Born Perlé van Schalkwyk, into a strict Jehovah Witness family, after studying drama at Stellenbosch University, Perlé quickly realises that acting is not going to buy her that house on the hill. And so erotic dancing and stripping becomes her modus operandi and GiGi is born. 

Tales of drugs, murder and porn lace her fascinating life, along with stories of courage and cunning in the sexist underworld. GiGi is a true survivor. Ultimately, this bare all memoir will both titillate and inspire. 

Epic Land is a celebration in pictures and words of the arresting beauty of the landscapes of Namibia and of the centrality of land in the culture, history, politics and daily lives of its people. The book seeks to uncover the rare essence that marks the landscape of Namibia apart from all others.

Few countries in the world are richer than Namibia in its canvas of natural beauty. The landscape is one of rich and often harsh contrast with many changing moods. A journey through its landscape is infinitely rewarding. Within this book this progression is depicted. The dramatic scenery of remote deserts, mountains, mystical trees and stormy shores are the equal of any.

Through her captivating photographs and absorbing text, Amy Schoeman shares with the reader the strange beauties of her life’s passion. The superb photographs capture the life of the desert, its forms and colours, and the moods of its ever-changing landscapes.

Inspired by the fortunes and misfortunes of the Getty family, whose most extraordinary and troubled episode - the kidnap and ransom of grandson Paul Getty - is now a major motion picture, directed by Ridley Scott, from a screenplay written by David Scarpa and starring Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer and Mark Wahlberg.

An irresistible romp through the history of magic, from alchemy to unicorns, ancient witchcraft to Harry's Hogwarts - packed with unseen sketches and manuscript pages from J.K. Rowling, magical illustrations from Jim Kay and weird, wonderful and inspiring artefacts that have been magically released from the archives at the British Library.

This spellbinding book takes readers on a journey through the Hogwarts curriculum, including Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Divination and more. Discover the truth behind making the Philosopher's Stone, create your very own potion and uncover the secret of invisible ink. Learn all about the history of mandrake roots and dragons, discover what witches really used their brooms for, pore over incredible images of actual mermaids and read about real-life potions, astronomers and alchemists. The perfect gift for aspiring witches and wizards and any Harry Potter fan.

Celebrating twenty years of Harry Potter magic, and produced in association with the British Library to support their major exhibition, Harry Potter: A History of Magic.

Foolproof mosaic projects for your garden, including planters, furniture, and ornaments

One of the most long-lasting and hard-wearing artforms, mosaic pieces are perfect to make the most of your outdoor room. Suitable for a tiny terrace or a large garden, the projects in Garden Mosaics show you how to decorate your outdoor space in the most charming, individual, and enduring way.

The extensive techniques section shows you how to choose and use the right tiles for your environment. The range of tiles on the market today is better than ever; and the book makes the most of the wealth of new materials available such as spangled tiles or inexpensive but authentic gold-leaf tiles. As you progress, you can develop your own creativity with tips on tile- and colourmatching that allow you to adapt the projects to make pieces completely unique to you and your garden.

All suitable for beginners, the 25 projects in the book range from simple decorative pieces, such as the enchanting, simple child’s footprints and butterfly stones to practical and sturdy weatherproof pieces, including a trompe l’oeil chequered mosaic tabletop and delightful planters that will add colour to your garden especially in winter. Some projects, such as the night light, can be finished in under two hours.

The original designs in this book have all been inspired by winged creatures - from birds and butterflies to beautiful bugs and dragon flies, all dreamlike and whimsical. Combining the basic elements with other motifs into intricate all-over patterns make for full-page designs that will provide hours of colouring fun. The smaller size will fit in your handbag, making this book ideal to carry with you everywhere so you can enjoy waiting time being creative instead of getting frustrated. Designs are printed on good quality paper on one side only to ensure that there will be no bleed or see-through.

Colouring books for adults are one of the world’s top leisure (and book-publishing) trends. Quivertree’s unique, all-South African colouring book is beautifully drawn by up-and-coming young SA illustrator Mieke van der Merwe, and enables its interactive users to feed their imaginations with quality creative time.

