Paths of Discovery: Art Practice and Its Impact in California Prisons tells the story in words and pictures of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men and women who found their own voices through self-examination and the discipline of an artistic process. The California Arts-in-Corrections program brought together inmate artists and artist-teachers to explore the world of fine art in its many forms; along the way, countless inmates discovered untapped skills, sensitivities, and the rewards of self-discipline. Artistic ability is respected inside prison walls. Arts-in-Corrections empowered men and women to take control of their lives through creative expression in the visual arts, poetry, music and other fine arts. The mission of Arts-in-Corrections was to provide inmates with the highest quality instruction, delivered by successful, working artists - many of whom became role models and mentors to the inmates. The program was established in 1980 and sadly ended in 2010 - a victim of the state's budget crisis. The program was proven to have significantly reduced institutional tension, violence and recidivism. By travelling with their teachers down paths of discovery, inmate artists were enabled to retain their humanity while doing time. Many of them learned to serve something more valuable than their sentences. The photographs in this book show many of the inmate artists at work, and their finished products. Through interviews and poetry you will hear in their own voices how prison arts programming helped them transcend their prisoner ID numbers and identify as artists. This book documents the existence - inside the razor wire and bleak walls of prison - of some talented and sensitive artists who have found new paths of discovery through the artistic process.

This little book contains over sixty new contra, circle and square dances, along with notes on performance dancing and contra dance classes.

Book for Holi-a celebration of spring, color and a reminder of the divine love between Radha and Krishna.

"For the first time, the real story behind the Highwaymen has emerged . . . a well-researched, lively, and comprehensive overview of the development and contribution of these African-American artists and their place in the history of Florida's popular culture."--Mallory McCane O'Connor, author of "Lost Cities of the Ancient Southeast"

"The Highwaymen" introduces a group of young black artists who painted their way out of the despair awaiting them in citrus groves and packing houses of 1950s Florida. As their story recaptures the imagination of Floridians and their paintings fetch ever-escalating prices, the legacy of their freshly conceived landscapes exerts a new and powerful influence on the popular conception of the Sunshine State.

While the value of Highwaymen paintings has soared in recent years, until now no authoritative account of the lives and work of these black Florida artists has existed. Emerging in the late 1950s, the Highwaymen created idyllic, quickly realized images of the Florida dream and peddled some 100,000 of them from the trunks of their cars.
Working with inexpensive materials, the Highwaymen produced an astonishing number of landscapes that depict a romanticized Florida--a faraway place of wind-swept palm trees, billowing cumulus clouds, wetlands, lakes, rivers, ocean, and setting sun. With paintings still wet, they loaded their cars and traveled the state's east coast, selling the images door-to-door and store-to-store, in restaurants, offices, courthouses, and bank lobbies.
Sometimes characterized as motel art, the work is a hybrid form of landscape painting, corrupting the classically influenced ideals of the Highwaymen's white mentor, A. E. "Bean" Backus. At first, the paintings sold like boom-time real estate. In succeeding decades, however, they were consigned to attics and garage sales. Rediscovered in the mid-1990s, today they are recognized as the work of American folk artists.
Gary Monroe tells the story behind the Highwaymen, a loose association of 25 men and 1 woman from the Ft. Pierce area--a fascinating mixture of individual talent, collective enterprise, and cultural heritage. He also offers a critical look at the paintings and the movement's development. Added to this are personal reminiscences by some of the artists, along with a gallery of 63 full-color reproductions of their paintings.
Gary Monroe, professor of visual art at Daytona Beach Community College, is a documentary photographer with a long-time interest in "outsider" and vernacular art. His work has been recognized with numerous exhibitions and awards, including grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fulbright Foundation, and he has been a popular lecturer for the Florida Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau. His photographs have been published in "Cassadaga: The South's Oldest Spiritualist Community" (UPF, 2000), which he coedited; "Life in South Beach" (1989); and "Florida Dreams" (1993). He lives in DeLand, Florida.

