Lark Books strana 3 z 4

This newest entry in the popular "Masters" series presents 38 of the world's most notable potters and sculptors - and dozens of vibrant, functional, sculptural and figurative pieces of earthenware to explore. "Masters: Earthenware" reveals the tremendous imagination, innovation and technical facility that today's artists bring to the oldest ceramic medium. This stunning volume gives each featured artist a mini-retrospective of approximately eight pages that showcase 12-14 of his or her best works, illuminating comments from the creators accompany the images, and outlining their development and artistic philosophy.

Meet the Masters of Collage! Versatility, innovation, inspiration--that's what" The Masters" series offers artists and crafters, and this superb new collection offers a stunning look at contemporary collage work from approximately 40 leading artists. It features a breathtaking mix of techniques from traditional cut-and-paste to digital to collage with paint or encaustic, and styles ranging from wildly playful and colorful to evocative, almost monochrome images.Each highlighted master takes center stage in an informative eight-page feature that includes nearly a dozen gorgeous, high-quality photos plus a short essay by curator Randel Plowman placing the impressive work and its creator in context.

This collection in the popular "Masters" series, chosen and introduced by one of the world's top curators, offers field-defining work from 43 master book artists. The selections demonstrate conceptual, aesthetic and technical excellence, as well as incredible beauty. Brief comments from the artists about their work, careers and philosophies accompany the stunning images of their most innovative and technically accomplished book art achievements.

Versatility, innovation, inspiration - that's what "The Masters" series offers crafters, with an engaging survey of the finest contemporary work by approximately 40 leading artists in specific media. Readers will find the showcased pieces eye-opening in their originality and each beadweaving master takes centre stage in an informative eight-page feature that includes around a dozen breathtaking, high-quality photographs and a short essay by the curator placing the impressive work and its creator in context. These outstandingly talented and imaginative artists include Valerie Hector, whose beaded designs are a statement in bold modernity; Jeanette Ahlgren, who fashions intricate loom-woven vessels; and, Marcia DeCoster, who uses a right angle weave techniques to create shimmering. Beadweaver and author Carol Wilcox Wells serves as the judge of this remarkable collection.

Rings have outsold every other subject covered by our "500" books, so it's only fitting that we begin the next generation of the series with "Showcase: 500 Rings". This dynamic gallery volume looks at the jeweller's art as it's being interpreted by leading designers from around the world - some exploring dazzlingly innovative styles with highly advanced techniques and costly materials; others using simple, traditional methods and creating works of quiet elegance. What they all have in common is that every image contains elements of surprise and awe.

They’re the very best in contemporary glass beadmaking, 1000 dazzling and unique examples by an international array of artists. This color survey has it all: the beads come single or in multiples, in jewelry or sculptural pieces, flameworked and kilnformed, and their diversity and beauty are amazing. Julia Skop’s intriguing Secret Surprise showcases clear glass beads with millefiori slices at the ends. Bruce St. John crafts his beads out of diachroic glass, then fuses and coldworks them at the lapidary well after completion. Nebula Black Necklace, from Rene Roberts, features an organic-looking focal bead adorned with fine metal leaf, glass shards, and a subtle dot decoration. An artist’s comment and detail image accompany many of the photos. A Selection of the Crafters Choice Book Club.

Diverse, extensive, and incredibly beautiful, this awe-inspiring collection features the most magnificent rings ever. With designs that range from the traditional to the very avant-garde, each of the 1,000 examples is an exceptional work of art, finely crafted by the best contemporary jewelers. Rob Jackson mixes antique industrial elements (a 100-year-old wrought iron nail) with radiant 20-karat gold and a glowing ruby for a dynamic visual contrast. Tomomi Arat’s collection, Treasure from Under the Sea, captures the exoticism of ocean life: he uses pearls, enamel, and sand to create rings that look as if they were chiseled directly out of a coral reef. Among the prestigious artisans represented: Arline M. Fisch, Michael Zobel, Katja Prins, Paul Preston, and Bruce Metcalf.

The successful 500 series shines a spotlight on today’s most breathtaking ceramic sculptures. Selected from more than 8,000 entries by the distinguished art critic, historian, and professor Glen R. Brown—an elected member of the International Academy of Ceramics in Geneva—these exquisite works will inspire both beginning and professional ceramists, as well as collectors and enthusiasts. They include Esther Shimazu’s hand-built, Asian-influenced nudes, Von Venhuizen’s mixed-media, wheel-thrown stoneware, and Katy’s Rush’s slip-cast and press-molded porcelain. Every work is amazing.  

Poring through the beautiful images in this exquisite gallery of earrings is like stepping inside a jewelry store filled with remarkable pieces from the finest contemporary jewelers. Juried by award-winning designer Alan Revere, the earrings range from the classic to the avant-garde, and come from an international array of artists, including Cynthia Eid, Rachelle Thiewes, and Jeff and Susan Wise. Their materials include not only traditional gold, sterling silver, copper, and wire, but also more unusual items such as glass, plastic, porcelain, and paper. The earrings are forged, soldered, chased, and cast, with surface embellishments that run the gamut from enamel and metal foils to patinas and inlay. Expert jewelers, students, artists, and everyone who appreciates fine craftsmanship will enjoy this collection.

