As much a state of mind—an awareness of the things around us and an acceptance of our surroundings—as it is a design style, wabi sabi begs us to appreciate the pure beauty of life—a chipped vase, a quiet rainy day, the impermanence of all things. Presenting itself as an alternative to today's fast-paced, mass-produced, neon-lighted world, wabi sabi reminds us to slow down and take comfort in the natural beauty around us.In addition to presenting the philosophy of wabi-sabi, this book includes how-to design advice—so that a transformation of body, mind, and home can emerge.Chapters include:History: The Development of Wabi SabiCulture: Wabi Sabi and the Japanese CharacterArt: Defining AestheticsDesign: Creating Expressions with Wabi Sabi MaterialsSpirit: The Universal Spirit of Wabi Sabi

    Also known as afghan stitch, this versatile technique is worked on a long needle with a crochet hook at one end. Choose from 13 gorgeous projects, including women's garments and accessories as well as home accents Learn a variety of stitches, from basic to more advanced, including some that look just like knitting Read a brief history of Tunisian crochet and find out why it's experiencing such a resurgenceVideo

    

    Combining memoir with artistic and philosophical musings, the poet and National Book Critics Circle Award winner (for My Alexandria) begins by confessing his obsession with the 17th-century Dutch still life that serves as the title of this book. As he analyzes the items depicted in the painting, he skillfully introduces his thoughts on our intimate relationships to objects and subsequently explains how they are often inextricably bound to the people and places of an individual lifetime. Further defined by imperfections attained from use, each object from an aging oak table to a chipped blue and white china platter forms a springboard for reflection. Doty intersperses personal reminiscences throughout, but he always returns to the subject of still-life painting and its silent eloquence. Doty's observations on balance, grief, beauty, space, love, and time are imparted with wisdom and poetic grace.Books like this, that address the sources of creation and the sources of our humanness, come along once in a decade. -Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times"This small book is as wise, sensitive, intense, and affecting as anything I have read in recent years." -Doris Grumbach, author of Fifty Days of Solitude"A gem." -Library Journal"Mark Doty's prose is insistently exploratory, yet every aside, every detour, turns into pertinence, and it all seems effortless, as though the author were wondering, and marveling, aloud." -Bernard Cooper, author of Truth Serum"A dazzling accomplishment, its radiance bred of lucid attention and acute insight. The subject is the profoundly personal act of perception translated into description. Doty succeeds in rendering this most contemplative of arts-the still life-into a riveting drama." -Patricia Hampl, author of I Could Tell You Stories

    challenges designed to really get you to think about your life, your art, yourself. In this book, the authors showcase some of the best challenges from their site along with over 25 new challenges to get your creative juices flowing. And the layouts inspired by the Dares, created by the authors and their amazing contributing artists, are the perfect jumpstart to get you thinking about your scrapbooking in a whole new way.

    She is so bored, in fact, that she even considers playing with that slobbering mutt Puppy, who lives in her house. Nah. Instead, she thinks she'll take a nap. That is, until there is a knock on the door . . .Strange Kitty is here to guide both Kitty and Kitty's fans through the world of making comics. Like to draw? Great! Here's your chance to show off your skills! Don't know how to draw? That's okay! Through guided exercises you will learn all about how comics work, including sections on panelling, sound and visual effects, word balloons and so much more!With such fun activities and a hilarious story to boot, this is bound to be a Bad Kitty favorite!

    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.

    In Heather Ross Prints, a book-and-DVD package, Ross shares reproducible artwork for more than 50 of her most popular prints. She provides step-by-step instructions for 20 craft projects using the prints on the DVD—everything from sea turtle stationery to a shower curtain covered with swirling mermaids. Crafters can use the artwork on the DVD as they wish, printing on fabric, paper, or whatever surface they choose. Plus, Ross teaches her process for designing fabric using Photoshop—a boon to anyone who has ever dreamed of following in her footsteps.

    You'll also discover: Cool ways to show off memorabilia; Great gift books for kids; Dozens of practical and meaningful mini-book ideas for every occasion; Hundreds of ideas for tracking the special details of your life. Discover the fun, fast and easy way to capture and document the everyday moments of your life.