With intricate illustrations ranging from proteas and fynbos to the Joburg skyline, the Big Five and the Bo-Kaap, this book will help you take a fresh and inspiring new look at the beauty of our diverse – and unique – country.

Inkleurboeke vir volwassenes is steeds baie gewild en daar is eindelose opsies om van te kies en keur. Inligting oor selfdoentegnieke wanneer dit by inkleur kom, is egter nie so volop beskikbaar nie. In hierdie boek deel inkleurkunstenaar, Monique Day-Wilde, alles van die kies van papier, potlode en ander inkleurmateriale, tot die teorie van kleur en kleurvermenging. Sy deel ook basiese en meer gevorderde tegnieke vir spesiale effekte, en wat jy dan met jou inkleurprente kan doen. Leer oor skadutegnieke met enkele of 'n verskeidenheid kleure, afskerming, meng- en vryftegnieke, skep van tekstuur, interessante maniere om groot agtergronde te vul, byvoeging van blinkgoed, stempels met bosseleervloeistof en selfs die gebruik van potloodskaafsels. Daar skuil soveel meer agter inkleurwerk as om net tussen die lyne te hou. Terwyl daar werklik geen regte of verkeerde manier is om in te kleur nie, sal hierdie boek jou help om inkleurwerk te omskep in 'n ervaring wat sal lei tot 'n kunswerk waarop jy kan trots wees - net vir jouself, of om mee te spog by ander.

Colouring books for adults are still all the rage and everybody is spoilt for choice more than ever. How-to information when it comes to colouring is not as prolifically available. In this book colouring artist Monique Day- Wilde tells all, from choosing your paper, pencils and other colouring materials to theory of colour and colour mixing, basic and advanced techniques to special effects and what to do with your coloured pages. Learn about shading with single or multiple colours, resists, blending and burnishing, creating texture, interesting ways to fill large backgrounds, adding bling, stamping with embossing fluid and using shavings. There is so much more to colouring than just staying between the lines. While there really is no right or wrong way, this book will help you turn it into an experience, resulting in a work of art you will be proud of - just for yourself, or to show around.

What better place to daydream than in the garden. With these original designs artist Monique Day-Wilde spirits you away from the drudgery and stress of daily routine and invites you to join her in a magical world of flowers and vegetation where all is calm and tranquil. More than 30 full-page designs, from simple outlines to intricate paisley-style combinations, offer hours of colouring bliss. The smaller size will fit in your handbag, making this book ideal to carry with you everywhere so you can enjoy waiting time being creative instead of getting frustrated. Designs are printed on good quality paper on one side only to ensure that there will be no bleed or see-through.

An artist’s canvas reflects the face he chooses to show to the world, but the place in which that art is made is seldom revealed.

Paul Duncan was given unparalleled access into the homes and lives of fifteen of South Africa’s most revered artists. Over countless mugs of coffee or glasses of wine, he listened and observed as they spoke about their lives, loves and the way they make their art. South African Artists At Home takes the reader into some very private spaces, affording us a glimpse of what the artist goes home to at the end of the day.

For some, the work space and home space are irrevocably intertwined. For others, home is a sanctuary. Or perhaps it is the studio that is the sanctuary and home is where ‘real life’ happens.

Either way, if you have an interest in art, artists, and the often bizarre way that making art intersects with living life, you’ll find this book intriguing.

Uplifting Scripture is artistically presented on each page with complimentary artwork, offering an opportunity for reflection and receiving encouragement from God's Word while you lose yourself in the tranquillity of colouring.

With the diversity of design styles, you'll have a hard time deciding which page to colour first! Share the joy and invite others to join you - the perforated pages make this a shareable pastime. When you're finished, hang your artwork for constant inspiration.

The glossy hardcover volume features embossed text and designs and a 2.5 cm coil binding.

