As heard on NPR's This American Life “Absorbing . . . Though it's non-fiction, The Feather Thief contains many of the elements of a classic thriller.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air “One of the most peculiar and memorable true-crime books ever.” —Christian Science Monitor A rollicking true-crime adventure and a captivating journey into an underground world of fanatical fly-tiers and plume peddlers, for readers of The Stranger in the Woods, The Lost City of Z, and The Orchid Thief. On a cool June evening in 2009, after performing a concert at London's Royal Academy of Music, twenty-year-old American flautist Edwin Rist boarded a train for a suburban outpost of the British Museum of Natural History. Home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world, the Tring museum was full of rare bird specimens whose gorgeous feathers were worth staggering amounts of money to the men who shared Edwin's obsession: the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. Once inside the museum, the champion fly-tier grabbed hundreds of bird skins—some collected 150 years earlier by a contemporary of Darwin's, Alfred Russel Wallace, who'd risked everything to gather them—and escaped into the darkness. Two years later, Kirk Wallace Johnson was waist high in a river in northern New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide told him about the heist. He was soon consumed by the strange case of the feather thief. What would possess a person to steal dead birds? Had Edwin paid the price for his crime? What became of the missing skins? In his search for answers, Johnson was catapulted into a years-long, worldwide investigation. The gripping story of a bizarre and shocking crime, and one man's relentless pursuit of justice, The Feather Thief is also a fascinating exploration of obsession, and man's destructive instinct to harvest the beauty of nature.
This work describes how to paint waterfowl carvings, demonstrating the technique on 14 birds. Each step is accompanied by captions, with colour charts for paint mixes. Techniques illustrated include blending colour to water, building up washes, painting white on white, and feather flicking.
Award-winning artist Harriet de Winton shows you how to create contemporary watercolour artworks to treasure and share. Through more than 30 step-by-step projects, discover how to paint individual flowers and foliage, as well as beautiful botanical compositions. Use your new skills to make art for your wall, unique cards, invitations, or simply paint for pleasure.
In The Art of Painting Animals, aspiring painters will learn how to work with oil, acrylic, and watercolor paints to bring their favorite animals to life on paper or canvas. Each medium has its section that begins with an introduction, which includes a section of helpful information on basic tools and materials—including paints, brushes, appropriate supports, and additional materials—followed by a quick guide to techniques and artist tips for rendering animal features and fur, as well as natural textures such as bark and foliage. Talented artists guide readers through a series of easy-to-follow step-by-step projects covering a variety of subjects from pets and horses to wildlife and birds. Projects include a moose, a Shih Tzu dog, a fox, a deer, a lynx, and many more! Along the way, aspiring artists will find helpful tips and tricks for establishing a compelling composition, achieving accurate proportions, and developing expressive animal faces and emotions. With its breadth of content and instruction, The Art of Painting Animals is perfect for any animal-loving artist's collection.
Katie Essam's fresh, modern style uses unique combinations of traditional techniques, and in this book she shows you how to create beautiful textile art inspired by the beauty in everyday objects. Stretch your imagination and be inspired by Katie's fun, innovative ideas; learn how to draw inspiration from the animals, birds, gardens, beach huts and scenes that surround you; and use that inspiration as the fuel you need to create gorgeous stitched pictures.
The Arts & Crafts Busy Book should be required reading for anyone raising or teaching children. It is written with warmth and sprinkled with humor and insight. The Arts & Crafts Busy Book contains 365 screen-free, fun, creative and educational arts and crafts projects for children ages two to six that provide a great alternative to using TV as a babysitter. It shows parents and daycare providers how to: Stimulate creativity and self-expression with activities that encourage a child to explore his or her place in the world. Create experiments with paint, glue, playdough, paper, and markers that focus a child's energy constructively. Encourage the development of a child's concentration and coordination, as well as organizational and manipulative skills, with well-chosen arts and crafts projects. Save money by making arts and crafts supplies such as paints, playdough, and craft clay with ingredients that can be found around the home. Celebrate the holidays and other occasions with special projects and activities.
The Busy Book Bundle is packed with over 1400 fun, engaging activities, crafts, and games to keep toddlers and preschoolers busy and learning! A must-read for anyone raising or teaching young children. Includes four books: The Toddler's Busy Book, The Preschooler's Busy Book, The Arts & Crafts Busy Book, and The Wiggle & Giggle Busy Book. The Toddler's and Preschooler's Busy Books show parents and day-care providers how to prevent boredom during the longest stretches of indoor weather with ideas for indoor play, kitchen activities, and arts and crafts projects; stimulate a child's natural curiosity with entertaining reading, math, language, science, and motor-skills activities; encourage a child's physical, mental, and emotional growth with ideas for music, dance, drama, and outdoor play; and keep children occupied during long car trips or while running errands. The Arts & Crafts Busy Book encourages children ages two to six to use their imagination and self-expression in fun creative projects. It shows parents and daycare providers how to: focus a child's energy constructively using paint, glue, play dough, paper, and markers; encourage the development of a child's concentration and coordination, as well as organizational skills; save money by making many of the supplies with items found around the home; and celebrate holidays and special occasions with projects and activities. The Wiggle & Giggle Busy Book contains 365 creative, lively games and activities to keep toddlers and preschoolers busy and active. It provides great alternatives to watching television, playing video games, or doing other sedentary activities. This book will get your young child up and moving for hours! The Wiggle & Giggle Busy Book shows parents and daycare providers how to: instill a love of physical exercise through games and activities that encourage a child to move; focus a child's energy constructively; encourage a child to strengthen large and small motor skills; and connect music and rhyme with physical expression to develop a child's creativity.