book review ~ liberal sprinkles

Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts

October 12, 2011

They Draw and Cook by Nate Padavick, Salli Swindell [ book review ]

They Draw and Cook: 107 Recipes Illustrated by Artists from Around the World
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They Draw and Cook

Don't know what to cook tonight? See what ingredients you have in your kitchen and find a recipe at They Draw and Cook. Or, just dip into They Draw and Cook, fresh out of the oven. There're 107 recipes in this book, all wonderfully illustrated by artists from around the world. Need breakfast? How about madeleines? Looking for a more filling meal? Try the black bean chicken soup or chile and lime sea bream. Prefer vegetarian? There's the colcannon - it's fat-free too. All the better to finish it all off with a rich chocolate crepe or (and???) coconut macaroons.

They Draw and Cook is a fun, colorful and creative cook book, the first born of the marvellous blog of the same name which is now home to several thousand recipes contributed by a variety of people. I'm a big fan of TDAC. You can read a meaty post I wrote about the They Draw and Cook blog in April, which includes interviews with several people who have contributed recipes to the blog. Not all contributors are professional artists, some are folks who just love to eat or draw. The best thing about the blog is anyone can submit a recipe, so what are you waiting for?

The recipes featured in the book are not new, but they are still a yummy feast for the eyes. It's just too bad the book is such a lean sampling of the blog's offerings! I don't envy Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell (the brother-and-sister design team who created the blog) the tough job they must have had whittling down the list of recipes to include in the publication. If you're unhappy just skimming the surface, go over to the blog to indulge yourself.

The final selection includes recipes that should please most palates, satisfy sweet cravings, feed regular daily needs as well as cater to special occasions. The book includes everything from dips and snacks to main courses, desserts and cocktails. The foods offered for your viewing and cooking pleasures originate from all over the world, so unless you hate to experiment, They Draw and Cook is a delicious resource for different cuisines. The recipes lean towards the visual - the art is often the dominant element but the recipes are for the most part simple to follow. Another tasty thing about this collection is the range of artistic styles: there's pretty, there's stylish, there's cartoonish and there's cute. Overall, it's stuffed full of gorgeousness.

I first fell in love with illustrated books when I saw Sarah Midda's South of France in the 90s (republished in 2008) before my reading habits gravitated towards hard news and serious non-fiction. I came across They Draw and Cook at a time when I was rediscovering my crafty side and the blog helped reignite my interest in illustrations and art books. I'm so glad I now have a part - albeit small - of the blog in book form. There's nothing like flipping through inspiring and juicily drawn pages to get you salivating and your creative juices flowing.

I've just got my copy of the book and haven't taken any photos yet, will post some of my favorite illustrations when I do.

Meanwhile, take a look at this video for a glimpse of this must-have book. Enjoy.

They Draw & Cook: 107 Recipes Illustrated by Artists from Around the World (YouTube)

Nate and Salli launched a similar website this year for maps of cities and towns. I can't wait to see a book for They Draw and Travel :)

They Draw and Cook

They Draw & Cook: 107 Recipes Illustrated by Artists from Around the World
Authors: Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell
Publisher: Weldon Owen
ISBN: 978-1616281380

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[ check out my April 2011 blogpost on the blog, They Draw and Cook ]
[ check out my book reviews ]
[ check out my posts on art ]
[ check out my posts on food ]

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by liberal sprinkles

October 3, 2011

Sub City: Paris and New York and Paris Made by Hand

This video really brought me back to my days in Paris. It's a slightly unusual and very lovely view of the city.

For lovers of the subway and Paris, here's Sub City: Paris, a video made by Redglass Pictures

Sub City Paris from Redglass Pictures on Vimeo

This is the continuation of a series that explores that moment of uncertainty and magic that happens when you emerge from the depths of the subway system.There is also Sub City: New York, which is just as beautiful.

Sub City New York from Redglass Pictures on Vimeo

Another thing that reminded me of Paris was this.

