With this book you will learn how to write the beautiful calligraphy that we associate with Celtic culture, and be taught how to develop scripts that are based on original medieval manuscripts into lovely projects to treasure. Starting with the materials you need and basic calligraphy techniques, the book will move on to the development and improvement of skills with design elements, exercises, clear instruction on lettering, using colour, knotwork illustration and illumination, with inspirational examples of Celtic art and lettering. Beginners will find much to help them in this practical guide and more experienced calligraphers will learn much about Celtic influences and the way lettering can be enhanced with stylised knotwork illustration and illumination.
Traditional letterforms can be transformed into unique works of art with an intertwining of colour, art and design. Stylised letterforms are ornament in themselves, but enhanced with knotwork, Celtic swirls and patterns, illumination, colour and design, Celtic calligraphy becomes an exciting art form based in fascinating ancient traditions. This can be taken into the realms of fantasy art, book illustration, crafting, written work -- and into tattoo design.

A beautifully illustrated book exploring the art of Iran and Central Asia from the 5th to the 2nd Millennium BC This richly illustrated book explores the art of ancient Iran and Central Asia between the 5th and 2nd millenniums BC, a time that proved to be one of the region's most prolific periods. Over this period, the first cities arise, strengthen their power and multiply, and undergo continuous innovation. To serve this new world, items are invented and artistry flourishes-jars for storage and transportation of goods, prestigious weapons, jewellery, ceremonial vessels and statuary. Exquisite photography and illustrations throughout the book demonstrate the skilful design and wealth of materials used to create such objects. Ancient Iran was rich in minerals, while Central Asia had precious commodities such as lapis lazuli, gold and tin. Showcasing the distinctive artistic output of the region, magnificent objects from the Sarikhani Collection and other collections come together in this illuminating book. Distributed for the Sarikhani Collection

Learn all you need to know about the significance of rings and how to make various types with step-by-step projects. In this book, Jinks McGrath explains everything you need to know to make different types of rings - from plain bands and Russian wedding rings to tension settings and cast rings. Following her expert advice, you will learn how to make synclastic and anticlastic shapes, how to set stones, how to enamel and how to fuse and texture different metals. The book is also packed with valuable tips about soldering, filing, shaping and polishing, and entire sections are devoted to different types of mounts, settings and finishing techniques. Clearly illustrated, easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions make this book accessible and simple to use regardless of your starting skill level, and the beautiful photographs of rings from an international range of established jewellers provide plenty of inspiration for your own work.

New Bracelets showcases more than 400 bracelets by 200 jewellers, selected from a pool of artists from across the world. This new title by Nicolas Estrada confirms that contemporary jewellery is flourishing: readers will be surprised and delighted with the freshness, diversity, and colourfulness of the many different styles in this collection. It incorporates jewellery designs in a wide variety of materials and approaches, including classic gold, silver, and precious stones, as well as paper, wood, plastic, and resins. This comprehensive selection puts its finger on the pulse of what is happening in the world of jewellery artists right now. It is part of our ongoing series on contemporary jewellery. New Bracelets includes prefaces by Barbara Schmidt and Helen Britton.

Simple, illustrated and step-by-step techniques for creating jewellery from recycled materials. This handbook considers the importance of using recycled and reused materials to minimise the environmental impact of your craft and increase its sustainability potential. Through treatment and presentation, and whilst balancing creativity and necessity versus choice, you can find ideas for making common objects valuable and precious. The variety of projects included teach you how to make a necklace from tin, pendants from keys, use fabric for a cuff, and to use plastic, cardboard, cork and foam to make bangles, necklaces, earrings and brooches. There is also a handy and extensive list of scrapstores and suppliers of recycled materials as well as guidance to find free or cheap materials from other sustainable sources.

In recent years, collectors have come to recognize the beauty and value of Roycroft items, particularly the art metal which is the most available, affordable, and varied of all Roycroft collectibles. Influenced by the English movement that was spearheaded by William Morris, Elbert Hubbard began a new industry dedicated to quality of design and manufacture, from its factories near Buffalo, New York. With 179 full color illustrations, this newly revised & expanded identification and price guide offers Arts and Crafts collectors and dealers an in-depth look at the many objects that were made. Included are bowls, vases, jewelry, desk items, bookends, candlesticks and other items of interest. The text provides the history and background of the company, as well as information about each of the products illustrated. There is also a good selection of original advertising and promotional material.