The classic art of enameling is experiencing a well-deserved renaissance—and it’s stunningly captured in this lovingly curated survey. More than 300 international contemporary artists have contributed museum-worthy pieces, which range in scale from David C. Freda’s Green Slipper Brooch and Harlan W. Butt’s Maine Teapot to large sculptures and public art. Some of the creators take a minimalist approach, using only soft colors and matte finishes, while others exploit the material’s vibrant palette and glass-like surface. The broad technical applications include everything from simple sifting and torch firing to complex cloisonné and plique-à-jour.   

On display: the most magnificent collection of handmade glass creations ever assembled!Handmade glass objects are taking the craft world by storm with their great variety and beauty. Juried by Maurine Littleton, a gallery owner and distinguished presence in the studio-glass field, these 500 outstanding pieces capture the finest work done by top artisans worldwide. Cast your eye over flameworked goblets, cast vases, blown cups, and fused and slumped bowls. Jane Lee's stoneware "Rainbow Bowl" is a symphony of brilliant color, while Keith Weiss-Cole's graceful furnace-blown "Sculpture of Two" glows with light. The magnificent techniques on display include mosaics, enameling, engraving, carving, and etching, and the unique shapes and eye-catching designs will amaze any art or craft lover.

Contemporary and unique, these handmade creations range from representational to abstract, from skillful realism to provocative surrealism—and they’re made from every conceivable material, including beads, gourds, and polymer clay. Juror Akira Blount, a pioneer in the “art doll” movement, incorporates vines, twigs, and carved wood in her fabric dolls, with their expressionless faces and closed eyes, they appear absorbed by inner worlds. Dutch artist Marlaine Verhelst’s porcelain designs seem to have sprung straight from a medieval painting. Chris Chomick’s strange and slightly scary figures feature amazing detail and elaborate costumes. Dollmakers, crafters, collectors, and anyone who loves beautiful objects will love the amazing diversity showcased here.

These chairs aren’t made just for sitting down! They’re pieces of art meant to delight the eyes, stretch the imagination, and occasionally tickle the fancy. From classic forms to groundbreaking creations from modern innovators, this newest entry in the 500 series presents a dazzling collection of contemporary chairs from today’s leading furniture makers. Internationally recognized furniture designer Craig Nutt has selected the breathtaking examples—by such respected names as Sam Maloof (a walnut rocking chair), Garry Knox Bennett (two ladderback chairs), and Andrew Muggleton (his “Balustrade Chaise”)—and they’re breathtaking. Judy Kensley McKie contributes a cool “Monkey Chair” in walnut and bronze, with arms shaped like these playful animals. And Gord Peteran’s wittily named “Electric Chair” comes in tubular steel…and features a lightbulb!

One look at these breathtaking suspended neck ornaments, and it’s clear why Lark’s series of jewelry design books has become so wildly popular. Every pendant is a masterful work of art, whether it’s symbolic and purposeful (amulets, talismans, and charms) or purely decorative.  Juried by Mike Holmes and Elizabeth Shypertt, co-founders of the esteemed jewelry gallery Velvet da Vinci, this beautiful color collection includes pieces crafted from diverse materials and techniques (including forging, casting, forming, and stone setting). “Fecund,” Tricia Lachowiec’s intricate construction of oxidized sterling silver, electroformed copper, enamel, and resin, is every bit as luscious as its title suggests. In “0210,” Seth Papac constructs a ghostly and atmospheric cityscape out of poplar wood, architectural siding, and building materials, as well as gold, silver, and elastic. Jane Adam’s signature use of softly colored aluminum always astounds, and decidedly so in “Flower Pendant” with its multiple fronds of gracefully arching metal. Jewelers, metalsmiths, and collectors will all find inspiration in these one-of-a-kind works.

The popular 500 series takes its hippest, most fun approach yet, with an intoxicatingly vibrant and technically diverse collection of contemporary jewelry. Juror Susan Kasson Sloan has put together a groundbreaking survey of the best work being done with this thoroughly modern material.Every page offers some delightful eye candy, with pieces that stretch from the subtle and sublime to the fantastically humorous. There’s jewelry that tells a story, and jewelry that cleverly incorporates recycled materials—including sunglass lenses and knitting needles. In true 21st century style, much of the work is being designed and produced with cutting-edge CAD CAM technologies.The extremely talented artists include Jantje Fleischhut, Lisa and Scott Cylinder, Adam Paxon, Felieke van der Leest, Ted Noten, Svenja John, Pavel Herynek, Karin Seufert, and Margaux Lange. 

A vibrant and growing community of crafters has embraced quilting and this outstanding international collection will inspire and captivate them. Juried by Karey Bresenhan, one of the most prominent figures in quilting, it presents 500 magnificent contemporary art quilts, made in fabric and other media, and showcasing diverse designs, materials and techniques. From their very inception, these quilts were destined for display rather than practical use, with an extraordinary quality of image, form, line and composition.