Paris: Made by Hand by Pia Jane Bijkerk
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I recognized some of the shops in the book but a lot were new to me. I wish I'd had had it with me last year when I was in Paris!

Pia Jane Bijkerk is a well-known blogger-photographer-stylist. Her work as a stylist put her in good stead to find cool off-the-beaten track shops selling interesting artisan, handmade, vintage and unique ware. A lot of them are pricey but I probably couldn't be able to resist checking them out and rummaging through the treasures inside. On my list would be stationery shop Melodies Graphiques, artificial flower makers Legeron, fabric manufacturers Mahlia Kent.

Paris: Made by Hand is the perfect size to lug around during a trip (a square 6"ish) and it's nicely structured with the shops listed geographically according to Paris districts. Useful information like the shops' addresses and websites are provided but I wish the book included a map with the shops marked - less work for the reader!

A minus was that I found the photography somewhat dark and moody, although very a la mode with the current off-focus /soft focus trend thanks to apps like Hipstamatic (this book is 2 years old though). I didn't think that style worked well with a book like this, where you want to display the products and not just the shops.

Still, the book will travel with me on my next visit to Paris. I've lived in the city and don't normally do the touristy stuff when I visit every couple years, so I'd take the time to hunt down the type of shops featured in the book. I think Paris residents or regular visitors would find the book interesting but I'm not sure how attractive it would be to a first-time tourist with limited time in the city unless you're the sort that's really into chic flea market vintage and artisan goods.

Paris: Made by Hand: 50 Shops Where Decorators and Stylists Source the Chic & Unique
Author: Pia Jane Bijkerk
Publisher: Little Bookroom
ISBN: 978-1892145703

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[ check out my video posts ]
[ check out my posts on travel ]
[ check out my book reviews ]

September 11, 2011

Playing with Books by Jason Thompson [ book review ]

Playing with Books: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, and Reimagining the Book
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Playing with Books | Amazon | The Book Depository

omg I love this book. I have a little obsession with paper art and crafts at the moment and have been digesting lots of books on the subject. Playing with Books is not the best I've seen if you're looking for examples of the art, but it's a must have for people who like to get their hands dirty because it's truly a craft book. There are plenty of tutorials on remaking books into art and other forms, and making all sorts of cool stuff with book pages, and best thing is the projects are not out of reach at all for amateur paper crafters and paper lovers.

When I look at books like Papercraft: Design and Art with Paper and Masters: Book Arts, which are both smorgasbords of paper and book art, all I can pretty much do is gawk. I think it's near impossible for me to reproduce most of the works featured there. But there are a lot of things in Playing with Books that aren't too difficult to make, and they are cute and practical too. How about folding a nice sheet of paper to make a special envelope? Or cutting up some paperback covers into postcards? Too easy? All right then, try making your own billfold, beads, bag, flowers, ornaments, mobile, gift box or wreath. The photo-accompanied instructions will help you do all that. Other than one advanced project (book vase) which requires the use of power tools, the other projects are quite easily achievable and what you'll need are easily found at home or in craft shops.

There is also a gallery of artworks from paper artists that unfortunately fall in the realm of the unachievable for me, except maybe one or two - with a lot of patience and a lot more practice for sure. For now, though, it's more amazing paper art to admire.

related posts: Jen Stark art | paper cut art: Joe Bagley | VIDEOS: paper cut animation films

anastassia elias / isaac salazar | ariana boussard-reifel / ferry staverman / paper donut

Here's a look at some pages from Playing with Books (and more from a Google preview at the bottom of the post).

business card holder, from Playing with Books

bead jewelry, from Playing with Books

book mobile, from Playing with Books

frame, from Playing with Books

papier mache bird, from Playing with Books

apple-shaped book, from Playing with Books

works by Cara Barer and Doug Beube, from Playing with Books

paper cut art by Su Blackwell, from Playing with Books

Jason Thompson is the author of another book I enjoyed, Making Journals by Hand (I have a copy of Making Memory Books and Journals by Hand, which is a compilation of projects from 3 books including Making Journals by Hand, which you can buy for as little as 50 cents pre-shipping at Amazon, which is a damn good value. I paid about 20 times that plus international shipping and I think that was worth it! ).

