"In 1885, Nova Scotia was booming: economic growth topped that of both Ontario and Quebec, and the public was on the verge of voting for independence from Canada in an upcoming election.
Through an examination of three wooden boat workshops on the East coast of the United States, this volume explores how craftspeople interpret their tools and materials during work, and how such perception fits into a holistic conception of practical skill. The author bases his findings on first-person fieldwork as a boat builder’s apprentice, during which he recorded his changing sensory experience as he learned the basics of the trade. The book reveals how experience in the workshop allows craftspeople to draw new meaning from their senses, constituting meaningful objects through perception that are invisible to the casual observer. Ultimately, the author argues that this kind of perceptual understanding demonstrates a fundamental mode of human cognition, an intelligence frequently overlooked within contemporary education.
Digital Photography and Mixed Media--a creative match made in heaven! Love photography? Want to make yours better? Want to use your photography as a springboard for fabulous and diverse mixed media and digital projects? Photo Craft will help you elevate the average into the extraordinary! Using Adobe's Photoshop Elements and following thorough, easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, you'll learn to make basic adjustments to your photographs that will yield stunning and artistic results. You'll also learn to use those photographs--along with some everyday mixed-media supplies--to create unique and personal art. Inside You'll Find: • 13 stepped out mixed media techniques and projects • 16 stepped out digital techniques • 9 stellar techniques and projects from contributing artists including Michele Beschen and Claudine Hellmuth • Dozens of great examples of and tips for iPhoneography • Countless inspirational suggestions for photo field trips and photo shoots • An author curated list of recommended apps to take your photos to the next level • Access to exclusive online materials including new techniques and projects and downloadable materials for your personal use So get to it! Take new pictures today (any every day!), look through those boxes of old and long-forgotten photos, and free those lonely images from your hard drive. Make them better, make them new and make them art. Soon you'll be seeing things in a whole new way!
Artists around the world have lately been turning to their bookshelves for more than just a good read, opting to cut, paint, carve, stitch or otherwise transform the printed page into whole new beautiful, thought-provoking works of art. Art Made from Books is the definitive guide to this compelling art form, showcasing groundbreaking work by today's most showstopping practitioners. From Su Blackwell's whimsical pop-up landscapes to the stacked-book sculptures of Kylie Stillman, each portfolio celebrates the incredible creative diversity of the medium. A preface by pioneering artist Brian Dettmer and an introduction by design critic Alyson Kuhn round out the collection.
"An important book, brimming with insight."—Nicholas Evans, author of The Horse Whisperer A master craftsperson explores the ways in which working with our hands reveals the essence of both our humanity and our relationship with the natural, material world In our present age of computer-assisted design, mass production and machine precision, the traditional skills of the maker or craftsperson are hard to find. Yet the desire for well-made and beautiful objects from the hands (and mind) of a skilled artisan is just as present today as it ever has been. Whether the medium they work with is wood, metal, clay or something else, traditional makers are living links to the rich vein of knowledge and skills that defines our common human heritage. More than this, though, many of us harbor a deep and secret yearning to produce something – to build or shape, to imagine and create our own objects that are imbued not only with beauty and functionality, but with a story and, in essence, a spirit drawn from us. Nick Kary understands this yearning. For nearly four decades he has worked on commission to make fine, distinctive furniture and cabinets from wood, most of it sourced near his home, in the counties of South West England. During this time, he has been both a teacher and a student; one who is fascinated with the philosophy and practice of craft work of all kinds. In Material, Kary takes readers along with him to visit some of the places where modern artisans are preserving, and in some cases passing on, the old craft skills. His vivid descriptions and eye for detail make this book a rich and delightful read, and the natural and cultural history he imparts along the way provides an important context for understanding our own past and the roots of our industrial society. Personal, engaging, and filled with memorable people, landscapes and scenes, Material is a rich celebration of what it means to imagine and create, which in the end is the essence of being human, and native to a place. As Kary puts it, “Wood and words, trees and people, material and ethereal – it is here I love increasingly to dwell.” Perfect for fans of The Hidden Life of Trees or Norwegian Wood, Material is a rich, inspiring read for woodworkers, potters, craftspeople, bibliophiles and anyone who enjoys working with their hands.
