Bookshelf of Artistic Inspiration @ Designedly, Kristi


	Kristi's Artistic Inspiration Bookshelf Sit back and peruse Kristi's shelves of inspirational artistic books in a wide variety of categories. Those in bold face type are the ones she referes to most often and most recommends. If you enjoy reading books of all types, check Kristi's reading weblog on LiveJournal. She records her thoughts and inpressions as she reads books of all kinds. She also posts reading lists shared at her bookclub. Bookbinding \| Clip Art \| Collage \| Creativity \| Journaling \| Papermaking \| Miscellaneous Books on Bookbinding Bookworks by Sue Doggett This book provides a thorough overview of various types of binding techniques. The diagrams are in color and the photos of the example books are clear and uncluttered. This book also contains several book forms that are popular among rubberstampers such as the Star Book and the Flag Book. Creating Handmade Books by Alisa Golden Another great book with good directions and diagrams and a wide variety of types of bindings from folded to stitched. Forms include tunnel books and Jacob's ladder as well as some brief introductions to decorating yoru books. Cover to Cover: Creative Techniques for Making Beautiful Books, Journals & Albums by Shereen LaPlantz This books also provides a nice overview of binding techniques. The instructions are written well and there are many supportive diagrams. This book includes directions for the Piano Hinge book, Japaneese Stab Bindings and many variations or combinations of traditional bindings. Bookbinding Basics by Paola Rosati A book focused on traditional European binding with many photographs of the process of folding, knotching, stiching and placing in a case. A good book if your interest is in traditional European binding. - NEW! Volume I Non-Adhesive Binding: Books without Paste or Glue by Keith Smith This is a large book with many non-adhesive binding techniques. It is quite complex and includes lots of philisophical waxing by the author. But, Keith Smith books are often required at university and college bookbinding classes. 1- 2- & 3-Section Sewings: Volume II Non-Adhesive Binding by Keith Smith Much the same as the above review. Making and Keep Creative Journals by Suzanne J. E. Tourtillott This is a great book for stimulating your brain to think a bit outside of the box when it comes to bookmaking. It also encourages you to really think hard about the purpose of the book and how it will be used and what formats may enhance or hinder that use. Great eye candy! - NEW! The following are books I have heard good reviews about but do not yet own so cannot comment on the quality or included instructions: Handcrafted Journals, Albums, Scrapbooks and More by Marie Browning The Art and Craft of Handmade Books by Shareen LaPlantz Non-Adhesive Binding: Exposed Spine Sewings by Keith Smith Structure of the Visual Books by Keith Smith Smith's Sewing Single Sheets by Keith Smith Books of Clip Art I don't own all of these (only about a dozen or so), but this is a fairly extensive list of Clip-Art and Pictorial Series books published by Dover. Holiday, Special Occasions and Seasonal Clip-Art Christmas Designs : 107 Different... Ready to Use Santa Claus Illustrations :... Easy-To-Duplicate Christmas Borders : 55... Ready-To-Use Humorous Christmas... Full-Color Holiday Vignettes Ready-To-Use Snowflake Designs (Dover... Ready to Use Wedding Illustrations :... Ready-To-Use Seasonal Borders : 32... Ready-To-Use Humorous Seasonal and... Ready-To-Use Humorous Four Seasons... Floral Clip-Art Flowers, Butterflies, and Insects : All... Ready-To-Use Old-Fashioned Small Frames... Favorite Flowers Floral Ornament (Dover Design Library) Wildflower Designs and Motifs for... Traditional Floral Designs and Motifs... Flower Designs (Dover Design Library) Treasury of Floral Designs and Initials... Easy-To-Duplicate Floral Borders : 54... Exotic Flowers for Artists and... Roses and Other Flower Designs (Dover... Ready-To-Use Old-fashioned Floral... Old-Time Fruits and Flowers Vignettes in... Ethnic Designs Clip-Art Traditional African Designs (Dover... North American Indian Motifs : 391... Ready-To-Use Oriental Designs : 495... Ancient Mexican Designs (Dover Pictorial... Celtic Designs : 96 Different.. 