Thompson has a beautiful blog full of paper crafts, of the same name as his book. Check out his Playing with Books blog . He also has a shop The Rag and Bone Boutique with gorgeous stuff like these:

growth chart circus | $16
@ the rag and bone boutique

accordion book (circus) | $25
@ the rag and bone boutique

[ check out my other book reviews ]
[ check out my other posts on paper crafts ]
[ check out my posts on art ]
[ check out my posts on books ]

Playing with Books: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, and Reimagining the Book
Author: Jason Thompson
Publisher: Quarry Books (April 1, 2010)
ISBN: 978-1592536009

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A preview of the book from Google Books

September 5, 2011

Papercraft: Design and Art with Paper by Robert Klanten [book review]

Papercraft: Design and Art with Paper
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Papercraft: Design and Art with Paper | amazon | book depository

Ever wanted to walk through a 600 sq m honeycomb made of man-sized cardboard sheets? Or water sunflowers taller than you? Or eat a paper lobster or wear a paper dress? Read Papercraft: Design and Art with Paper and you'll see how that is all possible.

Paper comes to life in multiple forms in this book. Art installations, portraits of people, characters for music videos, 3D posters, miniature, life-size and larger-than-life cutouts of figures, people, animals and objects big and small, the book is chokeful of fun examples of what can be crafted with paper.

I've been fascinated by paper art for a while now and have written several posts on the subject. There are numerous works I recognize in Papercraft: Design and Art with Paper, including some from Jen Stark and Ferris Staverman, whom I've blogged about. There are also pieces from artists like Lisa Occhipinti and Brian Dettmar that I've pinned at Pinterest, so in some ways, this book was very familiar to me.

posts on paper art: Jen Stark art | paper cut art: Joe Bagley | VIDEOS: paper cut animation films

anastassia elias / isaac salazar | ariana boussard-reifel / ferry staverman / paper donut

But there's a huge lot of other works that I was introduced to by this book. A wide variety of works is presented in terms of structures and format - there are ornaments, books, posters, installations, sculptures. Some are functional, others purely decorative; some are playful, others thought-provoking. What's for sure is nothing is boring or common. The works exude creativity - there's plenty to grab your attention and give you mind-boggling ideas of what can be created from such an innocent-looking flat material.

I wrote a review of Paper Engineering, another book on paper crafting by graphic designers, yesterday. I loved it especially for the design element. I love this book for the sheer multitude of paper crafts and works it showcases. Papercraft: Design and Art with Paper is like a 250-page mini muesum of paper art. My only complaint is there's very minimal information - if any at all - on the works and the artists. It's a bit like Pinterest and Tumblr, lots of inspiring stuff but scanty - or missing - information about their origins. Although I'm not there yet with this book (there's just so much that gets me going "wow"), I know it can get a bit frustrating despite the pleasure and admiration I feel. But I don't think that's going to stop me from trying to get my hands on volume 2. Papercraft 2: Design and Art with Paper was released earlier this year.

Here's a peek at some of the eye candy from Papercraft: Design and Art with Paper:

from Papercraft: Design and Art with Paper

Papercraft: Design and Art with Paper
Author: Robert Klanten
Publisher: Die Gestalten Verlag
ISBN: 978-3899552515

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Papercraft 2: Design and Art with Paper
Author: Robert Klanten (April 30, 2011)
Publisher: Die Gestalten Verlag
ISBN: 978-3899553338

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You may like my other posts on paper art

:: Jen Stark art
:: anastassia elias / isaac salazar
:: ariana boussard-reifel / ferry staverman / paper donut
:: VIDEOS: paper cut animation films
:: paper cut art: Joe Bagley

[ check out my other book reviews ]
[ check out my other posts on paper crafts ]
[ check out my posts on art ]
[ check out my posts on design ]

Paper Engineering: 3-D design techniques for a 2-D material, by Natalie Avella [ book review ]

Paper Engineering: 3-D design techniques for a 2-D material (Natalie Avella)
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Paper Engineering | Amazon | Book Depository

I have the tendency to pick up a book from a shelf because of its title and cover. Then, instead of reading the blurb to see what it's about, I flip through and see what (if anything) catches my eye.

