimate the giddiness you feel when you mindlessly grab a color and mix it with another and create the most beautiful wash ever!" --p43