Sometimes I buy a book because it’s simply delightful.  The art is very original, made with refreshing and simple materials, and the book just makes me [...]]]> Happy Voodoo Gris Gris: Over 45 Easy-To-Make Lucky Charms & Talismans, by Mademoiselle de la Brindille / Valerie Lefebvre; text by Anne-Claire Leveque.

Sometimes I buy a book because it’s simply delightful.  The art is very original, made with refreshing and simple materials, and the book just makes me smile.

This is one of those books.

Sure, some of this artwork has a Voodoo connection. The author talks about magic numbers and pious images used in art.  If that bothers you, don’t read this book.

However, if you’d love to include more art in your everyday world and whimsy delights you… this book is a must-own.

It’s also ideal if you’re working on a sacred area in  your home, or creating a personal shrine.

For me, this book is wonderful!

• I fell in love with the loops of wire and charms and flowers that comprise the very informal “Unusual center light” on pages 26 and 27.
• My cat (like the author’s) would be fascinated by the “Wishing tree” on pages 38 and 39.
• The “Garland of happiness” on page 40 is something I want over my desk… it’s a truly glorious idea!

Every project (there are 45 in this book) includes a list of supplies and step-by-step directions.  They’re not terribly detailed.

For example, “…top-stitch with the machine using turquoise thread” assumes that you have a sewing machine and know how to use it.

However, the informality of this book makes it clear that you can do the same thing with a needle and thread, and no sewing machine.

In fact, you can (and should!) improvise to create your own versions of these projects. This book is the inspiration; you make each project unique.

45 projects including shrines, household decorations, jewelry, fabric art and wearables, and painting projects.

Pros

• Lots of colorful, whimsical photos to inspire you.
• An informal writing style makes this very accessible to beginners through advanced artists (and non-artists).
• On at least every second page, I see something to gasp at and think, “Ooh, I could do something like that…”

Cons

• If Voodoo and alternative spirituality bother or offend you, there are other great books to inspire you.  Skip this one.
• Students who want every step spelled out with basic directions and lots of photos… well, this isn’t your kind of book.  It’s for free spirits whose lives are very spontaneous and unstructured.

Summary

Every time I pick up this book, I read just a page or two before I have an idea for a very cool project.  So, I’ve never actually read this entire book, even though I’ve owned it for over a year.

If words like voodoo, talismans, and magic make you shudder, avoid this book.

However, if ethnic, improvised art inspires you, this is a book you’ll display so you look at it often.  It might be on my top 10 list of favorite mixed-media arts/crafts books.

[rating: 4.5]

Available at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

See larger image Happy Voodoo Gris Gris: Over 45 Easy-To-Make Lucky Charms & Talismans (Paperback) By (author) Valerie Lefebvre List Price: $16.99 USD New From: $0.09 In Stock Used from: $0.01 In Stock

It’s an especially good book to read when you’re planning a trip, and want to keep an illustrated travel journal while you’re on the road.

Or, if you’re participating in an all-day [...]]]> Moira Huntly’s Sketchbook Secrets, by Moira Huntly, will inspire you to carry sketching supplies all the time.

It’s an especially good book to read when you’re planning a trip, and want to keep an illustrated travel journal while you’re on the road.

Or, if you’re participating in an all-day sketching marathon (like a “sketchcrawl”), you may refer to this book often, as you prepare for the day.

I’ve looked at a lot of books about keeping a sketchbook. Some are great.  Most show illustrations that make me say:

• Umm, I’m not that good at sketching… not even close. (And, as a lifelong artist, that’s saying a lot.)
• I don’t have hours to include those kinds of details.  Hello, I’ll be traveling! (Or waiting in the car for one of my kids.  Or going past the site in a bus and a cloud of dust.)
• Okay, so I go home with a cool travel journal. Then it collects dust on my bookshelf.  Why bother?

Ms. Huntly deals with all of those issues.