RT Vegas presents: HAPPY FUN PICTURE BOOK A picture book of curious creatures illustrated by RT Vegas. This 64 page full color book contains 94 images of original art. Sometimes strange and often funny. Entertaining art for kids, adults and the kid in all of us. "Just the kind of picture book that tickles the fancy of little ones, while adults will enjoy the simple but expressive illustrations..." *** "The comic scenes help retain the book's entertainment value through repeated viewings..." *** "See a variety of monsterous creatures in this raucous picture book illustrated by RT Vegas..." *** "Sometimes a little more serious but still fun for kids (and adults) of all ages " *** "Using vivid illustrations Mr. Vegas cleverly tells stories or engages the mind of the viewer..." *** "Kids who cannot yet read are often more observant of the stories pictures tell than the rest of us. They will "read" these books all on their own, but established readers will not be bored with the original illustrations..." *** "This is one you will enjoy again and again. Each page is filled with so many funny details that it takes several viewings to take it all in..." *** "As in the best wordless books, this lovely, lavishly colored picture book works on many levels for many ages..." *** "Any true lover of Mr. Vegas' art will surely be enthralled with this collection of goodies. I for one must have a copy to enrich and emerge my life in the true meaning of art to enlighten one's soul in today's otherwise disturbing world." Frankie Teardrop...Art in the Modern World Review *** RT Vegas is an outsider artist and punk rock legend. Co-founder of the 70s punk band The Imposters, his artwork could be found all over the New York streets from the 70s to the 90s. You will see elements of art brut, graffiti, abstract, pop art and cartoon illustration in his paintings along with a definite lack of pretentiousness. This is folk art for the punk new age... RT Vegas is a true original Bill Shafer-Hyaena Gallery, Burbank California

Pictar Buk is the resulting bi-product of an ongoing art project of my postings to Facebook. Someone asked why don't you tell us what these things are and put words to them? While not wholly necessary, why not?

Painted screens have long been synonymous in the popular imagination with the Baltimore row house. Picturesque, practical, and quirky, window and door screens adorned with scenic views simultaneously offer privacy and ventilation in crowded neighborhoods. As an urban folk art, painted screens flourished in Baltimore, though they did not originate there--precursors date to early eighteenth-century London. They were a fixture on fine homes and businesses in Europe and America throughout the Victorian era. But as the handmade screen yielded to industrial production, the whimsical artifact of the elite classes was suddenly transformed into an item for mass consumption. Historic examples are now a rarity, but in Baltimore the folk art is still very much alive.

"The Painted Screens of Baltimore" takes a first look at this beloved icon of one major American city through the words and images of dozens of self-taught artists who trace their creations to the capable and unlikely brush of one Bohemian immigrant, William Oktavec. In 1913, this corner grocer began a family dynasty inspired generations of artists who continue his craft to this day. The book examines the roots of painted wire cloth, the ethnic communities where painted screens have been at home for a century, and the future of this art form.

This amazing collection of polymer clay masks features many full sized (between 8 and 15 inches tall) masks made of polymer clay and also includes several hundred miniature masks that are sized to fit inside a three inch square. Masks of all sizes were created by a wide array of artists from around the world. The miniatures were made as part of annual Internet based "swaps" from 1998 to 2009. These fabulous works of wearable art utilize all sorts of techniques and can include other media like feathers or beads with the unifying themes being polymer clay and the size--all the other elements are up to the individual artists. By participating in and hosting these art exchanges for many years, the author has assembled a wonderfully diverse selection of more than 500 masks images shared here in these pages.

Outsider Art by new and emerging artists in all mediums. Learn about their unique processes and inspirations for this personal style of art. Full color images to explore over and over again

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

A self taught artist, at the age of 40 David Sheskin created the first of hundreds of unique and imaginative works of art he would produce over the next thirty years. Initially working in pen and ink, during the 1980s and 1990s most of his drawings were published in numerous magazines, as well as in the book Magician With a Pen: The Collected Drawings of David J. Sheskin (Wingspan Press, 2007). Now for the first time the artist's more recent work is presented in a single volume in this visually stunning book which represents a collection of paintings, sculpture, mixed media works, and digital illustrations created by David Sheskin during the past 20 years. It contains more than 500 imaginative and uplifting images that are characterized by the artist's dramatic use of color and form. The book is divided into 18 galleries - each gallery being characterized by a specific theme that captured David Sheskin's imagination at a particular point in time. Many of the images in the book have been published within the format of calendars (by Avalanche Publishing and Pomegranate Communications, as well as in calendars published in Europe), note cards, jigsaw puzzles, and children's games. All of David Sheskin's art is available within the format of giclee fine art prints, and can be accessed on his website The Art of David Sheskin (www.davidjsheskin.com)

This publication is a survey of European hand tools, from various woodworking and other trades, dating from the 16th century to the 19th century. The tools that are illustrated and analysed were either made decoratively or received surface decoration, often incorporating ancient symbols, dates and owners initials. Although all the tools featured were made to be primarily functional, the focus of the book is on the aesthetic qualities that transform such tools into examples of genuine folk art. Planes, braces, axes, compasses, saws and chisels, etc, are featured, including many that have not been previously recorded or published. The tools presented, via photographs, drawings and paintings have been sourced from various national museums across Europe and from private collections too.