From the bronze age to the present, molten metal has been poured into molds to create an infinite variety of forms and to serve a variety of functions. This marriage of form and function is what has made figurative cast iron so popular among collectors. This beautiful new book will give the reader insight into the creativity of the designers of cast iron which allowed the mundane objects of life to become interesting works of art and fancy. From doorstops to doorknockers, still banks to lawn sprinklers, bottle openers to bookends, their functionally was hidden in the forms of animals, flowers, buildings, people, and more. Figurative Cast Iron: A Collector's Guide documents this practical art with over 900 beautiful full-color photographs. A price guide will help make this book useful as well as pleasurable.

Most of one's life is not always memorable. I spent a fair amount of my past just chasing the wind, however, I can recall certain events, some of which I will share. I'll stick to glimpses. This is what could be described as a fragmented autobiography; a story told through noteworthy events that have occurred during a colourful life. Some are mystical, some inexplicable. Short stories that involve humour, but most of all love, like threads of gold that run through a lifetime.

Nearly ten years in preparation and production, "Jewelry Concepts and Technology" is the definitive guide and handbook for jewellery makers on all levels of ability. It is also a unique reference source for those not directly active in the field but who wish to gain an understanding of what lies behind the jewellery-making mystique. All traditional as well as innovative contemporary techniques are thoroughly described, making this. The more than 900 photographs in colour and black and white illustrate work of all degrees of complexity and show the incredible range of concepts which jewellers in all times, including today, incorporate in their work. Historic and ethnic jewellery, as well as contemporary work done by approximately 300 jewellers from twenty-six countries, are grouped under particular technical processes. This arrangement dramatically illustrates the mutual bonds between today's creative jewellers and their colleagues: historic style-oriented, and anonymous, tradition-dominated ethnic jewellers. The detailed text is accompanied by 377 illustrations showing tools and processes used to carry out particular techniques. In addition, thirty step-by-step photo demonstrations show master jewellers working from raw material to finished jewels, some of them revealing their methods for the first time. Supplemented by an extensive index, glossaries of jewellery forms and findings, and an international sources supply list, "Jewelry Concepts and Technology" is indispensable for anyone interested in any aspect of jewellery making.

The Pennsylvania Dutch are noted for the beautifully designed and hand-lettered documents known as fraktur. These include birth and marriage certificates, family trees, bookplates, awards, and house blessings. Leading fraktur artist Ruthanne Hartung adapts the craft to modern tastes and needs in this practical how-to book, with information on tools, step-by-step instructions, ideas for design, lettering and coloring techniques, and a variety of projects. An assortment of traditional patterns to apply to personal frakturs are included.

An essential resource for any designer, crafter, artist, or historian, The Complete Pattern Dictionary is the most comprehensive, practical, and beautiful directory of patterns throughout history, covering all periods, styles, and cultures. Throughout history, patterns have come in countless permutations of motif, color, and scale. From the first rhythmic marks pressed onto clay vessels, to the latest digital design, pattern-making has been an essential part of the decorative arts since time immemorial. With 1500 illustrations of patterns from all ages and cultures, The Complete Pattern Dictionary is not only a visual feast, it is the most comprehensive resource available on the subject. The book is arranged thematically according to pattern type, with chapters on Flora, Fauna, Pictorial, Geometric, and Abstract designs. Each pattern includes the name of the pattern, the year of its creation, and a brief description. The categories are supplemented by in-depth features highlighting the work of key designers including William Morris, Sonia Delaunay, Charles and Ray Eames, Lucienne Day, and Orla Kiely, as well as sections detailing the characteristic motifs of key period styles from Baroque to Art Deco.

Japanese screens (byobu) are made of wooden lattices with two to twelve panels, covered with a canvas of paper or fabric. Artists, embracing the dynamic format of screens, incorporated shadows and other elements on the canvas to direct the viewer's eye from one panel to the next. Screens are unique for being beautiful artworks as well as lightweight, portable objects, acting as backdrops for court ceremonies or partitions for intimate tea services. This sumptuous book explores the 1,300-year history of screens created in Japan. In the text, leading experts on Japanese art and culture describe how screens developed from the 8th to the 21st century, from their ceremonial use in royal residences and Buddhist temples to their functional and decorative use in the homes of samurai and aristocracy. The authors examines the stylistic evolution of screens and the wide variety of subjects depicted, such as flying dragons, the passing of seasons, monumental battles, and The Tale of Genji. This book includes 250 colour illustrations, many that are reproduced to full page, and shows the screens to their best advantage with a landscape orientation and large-format size. It features Japanese-sewn binding and is kept in a clamshell box, which contains foldout poster reproductions of six screens housed in a separate pocket inside the box. This volume is an elegant addition to the library of any admirer of Japanese art.

