In a period of meaningless mass manufacturing, our growing appetite for hand-made objects, artisan food, and craft beverages reveals our deep cravings for tradition and quality. But there was a time when craft meant something very different; the Old English word craeft possessed an almost indefinable sense of knowledge, wisdom, and power. In this fascinating book, historian and popular broadcaster Alex Langlands goes in search of the mysterious lost meaning of craeft. Through a vibrant series of mini-histories, told with his trademark energy and charm, Langlands resurrects the ancient craftspeople who fused exquisite skill with back-breaking labour-and passionately defends the renewed importance of craeft today.

It seems bizarre that in a place as crowded, noisy and expensive as London there are still wasted unused spaces. The relentless drive for regeneration across Britain's capital deceives us into thinking that every spare building and patch of ground is under development. But this vast metropolis of more than 10 million people hides many secrets and unexpected treasures from the city's unique 2000-year history. In Abandoned London, read about the Abbey Mills Pumping Station, a facility created in 1858 to deal with 'the Great Stink', and now London's Italian-Gothic cathedral of sewage; or the subterranean Finsbury Park underground reservoir, a space capable of holding five million gallons of water and today used as an occasional movie location; or the remnants of Highgate's overground steam railway station, now a protected bat habitat; or the Clapham deep-level shelters, constructed in World War II and designed to provide protection for locals against aerial bombing raids; or the Haggerston public baths, part of an early 20th century building programme devised to improve London's hygiene. These photographs of abandoned places capture a moment in time. Some of the buildings have since been demolished or refurbished, but many are still there, neglected and uncared for. These places have great value and a rich significance, offering us a glimpse of past worlds.

In the past, studies of the history of bookbinding were mainly concerned with the exterior decoration. This book focuses attention primarily on the physical aspects of the binding and its construction principles. It is an expanded version of a series of lectures delivered by the author while Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam in 1987, supplemented with the results of ten years of intensive research in major libraries on the Continent, the United Kingdom and the USA. It surveys the evolution of binding structures from the introduction of the codex two thousand years ago to the close of the Middle Ages. Part I reviews the scanty physical evidence from the Mediterranean heritage, the early Coptic, Islamic and Ethiopian binding structures and their interrelation with those of the Byzantine realm. Part II is devoted to a detailed analysis of Western binding techniques, distinguishing the carolingian, romanesque and gothic wooden-board bindings as the main typological entities; their structure and function is compared with those of contemporary limp bindings. The book is illustrated with over 200 drawings and photographs and contains a comprehensive bibliography.

The evolution of corkscrew design is clearly presented in extensive text and displayed in over 500 photographs - over 450 in beautiful color - and 1000 U.S. patent drawings dating from 1851 to 1994. Brother Timothy Diener, the former winemaker at the Christian Brothers celler in Napa, California has written the Foreword. The book is arranged chronologically to show the development of designs. Here is a progression of corkscrews from common to unique, in materials from metals to plastics, and in value from inexpensive to priceless. The diversity is amazing. This book is a unique blend of primary research, visual excitement, and friendly dialogue which enriches our appreciation of corkscrews.

Share the excitement with renowned and talented carver Robert Neuenschwander, as you see a whimsical cowboy character bear come to life from a rough block of wood! These methods are not found in any other carving book and will prove to be enlightening to everyone from the pen-knife whittler to the professional carver. Included are over 300 detailed and easy-to-follow close-up color photos, showing blocking, carving, detailing, finishing, and a special section showing Robert's sharpening techniques. Also showcased are a gallery of photos and detailed patterns showing all eight members of the bear family (including holiday favorites, Santa Bear and Mrs. Claus), that everyone is sure to enjoy!

Wood carvers now have patterns and complete instructions for making life-like images of a Cardinal bird, trotting horse, standing deer, and an iIndian with headdress neckerchief slide. These projects are taught in this third volume of the successful Carver's Handbook series through 78 step-by-step pictures and carefully written instructions. 27 clear color photographs show each stage of painting for these popular projects. Mr. Pergrin shares his teaching experience and award-winning carving skills to enable craftsmen of all levels of experience to make their own fine carvings.

Known as pyrography, which literally means "writing with fire," woodburning is a rewarding art that is practically infinite in its applications. This book shows you everything you need to get started in this fun and expressive craft. Award-winning artist and pyrographer Simon Easton takes you from basic woodburning concepts to tips and techniques that encourage your creativity and help you develop your own individual style. His expert lessons teach you all of the essential techniques, from making simple marks to texturing, lettering, shading and finishing. Learn to Burn offers fifteen step-by-step projects for making decorative gifts - from spoons and spatulas to bangles, bowls and bookmarks - illustrated with clear how-to photographs. Fifty bonus patterns will allow you to unleash your creativity on hundreds of additional woodburning projects.

Although much of model engineering work is a matter of making one part to fit another and thus may obviate the need for the sophisticated means of measuring often called for in production engineering, the accuracy of a finished job begins with the exactness of the initial making out and continues with the accuracy of measurements made during the progress of the work. How to use measuring equipment and how to mark out work - not always the simple matter it might at first seem - are essential skills for any engineer and the purpose of this book is to show how they may be acquired and employed.

Learn the secrets to a collection of puzzling projects, designed to mystify and intrigue. There are 12 seemingly impossible woodturned puzzles to make - all with incredibly simple solutions, once you know how. Using old techniques in a new and fascinating way, David Springett shows how to create these tactile and entertaining works of art. With clear step-by-step instructions, photographs and illustrations to follow, plus a wealth of information and guidance on tools, materials and techniques, you'll be mastering the tricks in no time.

