For over a thousand years stories of Christian belief and great moments in British history have filled the windows of our cathedrals and parish churches. The glow of painted and stained glass, its radiant colours and vivid pictures, has inspired generations of audiences and artists.
This beautifully illustrated book traces the development of a unique art from its earliest beginnings in Anglo-Saxon England to the present day. It includes fascinating descriptions of medieval and renaissance glass, the religious upheavals of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries which saw thousands of windows destroyed, the rebirth of the craft in Georgian and Victorian Britain, and the pioneering of exciting new styles and techniques by modern artists.
Explanations of how stained glass windows are made, the secrets of medieval glaziers, the subjects that can be seen and where the best examples from the seventh to twenty-first centuries can be found add to its pleasures.

This powerful and insightful work offers a bold celebration of the innovative, brilliant artists reclaiming the idea of 'women's work'. In the history of western art, decorative and applied arts - including textiles and ceramics - have been separated from the 'high arts' of painting and sculpture and deemed to be more suitable for women. Artists began to reclaim and redefine these materials and methods, energizing them with expressions of identity and imagination. Women's Work tells the story of this radical change, highlighting some of the modern and contemporary artists who dared to defy this hierarchy and who, through, experimentation and invention, transformed their medium. The work of these women has helped underscore the ongoing value of these art forms within the history of art, championing 'women's work' as powerful mediums worthy of celebration. With biographical entries on each artist featured, as well as beautiful images of their artworks, Women's Work raises up the work of these visionary and groundbreaking artists, telling their stories and examining their artistic legacies.

Beau-He-Me-N-Rib explores the unique original paintings, clay creations and poetry of Mary-Susan Kirkpatrick. Viewers will appreciate the personality of this soulful artist, revealing her natural expression and great sense of shape and color combinations. Mary-Susan's work gracefully flows across each canvas. Readers will enjoy the poetry she writes for her paintings. The artist's lifelong distinctive style continues into three dimensions with a selection of her favorite clay sculptures in matte shades of antiquity. A Virginia native, Mary-Susan Kirkpatrick was born and raised in Richmond, where she graduated from Marymount High School. She earned a BA in studio art with a painting concentration from Providence College in 1993. Mary-Susan lives in Lexington, Virginia.

Illustrated with over 690 brilliant color and black and white photos, the engaging text takes readers through the Mid-century Modern glass made in America. The book is divided into two sections, the first on glass manufacturers and the second on glass decorators and designers. Glass manufacturers covered include Bischoff, Blenko, Cambridge, Duncan & Miller, Erickson, Fenton, Fostoria, A.H. Heisey, Morgantown, Paden City, Seneca, and many more. Glass decorators and designers include Stan Fistick, Fred Press, Gay Fad, Ben Seibel, Russel Wright, and Eva Zeisel, among others. Cold glass decorations displayed include painting, decals, cutting, etching, and all other surface decoration. The beautiful wares, in a range of colors and crystal, covered include giftware, stemware, and tableware. Among the giftware items are beautiful vases, candy dishes, smoking items, and all other items not intended for tabletop use. Textured tumblers are also found among the drinkware explored. This book is a must for anyone who appreciates beautiful glass.

During the eighteenth century, porcelain held significant cultural and artistic importance. This collection represents one of the first thorough scholarly attempts to explore the diversity of the medium's cultural meanings. Among the volume's purposes is to expose porcelain objects to the analytical and theoretical rigor which is routinely applied to painting, sculpture and architecture, and thereby to reposition eighteenth-century porcelain within new and more fruitful interpretative frameworks. The authors also analyze the aesthetics of porcelain and its physical characteristics, particularly the way its tactile and visual qualities reinforced and challenged the social processes within which porcelain objects were viewed, collected, and used. The essays in this volume treat objects such as figurines representing British theatrical celebrities, a boxwood and ebony figural porcelain stand, works of architecture meant to approximate porcelain visually, porcelain flowers adorning objects such as candelabra and perfume burners, and tea sets decorated with unusual designs. The geographical areas covered in the collection include China, North Africa, Spain, France, Italy, Britain, America, Japan, Austria, and Holland.