    While he is undoubtedly one of the best-loved and best-known visionaries of American art, photographers also recognize him as a pioneer of technique, a theoretician, and as one of the great teachers of the craft of photography. His zone system has been widely adapted, but Adams unique imagery also relied on his determination and application at every stage of the photographic process; he spent years in his darkroom, as well as out in the open air. For decades, this kind of attention to detail required the kind of equipment, time, and facilities that were out of the reach of most photographers--but now, in the digital age, technology has finally made his techniques accessible. This book will show you what can be learned from Adams working process, and how these lessons can be applied today. The craft of Adams photography is discussed, and the ZONE SYSTEM is related to the digital age. Sections on light, composition, mood, and the darkroom all show what can be achieved today using and understanding his thinking. Michael Frye's own photography provides many stunning examples of the results that can be achieved and, as one of Adams' natural successors in the field, he is well placed to analyze the inspirational shots which open each chapter.

    The story begins in the years before WWII when a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a servant in a geisha house. Despite a treacherous rival who nearly breaks her spirit, the girl blossoms into the legendary geisha Sayuri (Ziyi Zhang). Beautiful and accomplished, Sayuri captivates the most powerful men of her day, but is haunted by her secret love for the one man who is out of her reach (Ken Watanabe).The Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook explores the intricate process of re-creating the period and world of the geisha. Special sections showcase production design, makeup, choreography, and costumes, featuring kimonos created especially for the movie by five-time Oscar®-nominated costume designer Colleen Atwood. Sidebars throughout also provide fascinating historical background on the geisha culture.

    Over 100 additional new images are integrated into Volume I, and appear online as full size digital images with discussions written by the author. These bonus images are complemented by groundbreaking media support for students including video study tools and a robust eBook.

    Explore intriguing methods of combining bookbinding with specific crafts such as quilting, jewelry making, or polymer clay with Adventures in Bookbinding! With different levels of expertise including basic, novice, and expert, this book is filled with illustrated step-by-step instructions and photographs that demonstrate how to construct the cover pages, create unique bindings, and much more with a diverse range of media.From a needle-felted journal to a quilted workbook (and many more), each project also features two other versions with the same binding geared to those with more or less experience.  The novice version is for those who have no knowledge of the craft and want shortcuts, but love the look. The expert version is for those who have a great deal of knowledge and proficiency of a certain craft—the master art quilter, for example.  For this version, an expert guest artist has created the cover and the author has created the binding.  This offers yet another creative opportunity: the collaborative project.  If you love getting involved with round-robins and other shared endeavors, this will show you yet another way to combine your skills with other crafters!Discover endless possibilities and challenges that will forever inspire you with Adventures in Bookbinding!

    Gayford’s journeys, often to fairly inaccessible places, involve frustrations and complications, but also serendipitous encounters and outcomes, which he makes as much a part of the story as the final destination. In chapters that are by turns humorous, intriguing, and stimulating, Gayford takes us to places as varied as Brancusi’s Endless Column in Romania; prehistoric caves in France; the museum island of Naoshima in Japan; the Judd Foundation in Marfa, Texas; and an exhibition of Roni Horn’s work in Iceland.Interwoven with these tales are journeys to meet artists—Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris, Marina Abramovic´ in Venice, Robert Rauschenberg in New York—and travels with artists, such as a trip to Beijing with Gilbert George. These encounters not only provide fascinating insights into the way artists approach and think about their art, but reveal the importance of their personal environments.A perceptive, amusing, and knowledgeable companion, in The Pursuit of Art Gayford takes readers on a tour of art that is immensely entertaining, informative, and eminently readable.

    They reveal one of the millions of intimate human moments that make up a life. In Beyond Portraiture, renowned photographer Bryan Peterson shows how to spot those “ah-ha!” moments and capture them forever. A teary child...old people laughing together...a smiling girl with big, big hair. Everyone remember pictures like these, usually taken by a mother, a father, a friend holding a camera, forever preserving small yet revealing vignettes of our personal histories. But we always relied on pure luck and chance to catch those moments. Peterson’s approach explains what makes a photo memorable, how to spot the universal themes that everyone can identify with, and how to use lighting, setting, and exposure to reveal the wonder and the joy of everyday moments. Beyond Portraiture makes it easy to create indelible memories with light and shadow.