There's more to being Irish than kissing a Blarney Stone

Few places on earth match Ireland's romantic attraction and historical legacy. Every year, millions of visitors flock to the ancient sites and burgeoning cities of this enchanted island to immerse themselves in its rich literary, musical, and political heritage.

"The Everything Irish History & Heritage Book" introduces readers to the people, places, and events that have shaped the past and given rise to the unique culture of the Irish people. From the Iron Age to the economic renaissance, this comprehensive account familiarizes readers with Ireland's history and acquaints them with the climate, food, language, and sports that make it truly unique.

Features exhaustive coverage of:

• Celtic mythology and ancient folklore
• The Irish literary tradition--from "The Book of Kells" to "Ulysses"
• The potato famine and the Great Hunger
• The Irish in America and the immigration experience
• The Troubles and the road to peace
• Religion and family life

Wooden puzzles are great projects both for the woodworker who builds them and for the end user who'll derive hours of pleasure trying to solve them. They can be built from scraps of wood with just a few tools that any hobbyist woodworker will have in his or her shop. The key to successful puzzle-making is in maintaining a high level of accuracy so that puzzles go together (and come apart) smoothly and satisfyingly. Menold explains how to build a number of jigs that will allow you to make wooden puzzles to the same exacting tolerances that this master puzzle maker achieves with his collection of classic puzzles.

Create beautiful wooden animal portraits on the scroll saw with Woodworker's Pattern Book. Realistic ready-to-use patterns are provided for 75 fascinating creatures, from exotic predators to familiar backyard friends. Father and son scroll sawing team Wayne and Jacob Fowler have based every design on their own extensive photographic studies of live animals, taken on location in the wild, in zoos, and in nature preserves. Each animal can be cut as a single, freestanding piece of wood. The authors include advice for beginners on getting started, with expert scrolling tips and techniques plus advice on wood preparation, blade selection, cutting strategy, finishing, and display options. A full color photo gallery will inspire you with the range of impressive wildlife projects that you can complete with this book.7 5 realistic, ready-to-use patterns include: Big Cats Alert Siberian Tiger Mountain Lion Cheetah Prowling Jaguar Resting Watchful LeopardPredators Snarling Wolf Red Fox Polar Bear Black Bear with Cubs Florida AlligatorBirds of Prey Golden Eagle Barn Owl with Mouse Peregrine Falcon Sparrow Hawk Osprey with DinnerBackyard Animals Big Horn Sheep Black Tailed Deer Cottage Chipmunk Eastern Massauga Rattlesnake JackrabbitExotic Animals Cape Buffalo Giraffe Mother and Child Rhinoceros Savannah Elephant Peacock Resplendent"

When first published in 1987, "The Art of Turned Bowls" was a work ahead of its time. Now, considering the resurgence in popularity of this woodworking genre, the book is perfectly poised for rediscovery. Retooled with fresh full-color photographs of contemporary bowls featuring the work of award-winning turners from around the world, Richard Raffan's classic has been totally updated to meet the demands of today's turner. With a unique talent for making even the most abstract ideas accessible, the world's most admired turning teacher offers an invaluable wealth of design advice. Practical, informative, and undeniably inspiring, this new edition also expands its exploration of form and developing profiles. Along with a good lathe and a reliable set of tools, "The Art of Turned Bowls "belongs in the shop of every serious bowl turner.

The patchwork is an apt metaphor for the region not only because of its colourfulness and the making of something whole out of fragments but as an attempt to make coherence out of disorder. The seeking of coherence was the exact process of putting together this book and foregrounds the process of Caribbean societies forging identity and identities out of plural and at times conflicting and contested groups that came to call the region home. Within the metaphor of the patchwork however is the question, where are the vernacular needlework artists within the visual art tradition of the Caribbean? The introduction sets out to both clarify and rectify this situation, and several common themes flow through the following essays and interviews. Themes include that that the land and colonization remain baseline issues for several Caribbean artists who stage and restage the history of conquest and empire in varying ways. That artists in the region amalgamate as part of their practice and seem to prefer an open-endedness to art making as opposed to expressing fidelity to a particular medium. That artists and scholars alike are dismantling long-held perceptions of what Caribbean art is thought to be, and are challenging boundaries in Caribbean art. These are among the issues addressed in the book as it looks at ecological concerns and questions of sustainability, how the practices of the artists and their art defy the easy categorization of the region, and the placement of women in the visual art ecology of the Caribbean. The latter is one of the most contested areas of the book. Readers should come away with the sense that questions of race, colour, and class loom large within questions of gender in the Jamaican art scene and that the book, dedicated to Sane Mae Dunkley, aims to insert vernacular needleworkers into the visual art scene in both Jamaica and the larger Caribbean. Audience will include researchers and scholars of Caribbean and African diasporic art, college students, those interested in post-colonial studies, Caribbean artists, art professionals interested in a wider, globalized view of contemporary art; students curious to know about the many phases of art production throughout the Caribbean. General readers interested in the culture of the region.

More than 220 color photos, together with descriptions of over fifty dollmakers' richly varied works and techniques, make up this fascinating overview of the state of the dollmaking art right now. The diverse range of designs, styles and media-from plastic to wood, metal to found objects-serves as an inspiration, a reference, and a summary of the dollmaking world in the early 21st century. The doll artists featured, working across the U.S. and the world, share personal insights about their own experiences with the creative process. They also discuss challenges of aspects like facial detail and expression, material integrity and longevity, embellishments, and construction. For designers, artists, craftspeople, and others, this breathtaking summary captures and reveals today's dollmaking art.