In her own charming, spirited, and readable style, Beatrice Wood tells us the story of her unorthodox life and her influence on 20th-century art. Rebellious, radical, and romantic, Wood (1893-1998) defied propriety to become a true national, and international, treasure. Her absorbing autobiography includes vintage documents and her own personal photos and sketches of her many famous friends and acquaintances in the art world. She became romantically involved with the Dadaist Marcel Duchamp, and offers rare glimpses into the lives of her circle, including key cultural figures like Constantin Brancusi, Isadora Duncan, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Anais Nin, and Krishnamurti. At age forty Wood studied ceramics and went on to become one of the major ceramists of the 20th century, working until her death at age 105. This captivating chance to enjoy Wood's rare charisma and spirit provides a better understanding of American art and the people who have shaped it.

In Conscious Crafts: Pottery, maker Lucy Davidson reveals the meditative nature of working with clay and its wellbeing benefits for slowing down, creativity and mindfulness. Making is mindfulness made practical, and pottery is a popular meditative craft. Drawing on the traditions of hand making, Lucy has created 20 modern makes with air dry and polymer clay - all without the need for a wheel or kiln: imperfect pots; coasters; necklace beads; abstract earrings; terrazzo-style bracelets; bird brooches; pinch pot tea holders; light pull; incense holder; botanical & feather wall hangings; festive decorations; potted herb markers; clay 'leaf' bowls; plant hanger pots; indoor planters; miniature bunting; serving dishes; and seaside vases. She shares the basic techniques to pottery and shows how these can be explored and personalized for different projects, as well as making your own clay and memories. Clean photography, contemporary illustration and heart-affirming text are beautifully mixed together to celebrate art of making for a handmade future. Packed with inspiring ideas and practical guidance, Conscious Crafts: Pottery gives you the raw skills to get started with this fulfilling craft, and shows how the pottery experience and the satisfaction of creating your own unique makes can create happiness. The Conscious Crafts series places mindfulness and well-being at the heart of making. Picking out proven meditative crafts and bespoke authors, these practical, contemporary guides are an inviting introduction to reconnecting head, heart, and hands. Also available from the series: Conscious Crafts: Quilting/Knitting/Whittling.

When your favorite cup is broken, kitsugi can bring new life. Instead of lamenting the breakage embrace and love the opportunity to create something new and beautiful through mending. This is the appeal of kintsugi. Kintsugi is the mindful Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics and glassware by appreciating the cracks and chips as design elements--bringing new life to cherished items. Kintsugi:The Wabi Sabi Art of Japanese Ceramic Repair shares traditional methods you can practice in your own home. Step-by-step lessons in repairs suited to every level of experiences--filling cracks to completely rebuilding and finishing a broken piece--fill the pages of this in-depth yet unintimidating guide. Ceramics and lacquer guru Kaori Mochinaga offers a complete course in using urushi lacquer and metallic powder in the traditional Japanese way. Your broken piece soon becomes whole again, and more meaningful than ever before. From assessing the damages and selecting the repair methods, to applying the finishing touches, you'll learn all the essential kintsugi techniques, including: How to seal a fine crack or repair a chipped rim Techniques for rebuilding a shard, restoring a handle, even reconstructing a multi-shard piece And much more--and all of it with the use of non-toxic lacquers and powders There's something here for every type of repair--from clean, simple breaks to more challenging reconstructions as you learn the techniques. Assemble your tools, set up your workspace, and let this book guide you through the mindful art of kintsugi!

This book offers creative ways to transform plain glass bowls, vases, mirrors, picture frames, plant pots and other home accessories. You can use the timeless craft skills of painting glass, stained-glass construction and glass mosaic to produce traditional and contemporary objects to decorate your home. You can paint small decorative motifs to champagne glasses, paint bold, abstract designs on an unusual window hanging, or 'etch' a design into a glass vase. You can make a trinket box or a decorative planter using easy-to-follow techniques of cutting glass and soldering, reproduce the effect of stained-glass windows with self-adhesive lead, or learn the art of mosaic using glass tesserae to decorate plant pots, lantems and a tabletop. Working creatively with glass is a skill that anyone can learn and the range of specialist craft materials and equipment available is increasing, helping to make light work of traditional crafts. This practical, highly illustrated book presents over 40 beautiful projects to create.Using the distinct techniques of painting glass, cutting and glass construction, stained-glass effects and glass mosaics, each chapter opens with material and equipment lists as well as pages of techniques that explain all you need to know to achieve success. From a Venetian perfume bottle and leaded picture frames to stylish glass window decorations these projects are sure to inspire.

