An exciting new subject for woodcarvers is shared by one of its foremost artists. James Fliger introduces fish carving by presenting four projects: the rainbow trout, the bluegill sunfish, the black crappie, and channel catfish. A graphic artist by profession, Jim has created beautiful patterns and drawings to help the carver. The book is further illustrated with black-and-white photographs showing the carving techniques in the step-by-step fashion that is so helpful to wood carvers. For the all-important painting steps, color graphics are used with photographs to give the readers an accurate view. Additionally, color photographs from nature and a portfolio of size-winning fish carving is presented.

The book represents a continuation of research begun by Cooper in Hong Kong in the early 1970s among expatriate artisan furniture makers and woodcarvers from Dongyang County, Zhejiang Province. He now sets out to investigate the fate of the same craft in the hands of the same folk under totally different socio-economic conditions in their native county in communist People's Republic of China.

The book represents a continuation of research begun by Cooper in Hong Kong in the early 1970s among expatriate artisan furniture makers and woodcarvers from Dongyang County, Zhejiang Province. He now sets out to investigate the fate of the same craft in the hands of the same folk under totally different socio-economic conditions in their native county in communist People's Republic of China.

The accumulation of odds and ends of bar and rod is inevitable with any lathework, but rather than throw them into an ever-growing scrap-box, why not turn them into useful little tools to simplify and speed up future work?

In this book Stan Bray describes a variety of small implements, none of which demands much material or takes more than an evening to make.

You may not see an immediate need for some of them but once made it is surprising how often they will be used. There is also the satisfaction of turning what might be wasted into something useful and the knowledge that money has been saved.

Akin to having a one-on-one carving course with a master carver, this resource-a collection of tips and tricks honed over many years-mentors newcomers and serious beginning woodcarvers alike. A comprehensive guide for those who want to learn carving, this manual provides a handful of lessons, including how to choose the best woods, safe tool handling tips, making cuts, and executing a variety of techniques. The careful step-by-step instructions that are explained in a warm conversational voice help novice crafters find quick success and encouragement as they work on a number of carving motifs and three projects for both relief and in-the-round styles. For serious beginners eager to know more about a timeless craft, this go-to reference provides an answer to every question. Introduction SECTION I: CARVING TOOLS AND SETTING UP *Technical Mastery Chapter 1: Tools of the Trade *Your Tools are Your Carving Chapter 2: Commissioning Your Carving Tools *Understanding Wood Chapter 3: Supporting Cast SECTION II: USING CARVING TOOLS *Getting to Grips Chapter 4: Handling Your Carving Tool *Thin Edge of the Wedge Chapter 5: The Outcome of the Tool SECTION III: EXERCISES *Good Habits Chapter 6: Simple Moldings *Surfaces, Lines & Junctions Chapter 7: Veiner and V-tool SECTION IV: RELIEF CARVING *Form Into Space Chapter 8: An Exercise in Setting-In *Over the Horizon Chapter 9: Low Relief *A Touch of Drama Chapter 10: High Relief *Feel the Form Chapter 11: Pierced Relief SECTION V: CARVING IN THE ROUND *Entering Choas Chapter 12: In the Round: Baseball Cap *Making It Up as You Go Along Chapter 13: In the Round: Wren

This title features 25 step-by-step practical ideas for hand-crafted tinwork projects. The beauty of tinwork is celebrated in inspirational and practical projects. It offers step-by-step instructions for 25 original projects, including a photograph frame, Christmas decorations and an ornate spice rack. It offers comprehensive guidance with expert technical instruction at every stage. It shows examples in a gallery of the finest tinwork from contemporary craft artists, representing the varied styles that can be achieved with this exciting craft. It features over 250 specially commissioned photographs. An expert introduction covers techniques, materials and all the equipment you will need. The appeal of tin lies as much in its usefulness and practical applications as in its subtle tone and malleability. This book fully explores the different techniques used today, through 25 traditional and contemporary tinwork projects, all shown in step-by-step photographs. Among the projects are delicate decorative pieces, such as ornate incense holders and an embellished picture frame, and utilitarian objects such as a lunch box made out of tin cans and an oil-drum barbecue. The section on basic techniques covers cutting tin, decorative techniques such as punching, embossing and soldering, and choosing the best materials for the job. A gallery of work by contemporary designers provides further inspiration, and represents the varied styles that can be achieved using this exciting craft. Illustrated with over 250 photographs, the book provides comprehensive instruction for newcomers to the craft, and will inspire the more experienced to experiment and develop the full potential of the medium.