Cutting-edge stamping techniques and designs! Since the publication of Lisa Niven Kelly's first book on metal stamping, the craft has undergone a revolution, with more design stamps available than ever before. This hotly-anticipated followup, authored together with Taryn McCabe, gives you even more new ways to create personalized stamped jewelry. Inside you will learn fresh techniques such as mandala stamping, and find patterns for more than 20 projects: a trendy chevron necklace, chandelier earrings, garden-themed cuff, and more. Easy-to-follow, full color step-by-step photos accompany all basic techniques, as well as the jewelry projects, to guide your way. Discover the unique looks you can achieve working with a variety of metals--silver, copper and brass--while advancing your metalsmithing skills. Whether you're new to metal stamping or your hammer is in need of fresh inspiration, New Stamped Metal Jewelry has the instruction and inspiration you're looking for.

Inspiring Ikebana is the sequel to Exploring Ikebana, the first book by world famous ikebana artist Ilse Beunen. Throughout her career she has been inspired by many different things and as all artists do, she is continually looking for inspiration to create something new and innovative. Having written a comprehensive introduction to the ancient Japanese art of flower arrangement, she reveals in this new book several sources of inspiration: nature, the four seasons, festivals, vases and containers, artificial material, art and emotions. More than 40 stunning ikebana creations, both in traditional and modern styles, are lavishly illustrated with detailed step by step photographs of the creative process, making it easy to follow and achieve a great result.

A beginner's step-by-step guide to creating beautiful silver jewellery. Silver Jewellery Making is a practical beginners' guide to making silver jewellery. Seven step-by-step projects guide you through the core skills and techniques that will enable you to progress to making your own beautiful jewellery. The tried-and-tested projects have been developed by Machi and Janet, who have over 40 years of industry experience teaching others this amazing craft. The emphasis is on teaching good practice and acquiring the basic techniques and skills to give the reader a solid basis for developing their jewellery-making capabilities. Tools are introduced for each individual project, and their uses and correct handling explained. Troubleshooting tips explain how to overcome common problems that may arise. At the end of each project, there are examples of how the skills gained can be used to make other items. The book is perfect for those who wish to start jewellery making either on their own or as a supplement to beginners' classes.

Muthanna, also known as mirror writing, is a compelling style of Islamic calligraphy composed of a source text and its mirror image placed symmetrically on a horizontal or vertical axis. This style elaborates on various scripts such as Kufic, naskh, and muhaqqaq through compositional arrangements, including doubling, superimposing, and stacking. Muthanna is found in diverse media, ranging from architecture, textiles, and tiles to paper, metalwork, and woodwork. Yet despite its centuries-old history and popularity in countries from Iran to Spain, scholarship on the form has remained limited and flawed. Muthanna / Mirror Writing in Islamic Calligraphy provides a comprehensive study of the text and its forms, beginning with an explanation of the visual principles and techniques used in its creation. Author Esra Akin-Kivanc explores muthanna's relationship to similar forms of writing in Judaic and Christian contexts, as well as the specifically Islamic contexts within which symmetrically mirrored compositions reached full fruition, were assigned new meanings, and transformed into more complex visual forms. Throughout, Akin-Kivanc imaginatively plays on the implicit relationship between subject and object in muthanna by examining the point of view of the artist, the viewer, and the work of art. In doing so, this study elaborates on the vital links between outward form and inner meaning in Islamic calligraphy.

The Danner Rotunde, the jewellery room in the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, was opened in 2004. Ambitious activities by the Danner-Stiftung and Die Neue Sammlung - The Design Museum, with the support of renowned jewellery artists such as Hermann Junger, Otto Kunzli and Peter Skubic, bore the fruit of two globally renowned jewellery collections. Today these comprise far in excess of 1,700 jewellery items, presented in pictures for the first time in this synopsis. Interviews with the creative minds behind these two unique collections in the field of studio jewellery enable insights into a previously unknown history, and an illustrated chronology arrives at astonishing results. Biographies on more than 300 jewellery artists also present those who have been virtually forgotten today. An indispensable compendium on the subject of contemporary jewellery art. Text in English and German.