Contemporary Raku is a complete guide to this exciting, dramatic and beautiful art form. It explains the making, glazing and firing methods employed for producing Raku-ware, and features contributions and insights from leading makers. Recognizing the deeper values of the practice, the book also considers the influences and sources of inspiration behind the work of these makers. It introduces the necessary tools and equipment, and advises on essential health and safety measures. It explains how to make vessels and forms with step-by-step photo sequences. Recipes for clay bodies and glazes for the beginner and the more experienced maker are included. Details are given on the Raku-firing process and the range of kilns used. Finally, it explores the practice of 'Naked Raku'. With over 300 illustrations, it is a stunning and detailed account to this magical process.

An essential handbook for studio potters working towards achieving a fantastic spectrum of colourful glazes. Colour in Glazes teaches you all the methods for achieving colour in glazes, focusing on colouring oxides in detail, including the newly available rare earth oxides. Find out about the types of base glazes and the fluxes used to make them in relation to colour response as well as using colouring oxides to achieve depth and variety of colour, rather than resorting to commercial ceramic stains. Discover the practical aspects of mixing, applying, testing and adjusting glazes, and explore a large section of test tiles and glaze recipes for use on white earthenware, stoneware and porcelain fired in electric, gas and salt kilns. This new edition, fully updated and revised, contains advances in technology and new discoveries in the Periodic Table. It is an infallible handbook to achieving the colour you want, and to help you broaden your palette.

Discover a world of creative and colourful jewellery making from the comfort of your own home. In this comprehensive guide to modern polymer clay techniques, artist and designer Heidi Helyard reveals the simple techniques that can be used to create one-off, contemporary jewellery pieces with minimal tools and equipment. Polymer clay is possibly one of the most accessible yet versatile art materials currently available. As readily accessible and easy to use as paint, you can make everything (and anything) with it, from sculptures and figurines, to artworks, decorations, homewares, and wearable jewellery. It's lightweight, flexible and strong. No special tools or equipment is required to cure it, it is relatively cheap, and you only need to start with the primary colours, plus black and white, to mix any colour you like. Polymer clay, which has been around for nearly 80 years, is currently finding itself popular amongst contemporary jewellery makers as the bright colours and sheer versatility of the material allows makers to create bold and graphic modern designs. The beauty of polymer clay is that it presents so many opportunities to explore colour combinations, patterns and texture. In this book you will learn 10 easy yet exciting techniques including slab and cane making, marbling and colour mixing, inlay techniques, printing onto clay, surface embellishments and more to create 20 unique jewellery pieces. The projects in this book vary in complexity, but are accessible to both novice and advanced makers alike. If you are a beginner, the extensive step-by-step photos and instructions will help you develop your polymer clay skills and complete the projects with confidence. As you build your skills and learn the techniques via the book, you will realise that you can combine techniques to create all-new results. The skills you learn in this book will open up a limitless world of further experimentation for you to discover. Just make, bake and wear!

• Step-by-step photos illustrate the entire lamp-making process
• Includes full-size, fold-out patterns to make 12 beautiful shades
• Features "Pro Tips" from a master glass artist

A desktop or hanging lamp is a popular project for the beginning or experienced stained-glass crafter. This handsomely illustrated guide offers techniques to make any number of lamps, from simple, contemporary shades to elaborate Tiffany styles. How to create and work with patterns, assemble panels, use a lamp jig, solder and patina, tin and attach caps, select a base--all the steps necessary to create beautiful heirloom pieces.