A complete guide for the metalwork novice, this book provides thorough and detailed overviews on a variety of blacksmithing tools, techniques, and projects. Expert instructions lead you through every stage of each project and show you how to make your own forge as well as how to build, maintain, and use a suitable fire. Including sections on safety, taking heats, finishes, cutting steel and buying a forge, this book is the ultimate resource for anyone interested in learning the fundamentals of metalwork.

Guide to the properties and uses of Southern African Wood is a fully illustrated, scientifically accurate guide to the characteristics, properties and uses of wood from 140 Southern African tree species. Species treatments include information on conservation status, uses, mechanical properties, durability, identification features, woodworking properties and comments from wood users on workability. Photographs of tree bark, untreated and treated wood, end-grain macrographs, as well as worked items. Provides information on historical uses, where trees grow, availability and sustainability of the woods and the practicalities of harvesting and processing. Superior quality text and excellent reproduction and printing. The only commercially available book which focuses on the properties of Southern African wood, written in a style that will appeal to a wide audience: professional woodworkers, designers, architects, wood dealers and wood collectors, hobbyists, botanists and anyone interested in trees and wood. A must-have for all who love wood and trees!

The idea for the cane in this book came from the author's good friend and fellow carver Claude Bolton. Both belong to the Caricature Carvers of America, and the group was looking for some way to honor a friend and supporter. Claude hit upon the idea of a cane made up of many segments to be carved by various members. In addition to Tom and Claude they include: Jack Price; Peter Ortel; Steve Prescott; Harley Schmitzen; Rich Wetherbee; Bob Travis; Dave Dunham; Dave Stetson; Keith Morrill; Joe Wannamaker; Tex Haase; Doug Raine; Marv Kaisersatt; Dave Rasmussen; Harley Refsal; Harold Enlow; Claude Bolton; Gary Batte; Desiree Hajny; Pete LeClair; and Randy Landen. In the gallery of this book you will see the results of their enormous talents. Tom Wolfe takes the reader through the process of creating a four-face segment for a cane. What you learn there can be applied to any of your caricature carving or can be used to create your own friendship cane, by yourself or in your carving club. The cane you create will be a true token of friendship and will be cherished for many years to come.

This is a revised and expanded edition of a highly successful reupholstering book that has sold thousands of copies. It gives step-by-step instructions with 350 clear and detailed photographs to show how to rebuild that dilapidated chair or sofa to look like new. The author explains what tools and materials you will need, and offers expert advice about which types of fabric are best for your needs. The author then leads your through specific steps with text, photographs and captions to reupholster your chair, couch, or hassock. The result is furniture you are proud to own for years to come, and you did it all yourself!

The saw is one of the most basic tools and tends to be taken very much for granted. Many hours and much effort can be saved, and more accurate work produced, if the user has the knowledge of how his saw works and how to keep it in good condition. In this book Ian Bradley provides detailed guidance on the use and maintenance of all types of saw, both hand and mechanical, from the humble junior hacksaw to circular and bandsaws, in the comprehensive and succinct manner that has made him such a respected writer on workshop matters.

Peter Dormer presents a series of lively, clearly argued discussions about the relevance of handcraft in a world whose aesthetics and design are largely determined by technology. Indeed, one of the key questions discussed in the book is what makes the difference between a craft and a modern technology. What role does the craftsperson play in the professional life of the designer? Is the craft of design itself threatened with deskilling by technology? And what are we to make of the emergence this century of that separate arts activity we call 'the studio crafts'. What are the cultural barriers that prevent the studio crafts from being regarded simply as either art of design? Most important of all, what are the values that encourage people to want to make things themselves despite the apparent marginality of crafts?;These are among the questions discussed in this collection of essays written by distinguished writers who include T.A. Heslop, Slade Professor of Art, University of Cambridge; Dr Paul Greenhalgh, Head of Research at the Victoria and Albert Museum; and Rosemary Hill, writer and broadcaster and biographer of Pugin.

