Artists use sketchbooks for a myriad of purposes - to capture a moment, to develop an idea, to record a scene... This book advises on how to enjoy keeping a sketchbook and how to make the most of their use. With practical examples throughout, it is a beautiful and valuable guide that will inspire you to pick up a pencil or brush, mark the page and start your own visual diary. Topics covered include looking at different types of sketchbooks - their size, theme and purpose; ideas for drawing and painting in a sketchbook inside, outside or while travelling and advice on professional sketchbooks and scrapbooks.

Literature on domestic interior decoration first emerged as a popular genre in Britain during the 1870s and 1880s, as middle-class readers sought decorating advice from books, household manuals, women's magazines, and professional journals. This intriguing book examines that literature and shows how it was influenced by the widespread liberalism of the middle class. Judith Neiswander explains that during these years liberal values-individuality, cosmopolitanism, scientific rationalism, the progressive role of the elite, and the emancipation of women-informed advice about the desirable appearance of the home. In the period preceding the First World War, these values changed dramatically: advice on decoration became more nationalistic in tone and a new goal was set for the interior-"to raise the British child by the British hearth." Neiswander traces this evolving discourse within the context of current writing on interior decoration, writing that is much more detached from social and political issues of the day. Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

Using over 290 crisp color images, 25 detailed line drawings, and concise text, Bruce Helmreich guides readers through the steps necessary to build a hand-hammered copper weathervane. This step-by-step guide transforms a sheet of copper into a fully functioning weathervane.Folk art subjects used in American weathervanes are shown, including domesticated and wild animals, birds, occupations, patriotic themes, and transportation. Create your own design or use the complete set of plans included to produce a traditional rooster weathervane. Using basic tools (tin snips and hammers), ageless techniques, and sheet copper available at your local sheet metal shop, this book will teach you how to make a weathervane that will serve your roof for years. Whether you are an experienced metal worker, or a woodworker who is looking for a challenge, this is the book for you.