Ceramics is one of the most vibrant and engaging fields of contemporary British art. This lavishly illustrated book reviews the work of twenty-two artists and celebrates their contribution to its rich landscape. Written from a collector's point of view, it explores what contemporary ceramic objects can mean, what emotions they evoke and how artists draw upon different facets of the art and crafts worlds in their work. A vital visual and critical resource, Contemporary British Ceramics showcases British ceramics as a compelling interdisciplinary practice, attuned to the contemporary world. Featuring more than 280 images, it encourages readers to look beneath the surface, to discover the vibrant contribution that British ceramics makes to the broad field of contemporary art.

A new coloring book featuring 30 drawings of beautiful Pueblo pottery designs for you to complete Pueblo pottery is renowned for its extraordinary beauty and craftsmanship. Pueblo is a Spanish wording meaning 'town' or 'village'. When the Spanish arrived in 1540 in what is now known as the American Southwest, they referred to the Indigenous communities and their settlements as Pueblos. The Pueblos are among the oldest settlements in North America, and their pottery-making tradition is as old as the ancient Pueblos themselves. Pottery is used throughout the life of a Pueblo person, and various forms are made for cooking, gathering water, food storage, and ceremonial use. The Coloring Book of Pueblo Pottery features more than 30 drawings for you to complete, whether by reproducing the traditional palettes or by finding inspiration in the swirling or geometric patterns and stylized motifs for a unique design of your own. Made predominantly by women, the pots are created from natural clay using a coil method; they are hand-painted and then fired outdoors. Designs vary from one Pueblo to another, but symbols and motifs relating to the natural world - birds, deer, plants, and water - are common. Today, such pottery is highly collectible and is found in museums and private collections around the world. This delightful coloring book allows you to create your very own masterpieces of this celebrated and cherished art form.

Stroll through Victorian Europe to the German state Silesia and trace the escape route used by members of the Ohme family as they fled from Russian soldiers in World War II. Visit the tomb of Hermann and his wife Anna in Dresden which had been thought to be lost forever. Discover the endless variety of the beautiful porcelain pieces and the secrets to correctly identifying your Ohme collection. This book is an in-depth look at identifying and classifying Old Ivory China and Clear Glaze Porcelains. See clear and accurate photos of newly discovered marks, blanks and patterns to satisfy your desire to identify every piece of your cherished collection. For Ohme collectors everywhere. ALMA HILLMAN is an antique dealer for over 30 years who has specialized in the porcelain of Hermann Ohme since moving to Maine in 1986. She and her husband Les, ran a successful antiques shop in Searsport, Maine for the next twenty years. Along with David Goldschmitt, she published the groundbreaking book on the elusive topic of Old Ivory China, entitled "Old Ivory China: The Mystery Explored" through Collector's Books in 1998. A charter member of the national Society for Old Ivory and Ohme Porcelain, she served as president, vice president and auction chairman. After traveling to Germany and Poland to further research Ohme porcelain she and David began the arduous task of an expanded and updated resource. DAVID GOLDSCHMITT has been a practicing Emergency Physician for the past 25 years with a specialty in Disaster Medicine and Homeland Security. He has been an avid collector of porcelain for over twenty years with a passion to solve a good mystery. Born and raised in New Jersey, his ties to Maine date back to his childhood. Old Ivory China, imported so heavily in Maine, is the representation of this second home. He is also the author of "Medical Disaster Response."

H. Leslie Moody and Frances Johnson Moody never owned the company outright, but their dreams shaped North Carolina's Hyalyn Porcelain, Inc. and drove it forward to the satisfaction of an emerging, increasingly modern post-World War II America. Hyalyn's reputation for high quality led to its association with top designers like Michael and Rosemary Lax, Eva Zeisel, Georges Briard, Charles Leslie Fordyce, Herbert Cohen, Erwin Kalla, and Esta Brodey. Before moving to North Carolina in 1945, ceramic engineer and designer Less Moody prepared to organize and operate Hyalyn Porcelain, Inc. From Zanesville's Mosaic Tile Company, Ohio State University's ceramics department, Love Field Pottery, Abingdon Pottery, San Jose Potteries, and Rookwood Pottery, he gained expertise in clay formulation, glaze chemistry, product design, plant operation, project planning, advertising, and employee management. With the aid of investors, his dream came true when, in 1946, Hyalyn's first lamp bases and flower containers emerged from the shop's tunnel kiln. Thoroughly documented and illustrated with 425 images, hyalyn: America's Finest Porcelain is a complete history of Hyalyn Porcelain, Inc., and its successors, Hyalyn Cosco, Hyalyn, Ltd., and Vanguard Studios.