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"

The cowboy was an integral part of the old west. Much of life in those times revolved around him. Not only did he act as a cow nurse, herding, driving, and branding, but he also stacked hay, and built corrals and barns. He should be remembered too for his dedicated defense of the brand he rode for, even in the face of death. The Saturday night shindigs wouldn't have been the same without him either. Most cowboys couldn't dance a lick, but as long as that little gal was in his arms, who cared what the feet were doing! These cowboys were tough men. They were independent but when needed they were there. A rare breed! To carve these qualities into a face is indeed a challenge. Bob Lundy takes the carver through three projects, The Cowboy, The Indian, and The Mountain Man. With informative instructions (laced with a good deal of humor) and clear photographs he goes from the raw wood to a finished, realistic portrayal of these characters of the old west. A gallery of 16 other figures is included to give the reader other ideas. This book is written for both the beginner, who is looking for complete how-to information from start to finish, and for the veteran, who is interested only in a tip here and there to improve their work. Lundy approaches his work with an eye for the personality of the characters. He will instill that sensitivity to the reader, giving the carver a feeling of closeness and intimacy with the people who emerge from the wood.

Analysing the decorative programmes of the most opulent European palaces of the time, Margaretha Rossholm Lagerloef investigates how meaning was conveyed through display and visual effects. She explores the visual meaning inherent in the scheme of spatial relations; in effects of scale, perspective, lighting, figures' positions and postures; and in relations among image types. The analysis concerns the interrelations of various kinds of images in the ensembles; the relations between images and physical site; and the address to the beholder. Lagerloef considers the visual impact of the imagery in conjunction with 'readable' or symbolically 'coded' meanings; thus, the study does not merely subject these decorations to formalist aesthetic principles. She shows the visual meaning generally to sustain the verbal or readable messages, but often in subtle ways, extending or elaborating the meaning. Occasionally, the visual meaning comes forth as an undercurrent or complication, deviating from the proclaimed and symbolic meaning. Fate, Glory, and Love in Early Modern Gallery Decoration contributes to the body of scholarship on visual rhetoric and on how images 'act' out their messages.

The nineteenth century - the Era of the Interior - witnessed the steady displacement of art from the ceilings, walls, and floors of aristocratic and religious interiors to the everyday spaces of bourgeois households, subject to their own enhanced ornamentation. Following the 1863 Salon des refuses, the French State began to channel mediocre painters into the decorative arts. England, too, launched an extensive reform of the decorative arts, resulting in more and more artists engaged in the production and design of complete interiors. America soon followed. Present art historical scholarship - still indebted to a modernist discourse that sees cultural progress to be synonymous with the removal of ornament from both utilitarian objects and architectural spaces - has not yet acknowledged the importance of the decorative arts in the myriad interior spaces of the 1800s. Nor has mainstream art history reckoned with the importance of the interior in nineteenth-century life and thought. Aimed at an interdisciplinary audience, including art and design historians, historians of the modern interior, interior designers, visual culture theorists, and scholars of nineteenth-century material culture, this collection of essays studies the modern interior in new ways. The volume addresses the double nature of the modern interior as both space and image, blurring the boundaries between arts and crafts, decoration and high art, two-dimensional and three-dimensional design, trompe-l'oeil effects and spatial practices. In so doing, it redefines the modern interior and its objects as essential components of modern art.

This is a detailed study of the illustrations to Amir Khusrau's Khamsah, in which twenty discourses are followed by a brief parable, and four romances. Amir Khusrau (1253-1325) lived the greater part of adventurous life in Delhi; he composed in Persian, and also in Hindi. From the point of view of manuscript illustration, his most important work is his Khamsah (Quintet'). Khusrau's position as a link between cultures of Persia and India means that the early illustrated copies of the Khamsah have a particular interest. The first extant exemplar is from the Persian area in the late 14th century, but a case can be made that work was probably illustrated earlier in India.

This volume brings together a cross-disciplinary group of anthropologists, researchers of craft, and designer-makers to enumerate and explore the diversity and complexity of problem-solving tactics and strategies employed by craftspeople, together with the key social, cultural, and environmental factors that give rise to particular ways of problem solving. Presenting rich, textured ethnographic studies of craftspeople at work around the world, Craftwork as Problem Solving examines the intelligent practices involved in solving a variety of problems and the ways in which these are perceived and evaluated both by makers and creators themselves, and by the societies in which they work. With attention to local factors such as training regimes and formal education, access to tools, socialisation and cultural understanding, budgetary constraints and market demands, changing technologies and materials, and political and economic regimes, this book sheds fresh light on the multifarious forms of intelligence involved in design and making, inventing and manufacturing, and cultivating and producing. As such, it will appeal to scholars of anthropology, sociology, and cultural geography, as well as to craftspeople with interests in creativity, skilful practice, perception and ethnography.