Are you an intermediate artist, or a novice with some sketching experience? Ms. Huntly’s sketches range from really simple to oh-my-goodness.

Her simple ones are most like what I’ll include in my journals.  Even better, she shows how little detailing (or color) you can include for effects that will make you pause and say, “Wow… did I really draw that…?”

Though this book offers few how-to instructions, Ms. Huntly does simplify the whole “horizon line” issue of perspective: Whatever’s at eye level is your horizon.  Stuff above that slopes down to the horizon level; objects below that line will slope up.

So, the issue of details becomes a non-issue.  Whether you’re scribbling some lines and shapes in pencil as you fly past a cool site in a tour bus, or sitting at some wonderful cafe with hours on your hands, you can sketch what you see.

In addition, the author includes notes with many of her sketches. She describes the problems she encountered, the decisions she had to make, and what she found frustrating… and how she dealt with them.  In some cases, she shows sketches that didn’t really work, and she explains why.

She talks about things like the little boats in the foreground give a sense of scale to the towering skyscrapers in the background.  I hadn’t thought about that. (And frankly, I tend to be terrible at sketching boats, so I’d have left them out… except that I now see the point of including some.)

Finally, if you’ve wondered what to do with all those great sketches when you get home, Ms. Huntly shows many examples of paintings and colored drawings she created from her own sketches.

They’re juicy, evocative, and rich with emotions and splendor.  In many cases, she’s taken a mundane, everyday scene and turned it into something awe-inspiring.

So, if you’re a fine artist and you’d like an art journal that’s filled with great ideas for gallery work, I think this book will inspire you, to0.

Pros

• Lots of pictures in a variety of techniques and materials, simple to advanced.
• People, buildings and landscapes from several countries.  You’ll glean lots of ideas for great subjects, even in your hometown.
• Awe-inspiring completed works, from detailed sketches to full-scale paintings.

Cons

• After a list of materials and some basic tips, this is not a how-to book. If you want step-by-step drawing instructions, this isn’t the book for you.
• No photos to compare what she was looking at to what she actually drew.  So, you’ll have to guess at how much she added, left out, and rearranged. (She explains some of that in the text with her sketches.)
• A lot of the art is very professional.  If you “can’t draw a straight line,” this book may collect dust on your shelf until you’ve built your confidence… and your skills.

Summary

If you’re already someone who sketches, this is an ideal (and inspiring) book to own.  Before a trip, follow Ms. Huntly’s suggestions and inspiration to sketch around your hometown.  You’ll soon identify the techniques, materials, and subjects that you enjoy most.  You’re ready to create wonderful travel journals, and finished art inspired by them!

[rating: 3.5]

Available at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

See larger image Moira Huntly's Sketchbook Secrets (Paperback) By (author) Moira Huntly List Price: $22.99 USD New From: $9.96 In Stock Used from: $0.95 In Stock

It’s a thorough book about collage and assemblage, and it demonstrates altered art as well.  Though readers may not be able to find the exact items [...]]]> Collage, Assemblage and Altered Art by Diane Maurer-Mathison is a good book for a school, the library of an art organization or club, or a public library.

It’s a thorough book about collage and assemblage, and it demonstrates altered art as well.  Though readers may not be able to find the exact items used in this project book, I think the ideas can be adapted to other materials, if your brain works in that direction.

However, if you want a by-the-numbers approach to learning collage, assemblage or altered art, the projects may not always work for you.

In addition, I can’t rave about this book without reservations.

I like the book cover.  (Well, mostly.)

I wanted to be really excited about this book.  I even read it twice, months apart.

But… it’s not an exciting book.  Not for me, anyway.

Sure, there’s something for everyone in its pages, but also something to bore everyone… if they’re at all familiar with this field of art.

For me, the clue was the vintage photo with the clown’s hat (or dunce’s cap) on the cover.  That was a cliche about ten years ago.  At this point,  that imagery can be annoying to old-timers (like me), but it might still charm people who are discovering collage and assemblage for the first time.