Elisabeth Faulhaber was born in south west Germany in 1890. By the time she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Doesen near Leipzig in 1914, she had worked in a factory, been a chambermaid and a waitress, and had had a child out of wedlock. She was an inmate of the hospital for six years, dying of tuberculosis in 1921, at the age of 31.She wrote, she drew and - according to hospital notes - scribbled unstoppably on furniture, floor, walls. A handful of her drawings survive, and six small notebooks. These now form part of the Prinzhorn Collection, Heidelberg. The notebooks show Elisabeth Faulhaber to have been intelligent and questioning. She was also often muddled to an extreme. Her work is imbued with sensibility. The notebooks varied subject matter and range of graphic invention show a wonderful artistic talent.Sarah Jacobs rendition of the notebooks contains more than 550 drawings by Faulhaber but, although the rendition contains one page for every page of the notebooks, it is not a facsimile. Instead, black and white photographs of the drawings have been reversed, and then partly erased so that what is presented is both faithful to the original, and insistently the opposite. Freely translated extracts from the Faulhaber 's texts have also been included, together with a selection of the poems and songs which Faulhaber copied into her notebooks. These have been left in the original German. The rendition has been produced in association with Sammlung Prinzhorn, UniversitaetsKlinikum, Heidelberg.Sarah Jacobs is an artist living in London.

Origami Alfresco is a quirky and unusual portfolio of clear diagrams for 50 of David Mitchell's simple yet amazing origami designs, created from the contrast between the white and coloured sides of standard origami paper, and includes sections on Animals and People, Inanimate Objects, Double Images, The Sea and Landscapes. As you would expect from the author, many of these designs are much more than just static sketches. Some, like Freefall/Limbo, can be viewed in several completely different ways, while others, like Lovebird or Dogfish turn from one thing into another. There are action designs, like Shark Attack and Hull Down, optical illusions like Head to Head and Paradozocal Object, and even a Find the Lady puzzle as well. This book is both simple enough for complete beginners but also one that the origami aficionado will cherish and enjoy. This second edition has been completely revised and expanded. Half the designs are new to this second edition.

Thousands of artists have exhibited and sold their work at the Traditional Spanish Market of Santa Fe, New Mexico in the sixty years it has been in existence. This book is a record of the 186 artists who participated in the 2010 Market. They stand as testament to all who have been there before. Donna Pedace has been the National Director of OASIS (Older Adult Service and Information System, Inc.), based in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Executive Director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. Before joining the Spanish Colonial Arts Society, sponsor of the Traditional Spanish Market of Santa Fe, she was the Executive Director of the New Mexico Multicultural Center.

Ticket to the Unknown considers the schizophrenic texts of Alo se Corbaz, an Art Brut artist better known for her drawing than her writing. Both a translation of texts and a commentary on dilemmas of reading and translation in artist's writing, this book explore the limits of the sayable and the visible as well as the corporeality of text itself. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jina Valentine has exhibited widely in the United States and internationally, including Steve Turner Gallery, Jack the Pelican Presents, The Drawing Center, and The Studio Museum in Harlem. She received the Joan Mitchell MFA Fellowship and has participated in residencies at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Women's Studio Workshop, Sculpture Space, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She received her BA from Carnegie Mellon University and her MFA from Stanford University. She is represented by Patricia Sweetow Gallery in San Francisco and Fleisher/Ollman Gallery in Philadelphia. She currently lives and works in Paris. Ticket to the Unknown is published by Future Plan and Program, a provisional publishing project featuring newly-commissioned literary works by visual artists.

Created in 1993 with the hypnotic assistance of my 5 year old son Liaizon. All glyphs were generated with an archaic bitmap font editor. Text printed in Glitch Millenium designed by mIEKAL. This project follows the Semioptics font project which has has yet to be completed. "mIEKAL aND is busy recreating a past both futuristic and ancient."

From the dusty workshops of village potters to the pristine assembly lines of modern factories; from the makers of pottery to the producers of porcelain in selected areas of Mexico and Denmark, the authors observed, interviewed, and photographed ceramic artists at their work. The result is a story of persistence, inspiration, collaboration and intrigue, success and failure, along with individual eccentricities in the process of making ceramic art for an international market. The story is not only that of the potter's wheel, but of the wheel of time over which the lowly village potter evolves as professional artist who eventually, in some instances, rejects making corporate porcelain in favor of returning to clay and kiln. The Mexican communities are near Guadalajara. The Danish settings include the towns of Naestved, Sorring, the island of Bornholm and, in Copenhagen, the porcelain giants Royal Copenhagen and Bing and Grondahl contrasting large scale corporations with small pottery factories. Researched in the 1970s, the abandoned manuscript, recently rediscovered, appears here as written then with current material added to inform and update the historical ethnography, providing a rare opportunity to follow up on people and predictions, after thirty years, to identify change, decay and fulfillment.

A collection of drawings and paper cuttings by Jad Fair.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.