A lot of Paper Engineering caught my eye. I thought it was a DIY book because it says "3-D design techniques for a 2-D material". I was so wrong, but I was completely absorbed by the book nonetheless, and I learned a lot from it.

Paper Engineering is filled with plenty of examples of creations crafted from paper - some of them mundane, others fascinating. What makes it stand out from other books on papercrafts is the explanations of the process behind the creations. The book's premise is the possibilities of paper. It shows this by exploring how some graphic designers translated their thoughts and intentions through paper engineering. With their creative use of the material, paper is transformed from just a flat, 2D sheet into a three-dimensional, interactive item that provokes the reader, demands that he/she get involved in and experience the work. The reader "becomes part designer and part performer of the piece", as the book's introduction puts it. "Part performer because the reader's kinetic energy creates the movement that brings the piece to life. Part designer because the reader's imagination and common sense is needed for the design to reach its full potential."

This interactive element isn't so obvious in many works presented here (but I suppose that interpretative aspect is dependant on the individual reader) but the book got me looking at paper as a much more complex material, and at paper products as more than just beautiful creations, however innovatively or commonly they are manipulated into their final forms.

The book examines various traditional graphic design formats like brochures, flyers, books and invitations, and looks at works engineered by folding, cutting, gluing to create pop-ups and different binding methods.

I liked the variety of examples (format, form and shape) and the descriptions accompanying each item - why the designers approached the project they way they did and how they did it. Some of the write-ups are a bit thin but many are detailed and some provide nice backgrounds. For example, in the description of two books bound back to back (referred to in bookbinding as "dos-a-dos" - the French translation of "back to back") and attached by a single cover, the writer explains that this format was popular in the last two centuries for binding related books (like the Old and New Testaments) together.

The book also profiles four paper engineers - British artist Rob Ryan, book designer Ron van der Meer (known for pop-up books), visual artist Kate Farley and book artist Ed Hutchins. And a bonus: a few templates are included at the back of the book so we can attempt to recreate some of the pieces.

related posts: Jen Stark art | paper cut art: Joe Bagley | VIDEOS: paper cut animation films

anastassia elias / isaac salazar | ariana boussard-reifel / ferry staverman / paper donut

If you're looking for a book with lots of examples of cool papercrafting, there are books like
Papercraft: Design and Art With Paper that provide more - and more varied - examples. If you're interested in the design aspect, Paper Engineering is a pretty interesting read. Here are a few pages from the book.

Press day invitation by Multistorey for Simon Carter, from Paper Engineering

works by Kate Farley, from Paper Engineering

Christmas cards by Corina Fletcher for Royal Society of Arts, from Paper Engineering

self-promotional card by Sagmeister Inc. | business cards by Yorgo Tloupas for Intersection, from Paper Engineering

greeting card by Zuan Club for Arjo Wiggins Japan | wedding announcement by Stefan Sagmeister from Paper Engineering

works by Ed Hutchins, from Paper Engineering

Paper engineering: 3-D design techniques for a 2-D material
Author: Natalie Avella
Publisher: RotoVision (Revised edition February 1, 2009)
ISBN: 978-2888930495

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August 29, 2011

Painted Pages by Sarah Ahearn Bellemare [book review]

Painted Pages: Fueling Creativity with Sketchbooks and Mixed Media
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Painted Pages by Sarah Ahearn Bellemare

This book is filled with such beautiful works I could probably spend hours just flipping through the pages while sipping my coffee (I did spend a lot of time at several sittings but not hours - yet!). Author Sarah Ahearn Bellemare invites the reader into her studio for a look at her workspace, her tools and her creative process. You'll see her mood board, her colorful scrapbooks, lots of gorgeous photos of her works in progress, completed canvases and even some pieces by several guest artists.