Hand Lettering for Relaxation presents 52 beautiful, whimsical and fun hand lettering techniques based on motivational themes. Readers will love the opportunity to practice the creative art of hand lettering in a way that inspires them and helps them relax. As an example of what's inside, Workshop 1 encourages readers to renew & recharge by writing, It's me time, with the easiest technique for a scripted, calligraphy look. Workshop 2 builds on the theme as readers use their skills from Workshop 1 to write, 'Practice makes progress,'and add a new skill of drawing laurels and wreaths that take their calligraphy to the next level. With each workshop, readers are inspired with a brief introduction reminding them to relax and cultivate joy, then learn step by step how to letter each word of an example lettered design and draw embellishments. With plenty of practice space and a page to draw their own final design, this interactive workbook meets readers' every need. High quality, thick art paper allows readers to utilise their favourite pens and markets, then cut out their finished hand lettered art if they wish. This book is the perfect gift for yourself or friends and family who love crafts, drawing and colouring.

The glorious Manifattura Lenci of Turin is the protagonist of this volume, which presents one hundred and fifty works belonging to the Ferrero Collection. Small plastics and decorative sculptures have made the fortune of this historical manufacture, first active in the field of cloths and dolls, for 'toys in general, furniture, furnishings and children's clothing', and subsequently, since 1927, in the ceramic sector. The Lenci production was inspired by the fashion magazines of its time, between customs and bon ton, reflecting the taste of an era and a society, which had identified in its products the bourgeois status symbol. Lenci was characterised over the years by the creative contribution of important artists such as Sandro Vacchetti, Elena Konig Scavini, Marcello Dudovich, Gigi Chessa, Mario Sturani, and Abele Jacopi, who made the ceramic production unique and inimitable. In 1934 Sandro Vacchetti, former artistic director of Lenci manufactory, founded the successful Essevi ceramics, which follows in the footsteps of Lenci and constitutes a continuation of their style.

Thai silver and Nielloware display exquisite craftmanship and design that rivals better-known genres of silver from Asia. However, there has to date been little written about this fascinating subject. Examining the history and scope of specified Thai silver and Nielloware production dating from the early 19th century to the present, as well as the various forms and designs utilised, long-term collector Paul Bromberg provides a single reference source for both newcomers and seasoned collectors alike.

Craft colorful and unique jewelry with this Asian-inspired craft book. Bracelets embellished with Chinese floral and butterfly motifs, a gold-and-pearl lariat inspired by the fridges of a Persian carpet, and the popular Shamballa bracelet-- these are just a few of the many artful pieces you'll learn to make in this wonderful new DIY jewelry book. Jewelry techniques include: Wire Strung Jewelry Loop & Chain Jewelry Memory Wire Jewelry Knotted Jewelry Elastic Cord Bracelets Suitable for novices and experienced jewelry-making experts alike, some of the projects take just a few minutes to complete, and all of them are fun and inexpensive to do. They result in jewelry that looks great and can be worn anywhere! Most of the 33 jewelry projects in this jewelry making book use materials you can find at any craft store. Each chapter in Creative Beaded Jewelry takes you through the basics of a different stringing method and then sets you on an adventure through the many ways you can use it to create personalized designs.

Tim Gosling is a British interior designer with an international reputation for designing exquisite interiors and beautifully crafted furniture for a range of public and private clients. Classic Contemporary showcases Gosling's recent work and gives the historical context for his designs, with archive drawings and photographs of the work of architects and designers whose work he admires. The book is structured by period, beginning with the eighteenth century and finishing in the twenty-first. Each chapter begins with one page that lists the Design Rules, the Materials and the Leading Figures associated with the era and style. The text of the chapter discusses key architects and designers, particularly those who have influenced Tim or whom he admires, and the style that emerged in that period, illustrated with historical images. The rest of the chapter consists of an extended plate section showing Gosling's interiors and furniture with extended captions in which he comments on the elements of the period's style incorporated into his work. The final chapter has a discussion and photographs of the craftsmanship that goes into the production of the furniture Tim designs. Through these pages, Regency, Victorian, Art Deco or Modernism can be viewed in a new light, resulting in a book that provides a unique insight into the work of one of today's most popular and respected designers.