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$19.95 $11.97 |
Woodworkers of all skill levels will find inspiration and practical advice in this collection of the wisdom of 30 expert woodcarvers who create their art exclusively from found materials. Each artist is highlighted through extensive interviews, beautiful photographs of finished work, and step-by-step instructions for the techniques used. Topics include the qualities of a variety of woods, where to find usable wood, how to work with cracks and knots, and what tools are needed to make the best of what nature has to offer.
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$18.95 $11.37 |
Why would you spend a lifetime learning to build furniture by hand, when machine-made furniture is perfectly adequate? For master furniture craftsman Gary Rogowski, the answer is that the discipline of working with one’s hands to create unnecessarily beautiful things shapes the builder into a more complete human being. In the tradition of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” and “Shop Class as Soulcraft,” Rogowski’s “Handmade” is a profound meditation on the eternal value of manual work, creativity, human fallibility, and the stubborn pursuit of quality work. Rogowski tells his life story of how he became a craftsman and how years of persistent work have taught him patience, resilience, tolerance for failure, and a love of pursuing beauty and mastery for its own sake. Part autobiography, part guide to creativity, and part guide to living, “Handmade” is a book for craftspeople, artists, and anyone who seeks clarity, purpose, and creativity in their work … and the perfect antidote to a modern world that thinks human labor is obsolete.
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$24.95 $14.97 |
Susanka is a nationally known residential architect. In this book she shows homeowners what they need to know to get the home that fits their dreams and lifestyles. She examines 25 examples of design and gives readers an insight in to successful home design. Susanka discusses and illustrates the principles of the Not So Big House.
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$40.00 $24.00 |
Bird decoys, which were first fashioned by Native American hunter-artists at least 1,500 years ago, are the only major folk art form to originate in North America. Today, decoys made during the heyday of decoy carving--roughly from 1840 to 1950--rank among the most avidly sought of all folk art collectibles, with some rare and outstanding examples fetching upwards of $8000,000 apiece at auction. These humble hunting tools, intended to deceive wildfowl by luring them into shooters' range, are now appreciated on many levels: as compelling works of sculpture, as exacting portraits of living and extinct species, and as irreplaceable historical objects. Successful decoy carvers of the past knew their prey intimately--spending countless hours observing game birds in the wild and then bringing their accumulated knowledge of different species' appearance and behavior to the carving bench. Because the works these artisans created were meant to attract avian eyes--conveying the essence of a bird's plumage, form, and attitude at a glance--older handmade decoys are deeply observed symbols of living birds that no merely decorative object, no matter how photographically accurate, can match. In this definitive, lavishly illustrated work, folk-art expert Robert Shaw chronicles the now-vanished era in which the great decoy makers pursued their craft. Shaw traces the natural history of North American bird species--more than sixty of which are represented in antique decoys. He relates the history of wildfowl hunting on this continent, detailing the excesses of nineteenth-century commercial hunting and the rise of a conservation movement aimed at ensuring bird species' long-term survival. He examines the distinctive forms produced in each major hunting area, from the Maritime Provinces of Canada to the Chesapeake Bay to the bayous of Louisiana and beyond. And, with a storyteller's gift for the entertaining anecdote, Shaw puts us in touch with the lives and circumstances of the decoy makers themselves.
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$24.95 $14.97 |
Learn to make beautiful vases and other hollow forms. For thousands of years, and throughout the globe, mankind has created hollow forms to store everyday essentials and things of value. Objects like these, while designed to be functional, can also be beautiful, intricate, imaginative, and decorative. Today, interest in making your own hollow forms is on the rise. Turning Hollow Forms fills a gap in the contemporary world of “hollow” to show turners of all levels just how to create these works of art. You’ll find in-depth, step-by-step coverage of turning techniques with over 450 clear photos, nearly 50 illustrations, and tons of expert instruction.
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$14.95 $8.97 |