I like the book. There're lots of examples of collages and mixed media works, as well as quick prompts to get you started on creating and trying out new materials. Basically, the advice is: don't think too much, just try it out. Collage with scraps or clippings, paint with colors, experiment and have fun.

But, this is not a how-to book. There are no step-by-step instructions to show you how a work was conceived and completed. The book's introduction does say it is about getting the reader to find their own way to make art and be creative. The author nudges the reader in that direction with a peek into her process and and explanations - though somewhat superficial - of how a chosen text (eg Pablo Neruda poem) or idea (eg, bird ephemera) inspired the final work.

Ahearn Bellemare has a very distinctive style: it's very pretty, bright and breezy but there's not much variation in her art. You have to like it to enjoy this book, I think. Here are some photos of Painted Pages.

workspace, from Painted Pages by Sarah Ahearn Bellemare

from Painted Pages by Sarah Ahearn Bellemare

You can see more of the author's works at her website, blog or Etsy shop.
More from the book in Google Preview.

Painted Pages: Fueling Creativity with Sketchbooks and Mixed Media
Author: Sarah Ahearn Bellemare
Publisher: Quarry Books (May 1, 2011)
ISBN: 978-1592536863

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[ check out my other book reviews ]
[ check out my posts on art ]

August 28, 2011

Letterpress by David Jury [book review]

Letterpress: The Allure of the Handmade
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Letterpress: The Allure of the Handmade by David Jury

I have an irrational love for stationery and paper products. If you're like me, you'll have noticed how letterpress seems to be everywhere these days (a bit more about after the photos). I have a nasty habit of buying and hoarding things and if a letterpress machine weren't such a novelty (and big and expensive), I'd probably already have one at home. Not having such luck, I have to settle for looking at all the lovely stuff at Etsy and other online stores.

I was delighted to get my hands on a copy of Letterpress by David Jury at the library. A happy accident. While I'm a great admirer of the printing technique (you only have to look at those beautiful end products), I have limited knowledge about it so the book was an eye-opener for me. It is actually an updated edition of a book first published in 2004, which is timely given letterpress' comeback in recent years, and not just within the handmade community.

Jury's book is a comprehensive take on the history of letterpress, which has been used commercially for over 500 years. He discusses the art and craft of the medium, as well as related issues like digital technology and mass production versus handmade, design versus art versus craft. He says letterpress is "not innately superior" to digitally designed and mass-produced print and has to be flexible and stay relevant and functional, not not be just decorative if it's to survive. A lot like other (sometimes dying) crafts and traditions, really.

The book is written a little like an academic thesis though it's a little heavy at times, it's not unapproachable. The plus is there's tons of information and some gorgeous examples of pages and materials printed by letterpress, wonderful for those interested in typography, print and design. I thought it was a pity that the cover of the paperback wasn't letterpressed - wouldn't that have been lovely?

from Letterpress: The Allure of the Handmade by David Jury

Letterpress: The Allure of the Handmade
Author: David Jury
Publisher: Rotovision (February 2011)
978-2888931638

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buy at The Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)

In a recent article, the Wall Street Journal said social media fans are embracing stationery, helping give rise to small stationery-makers, many of which produce letterpressed products. Isn't that cool?

In this video, Harold Kyle, founder of letterpress print shop Boxcar Press and co-owner of online shop Bella Figura talks about the rebirth of letterpress.

Harold Kyle, Boxcar Press: the growth of letterpress (YouTube)

More videos of Kyle being interviewed about running an online business and keeping up with design trends at the Felt and Wire site, which also writes about stationery's comeback. Hooray! Just look at these wonderful designs.