Over the past 40 years craft-brewed beer has exploded in growth. In 1980, a handful of "microbrewery" pioneers launched a revolution that would challenge the dominance of the national brands, Budweiser, Coors, and Miller, and change the way Americans think about, and drink, beer. Today, there are more than 2,700 craft breweries in the United States and another 1,500 are in the works. Their influence is spreading to Europe's great brewing nations, and to countries all over the globe. In The Craft Beer Revolution, Steve Hindy, co-founder of Brooklyn Brewery, tells the inside story of how a band of homebrewers and microbrewers came together to become one of America's great entrepreneurial triumphs. Beginning with Fritz Maytag, scion of the washing machine company, and Jack McAuliffe, a US Navy submariner who developed a passion for real beer while serving in Scotland, Hindy tells the story of hundreds of creative businesses like Deschutes Brewery, New Belgium, Dogfish Head, and Harpoon. He shows how their individual and collective efforts have combined to grab 10 percent of the dollar share of the US beer market. Hindy also explores how Budweiser, Miller, and Coors, all now owned by international conglomerates, are creating their own craft-style beers, the same way major food companies have acquired or created smaller organic labels to court credibility with a new generation of discerning eaters and drinkers. This is a timely and fascinating look at what America's new generation of entrepreneurs can learn from the intrepid pioneering brewers who are transforming the way Americans enjoy this wonderful, inexpensive, storied beverage: beer.
Change processes in organizations are time consuming, expensive, and often don’t create the intended results. This book creates a new way for leaders to relate to change from a place of deeper understanding. Based on years of research, consulting, and teaching, the models and frameworks described in this book have been applied successfully in organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, AT&T, IBM, Facebook, Charles Schwab & Company, and Accenture. The book provides breakthrough thinking to leaders who find themselves in the chaos of multiple, high amplitude changes that cannot be managed from an autocratic or even a participative mindset. The successful transformation of a human system does not require that people change who they are so much as it requires they become more of who they are—more like themselves. Change does not require new step-by-step models offered by an outside expert. It requires teaching people how to become model builders. As a result of this deeper transformation of mindset, not only will people in the organization be able to manage the particular change crisis facing them in the moment, they will develop a new relationship to change so that strategic thinking and breakthrough business outcomes become part of the organizational norm. This book will primarily appeal to experienced leaders, senior managers, and change agents who have learned that the textbook recipes for initiating or responding to change don’t work. It is also useful supplementary reading for students of organizational studies and leadership.
Discover how to utilize the many faces of the dark goddess to navigate the process of deep and rewarding change. This empowering, practical guide looks at the misconceptions surrounding challenging deities and encourages you to draw on their power to work through aspects of yourself or your life that you wish to change. Organized into three sections—descent, challenge, and rebirth—Dark Goddess Craft guides you through your own shadow work and helps you emerge renewed. Every step on your path of transformation is connected to a different face of the dark goddess, and Stephanie Woodfield provides rituals, invocations, and offerings for eleven of them. You can mourn loss with the Washer at the Ford, learn to move past betrayal with Sedna, gain personal independence with Blodeuwedd, and become the champion of your own life with Sca?thach. Like a torch to light your way, this book helps you heal and transform into the best version of yourself.
Experience the uplifting power of art on this breathtaking visual tour of 2,500 paintings and sculptures created by more than 700 artists from Michelangelo to Damien Hirst. This beautiful book brings you the very best of world art from cave paintings to Neoexpressionism. Enjoy iconic must-see works, such as Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper and Monet's Waterlilies and discover less familiar artists and genres from all parts of the globe. Art That Changed the World covers the full sweep of world art, including the Ming era in China, and Japanese, Hindu, and Indigenous Australian art. It analyses recurring themes such as love and religion, explaining key genres from Romanesque to Conceptual art. Art That Changed the World explores each artist's key works and vision, showing details of their technique, such as Leonardo's use of light and shade. It tells the story of avant-garde works like Manet's Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe (Lunch on the Grass), which scandalized society, and traces how one genre informed another - showing how the Impressionists were inspired by Gustave Courbet, for example, and how Van Gogh was influenced by Japanese prints. Lavishly illustrated throughout, look no further for your essential guide to the pantheon of world art.
This work provides a model for creativity and a way of showing how innovation, invention, and beauty can emerge from even the most familiar, ordinary, and banal-seeming products. A wide variety of projects are presented in this book with insightful commentary on the trends and cultural phenomenon that inform the process.