This title features 25 exciting projects to create, using glass, tiles and marble. The ancient art of mosaic-making celebrated in inspirational designs and practical projects. It offers complete step-by-step instructions for 25 original and innovative mosaic projects. It features a gallery of inspirational examples of the finest mosaics from contemporary artists. It is a comprehensive guide - from getting started to advanced designs - with everything you need to know about materials, tools, adhesives and how to use them, and all the techniques you will need. It is the definitive modern approach to a traditional craft. It is a fascinating approach to mosaics, shown in over 300 specially commissioned photographs, which clearly illustrate each stage. Mosaic-making is a classic art that uses marble, vitreous glass and smalti. As well as using traditional materials, mosaics can be made with crockery, tiles, mirrored glass and metal. It is this versatility, as well as its decorative qualities, which makes the craft so appealing. The principles of mosaic-making are easy to master, and this book gives practical advice on all the basic techniques. A comprehensive introduction details all the materials you will need to produce exquisite mosaics, from the traditional to the contemporary, including expert advice on adhesives and tools. There are 25 exciting projects to create, including stylish and functional objects as diverse as a patterned firescreen, an abstract table top, an Aztec-style trinket box, a Roman-influenced urn, and many other original decorative accessories. With innovative projects and instructional photography, this volume is both a visual source book and practical reference guide to an exciting craft.

Transform areas and items in your home into beautiful works of art! Eye-catching and a lot of fun to do, this introductory guide to mosaic art (literally) covers everything, from window sills, wall murals, and coffee tables to flower pots, picture frames, trays, and so many more decorative pieces for both the home and garden! With 16 beautiful projects to create, supply lists, step-by-step photography and captions, helpful tips, and everything you need to know about the materials, tools, and techniques to make colorful works of art, this is the go-to guide for starting a brand new hobby in mosaics!

Let go of your pretensions squeeze, shape, knead & play your way to spiritual growth.

I am being formed by the clay. I am reconnecting with the earth, and with the other basic elements, too air, water, fire and life itself. Every gesture leaves its trail in the clay. Every fingerprint, a message. My breath fills the cavity. My touch curves the wall of a bowl. And inwardly, I am being formed by the outward practice. I am learning to trust the process, to lean into the possibilities rather than striving for some predetermined goal. I am being hollowed out, stretched and constricted, trimmed and sometimes reworked entirely. from the Prologue

Drawing from her first-hand experience of working with clay, Marjory Zoet Bankson takes you through the seven-step process of making clay into a pot, drawing parallels at each stage to the process of spiritual growth: Grounding Connecting with our core elements Kneading Awakening to the inner realm Centering Gathering everything togetherShaping Focusing inner and outer pressures Finishing Trimming away the excessDecorating Adding a playful touch Firing Committing to transformation

This simple connection with the earth has the potential to put you in touch with the whole of creation and, at the same time, your soul s longing to participate as an artist, creating something new and unique.

Through reflective questions in each chapter along with a wealth of unique clay projects that even beginners can do Bankson invites you on a journey of spiritual discovery, a path of reconnecting with your body and spirit, and with the earth itself."

Sir Percival David made one of the finest collections of Chinese ceramics outside Asia. It includes many items of imperial quality, with beautiful examples of extremely rare Ru and guan wares as well as the famous David vases. Their inscriptions date to 1351, making them an internationally acknowledged yardstick for the dating of Chinese blue and white porcelain. Here are 50 selected highlights, all illustrated with colour photographs taken especially for this publication. The accompanying text provides details and draws out the important features of each piece. The range and scope of the collection provide the material for a stunning overview and accessible introduction to Chinese ceramic art.