• Perforated One-Side Printed Sturdy Pages
• Designed for Fun, Serenity, Calmness & Quiet Inspiration
• Includes Gift Tags, Bookmarks & Cards to Colour
• Presentation Page for Gift-Giving
• Scripture on Every Page
• 18 x 26 cm
• 50 Designs Plus Extras

This book takes you beyond the traditional boundaries of muted, delicate and translucent watercolour to create rich, vivid images, not only with watercolour on paper, but with other media and materials, while still retaining a watery feel and enhancing and expanding the possible textural effects. The projects showcase a mix of water media in familiar and unconventional, experimental ways. These include paint, ink, coloured pencils and fabric dye, with texture mediums forming part of the repertoire. While watercolour paper is used a fair amount, canvases, board and drafting paper or vellum are also incorporated. Some really simple, structured techniques have been covered, which can be followed step by step to achieve a very similar outcome and are suitable for crafty projects. Readers are also encouraged to use the more spontaneous and less controlled techniques (illustrated step by step), to further their own creative path, develop a sense of adventure, learn to take risks and work with their 'happy accidents'. There are lots of things one can do with unsuccessful work and the author has included ideas for incorporating discarded endeavours into new art work. Filled with fabulous ideas for both artists and crafters, even the absolute beginner will be able to play and experiment along with Water marks.

Originally published by the Standard Bank as part of a curated exhibition in May 2011, this prestigious volume celebrates the life and works of Peter Clarke (1929–2014), one of South Africa’s foremost artists. A mere 500 copies were originally published, all taken up at the exhibition, and continued demand has led to its re-release.

Clarke left his job as a dockworker in Simon’s Town to devote himself to art. The wisdom of this decision is reflected in a remarkable career, which extended over some six decades and was acknowledged in the awards of the Order of Ikhamanga (silver) in 2005 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

Listening To Distant Thunder: The Art Of Peter Clarke recounts an artist’s life in the context of the social history of South Africa from the 1940s onwards. His images reflect the social disruption of the Cape Flats, and the trauma of his community’s forced removal from Simon’s Town to the bleak apartheid township of Ocean View. Yet Clarke’s images have avoided bitterness, and his work is a perceptive scrutiny and celebration of life in all its aspects.

Illustrated with over 200 reproductions and photographs, this book was researched and written by well-known South African art historians Philippa Hobbs and Elizabeth Rankin, in close collaboration with the artist over almost seven years.

Blending mythology and memory, Saga Boy follows a young Black immigrant's vibrant personal metamorphosis. Growing up as a clever, willful boy in a tiny village in the tropical forests of Trinidad--raised by his indomitable grandmother, Miss Excelly, and her King James Bible--Antonio Michael Downing is steeped in the legacies of his scattered family, the vibrant culture of the island, and the weight of its colonial history. But following Miss Excelly's death, everything changes. The eleven-year-old Downing seems to fall asleep in the jungle and to wake up in a blizzard: he is sent to live with his devoutly evangelical Aunt Joan in rural Canada, where they are the only Black family in a landscape starkly devoid of the warm lushness of his childhood. Isolated and longing for home, Downing begins a decades-long journey to transform himself through music and performance. A reunion with his birth parents, whom he has known only through story, closes more doors than it opens. Instead, Downing seeks refuge in increasingly extravagant musical personalities: "Mic Dainjah," a boisterous punk rapper; "Molasses," a soul crooner; and, finally, an eccentric dystopian-era pop star clad in leather and gold, "John Orpheus." In his mid-thirties, increasingly addicted to escapism, attention, and sex, Downing realizes he has become a "Saga Boy"--a Trinidadian playboy archetype--like his father and grandfather before him. When his choices land him in a jail cell, Downing must face who he has become. Harnessing the lyricism of an evangelical childhood into a flourishing and unforgettable prose all its own, Saga Boy is a poignant journey of overcoming, belonging, and becoming one's own self.

When a freshly-mummified body is discovered at the Brighton Museum of Natural History, Detective Francis Sullivan is at a loss to identify the desiccated woman. But as Egyptian burial jars of body parts with cryptic messages attached start appearing, he realises he has a serial killer on his hands.

Revenge, obsession and an ancient religion form a potent mix, unleashing a wave of terror throughout the city. Caught in a race against time while battling his own demons, Francis must fight to uncover the true identity of the Embalmer before it's too late...