I don’t want to sound as if I hate this book.  I don’t.  I actually like it, but not enough to own it.

It’s the kind of book that teachers will love because it’s a good, general reference.   Almost any student can find something inspiring in its pages.

Like most of Maurer-Mathison’s books, this is a top-quality approach to a broad, art-related subject.  She touches on every major point that someone will want to know about, if they’re exploring collage, assemblage and altered art.

My problem is, I wanted more extravagance from Collage, Assemblage and Altered Art.  I wanted the author — and the art in this book — to go out on a limb, try daring and exciting things, and generally inspire me.

Compare this book with Altered Curiosities by Jane Ann Wynn; for me, Wynn’s book will win, nine times out of ten.

That said, I don’t think Maurer-Mathison intended it as anything intense or controversial.  It’s not quite a textbook, but… it’s a lot like one.

If you’re buying books for a public library or a school, get this book. That’s an easy choice, because your patrons will enjoy this book tremendously.  It’ll be taken out of the library often, and recommended to others.

However, if it’s for your own bookshelf, I can’t give it the same endorsement.

Of course, you should take a look at it, but I recommend browsing through it at a local bookstore, instead of buying it sight-unseen at Amazon.

[rating: 3/5] Collage, Assemblage and Altered Art by Diane Maurer-Mathison

[ASA]0823071138[/ASA]

If you use artist’s models in your studio, work as an artist’s model, or have ever thought of working as an artist’s model*… you need to own [...]]]> The Art Model’s Handbook, by Andrew Cahner is one of those books I look at and exclaim, “Why didn’t anyone write a book like this before..?”

If you use artist’s models in your studio, work as an artist’s model, or have ever thought of working as an artist’s model*… you need to own a copy of this book.

Yes, I usually say, “Read this book at your public library first, and see if you want to buy it.” However, this is the kind of book that you’ll refer to so often, you may as well buy a copy and save yourself multiple treks to the library.

This book is 141 pages of to-the-point information. There’s no fluff, and the author is knowledgeable, experienced, and addresses issues on both sides of the canvas (or sketchpad).

Author Andrew Cahner has left nothing out. He tackles the difficult aspects of nudity in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, he tells you the two things that every model must bring with him (or her), and then lists many items that will make your work easier and create a more professional environment.

Chapter by chapter, Cahner provides useful tips and the kind of information every artist — and artist’s model — needs to think about before, during and after a modeling session.

For example, the author provides some brilliant ways to research poses, so you don’t stand in front of the group, blink, and ask shakily, “Err… what do you want me to do?” (Likewise, if you’re working with models, these resources will avoid wasted time while the artists try to think of poses, and the model responds, “Okay, how about this?”.)

There’s even a list of useful links to find modeling work, online.

If there’s anything missing from this book — from either the model or artist’s standpoint — I can’t see it. And, I’m speaking as a third-generation artist who worked as an artist’s model during her college years.

I rarely give a book five stars, but — for this topic — I can’t think of any way the author could have improved the book. Every working artist and every classroom that uses models should have a copy of this book in their studios. When you have a question, the answer will be right there.

And, of course, every working model should own one as well.

I read many books about and for artists, and this one stands out as a brilliant idea, well executed and long overdue. It’s well-written and easy to read, but — even more importantly — it’s a useful reference that provides far more than just the basics.

[rating: 5/5]

[ASA]1442169699[/ASA]

*If you’re willing to sit still for 20 minutes at a time — with a roomful of people staring at you — this can be a fine career choice for people who need work or want extra income.  Taking off your clothes is optional but will significantly increase your chances of getting work, but it’s not vital.  (Portrait and other models are needed, too, but — for economy — classes often swap-out students in those roles.)

Even better, this book will explain the nuances of working in this field so you don’t feel like a total novice.