Hierdie boek neem jou verby die tradisionele voorkoms van ligte, sagte en bykans deurskynende waterverfwerk. Leer hoe om ryk, lewendige beelde te skep nie net met waterverf op papier nie, maar ook met ander mediums en materiaal. Jy behou die waterige gevoel, maar versterk en verbreed die moontlike tekstureringseffek. Die projekte toon hoe verskeie watermediums op bekende dog onkonvensionele maniere gebruik kan word. Verf, ink, kleurpotlode en lapkleursel vorm die kleurkomponent, terwyl tekstuurmediums deel van die repertoire uitmaak. Heelwat projekte is op waterverfpapier, maar skilderdoek, karton en velyn of natrekpapier kom ook voor. Daar is baie eenvoudige gestruktureerde tegnieke wat stap-vir-stap gevolg kan word om 'n baie soortgelyke voorkoms te skep vir handwerkprojekte. Maar lesers word ook aangemoedig om met meer spontane en minder gekontroleerde tegnieke (ook stapsgewys geillustreer) hulle eie skeppende weg te volg en avontuurlustig te wees, risiko's te loop en met hulle gelukkige 'ongelukke' te werk. Minder suksesvolle werk kan op baie verskillende maniere ingespan word en die boek bevat idees oor hoe sulke werk met nuwe kunswerk geinkorporeer kan word. Water-(verf-)kuns is propvol wonderlike idees vir kunstenaars en handwerkers en selfs groentjies sal wil saamspeel en eksperimenteer.

Sandy Griffiths deel eietydse, oorspronklike idees vir 'n verskeidenheid piouter-juwele. Daar is oorbelle, armbande, borsspelde en hangers te kies en te keur. Maak hulle vir jouself of as 'n seer gewaardeerde geskenk. 20 projekte, meestal met foto's van variasies; diagramme vir al die ontwerpe ingesluit; maklik om te maak, steeds stylvol en elegant.

Calligraphy is a classic style of writing that conjures up images of fountain pens and old block-style fonts. The carefully swirling ink is reminiscent of a bygone era when people took the time to handwrite beautiful letters in flowing script. Now, calligraphy is experiencing a fashionable resurgence as people want to step back and learn the slow art of lettering.

The Brush Marker Lettering & Calligraphy Kit takes everything we know and love about calligraphy into the modern day. Featuring a huge 8 brush markers in the kit, as well as a 48-page instructional book and a 32-page sketchbook that discusses all the tips and tricks to creating stunning, modern calligraphic fonts.

• 8 dual-ended brush markers              
• 1 pencil
• 48-page instuction book
• 1 putty eraser
• 32-page sketchbook

A fun and easy way to learn the beautiful craft of calligraphy, Modern Calligraphy has everything needed for enthusiasts to begin, or continue, their journey learning this hand-drawn art form.

This kit includes a calligraphy pen, two nibs, ten ink cartridges, two brush-marker pens, and a 48-page book. Be inspired to create artistic works of calligraphy art as you're guided through various classic and contemporary lettering styles. Learn how to add flourishes to your work and the handy practice pages will help you finesse your technique.

Of dit ou, tweedehandse meubelstukke is wat vernuwe moet word, of 'n moderne stuk wat smag na 'n sagte, verouderde gevoel, hierdie boek wys jou hoe om 'n ou klavier, staalrakke, sementvloere, tafels en stoele, 'n vaal ingeboude kas, baksteenmuur, trappe en selfs 'n hele badkamer met 'n oorspronklike benadering tot verftegnieke in kunswerke te omskep. Die skrywer skop af met basiese inligting oor hoe om kleur en die effek daarvan op jou en die omge wing waarin jy leef te verstaan, gevolg deur 'n beskrywing van die gereedskap en produkte wat jy vir die verskillende tegnieke en projekte nodig het. Duidelike stap-vir-stap foto's en aanwysings toon hoe om die verskillende tegnieke soos kleurwas, laagwerk, verwering, ombre, vergulding, stensilwerk, sleeptegniek, houtgrein en nog vele meer op enige oppervlak in jou huis toe te pas. Meer as 40 inspirerende projekte gaan gepaard met pragtige foto's van die eindresultaat, maklike aanwysings en wenke om te verseker dat jy ook unieke en ongewone stukke kan skep. Hierdie boek bied die perfekte inspirasie om 'n verf kwas op te tel en nuwe lewe aan jou tuiste te gee. So waarvoor wag jy? Gaan verf!