261 North American Indian Designs (Dover... Viking Designs (Dover Pictorial Archive... Ready-To-Use Medieval Illustrations :... Celtic and Old Norse Designs (Dover... Ready-To-Use Celtic Borders on Layout... Polynesian and Oceanian Designs (Dover... Folk Designs and Motifs from India... Floral Illustration (Dover Electronic... Ancient Greek Designs (Dover Pictorial... Moroccan Silk Designs in Full Color... Scandinavian Folk Designs (Dover Design... Medieval Life Illustrations (Dover... Traditional Chinese Lattice Designs... Medieval Designs (Dover Pictorial... Chinese Designs Japanese Designs 5,000 Designs and Motifs from India 250 Stencil Designs from India (Dover... Paisleys and Other Textile Designs from... Paisley Designs : 44 Original Plates... Traditional Chinese Designs (Dover... Treasury of Chinese Design Motifs Traditional Chinese Textile Designs in... Advertising Cuts and Spot Illustrations 1,001 Advertising Cuts from the Twenties... Big Book of Old-time Spot Illustrations... 2000 Early Advertising Cuts (Dover... Old-time Cigar Labels in Full Color... Popular Advertising Cuts of the Twenties... Ready-To-Use Cuts for Antique Sales and... 3800 Early Advertising Cuts : Deberny... 1,337 Spot Illustrations of the Twenties... Advertising Spot Illustrations of the... 1001 Spot Illustrations of the Lively... 930 Matchbook Advertising Cuts of the... Art Nouveau, Art Deco Etc. Clip-Art Art Nouveau Frames and Borders : 199... 422 Art Nouveau Designs and Motifs in... Ready-To-Use Art Nouveau Small Frames... 24 Art Nouveau Display Fonts (Dover... 24 Art Deco Display Fonts Art Deco Cut and Use Stencils Art Deco : Spot Illustrations and Motifs Art Deco Designs and Motifs Original Art Dec Designs : 72 Plates Three Hundred Art Nouveau Designs and... Art Nouveau Floral Patterns and Stencil... Art Nouveau Animal Designs and Patterns... Art Nouveau Motifs and Vignettes (Dover... Ornamental, Decorative, Frames & Borders Clip-Art 1100 Decorative French Ironwork Designs... Decorative French Ironwork Designs... Handbook of Historic Ornament from... Calligraphic Ornaments : 166 Different... Ornamental Pen Designs and Flourishes... 3200 Old-time Cuts and Ornaments (Dover... 850 Ornamental Designs from Historic... Treasury of Book Ornament and Decoration... 2001 Decorative Cuts and Ornaments... Big Book of Graphic Designs and Devices... 235 Decorative Designs of the Twenties... Banners, Ribbons and Scrolls : An... Victorian Pictorial Borders : 124... Victorian Frames, Borders, and Cuts from... Animal Clip-Art Big Book of Animal Illustrations (Dover... Ready-To-Use Old-fashioned Cat... Mythological and Fantastic Creatures 1300 Real and Fanciful Animals : From... Old-time Butterfly Vignettes : In Full... Ready-To-Use Wild Animal Silhouettes :... Curious and Fantastic Creatures (Dover... 286 Full-Color Animal Illustrations :... Ready-To-Use Illustrations of Horses :... Ready-To-Use Dinosaurs and Prehistoric... Ready-To-Use Illustrations of Pets : 96... Music Clip-Art Ready-To-Use Old-fashioned Music... Ready-To-Use Classical Music... Reading and Writing Clip-Art Books, Reading and Writing Illustrations Ready-To-Use School and Education... Ready-To-Use Reading and Writing... Easy-To-Duplicate School and Education... Illustrations and Ornamentation from the... Ready-To-Use Old-fashioned Illustrations... History Clip-Art Ready-To-Use Authentic Civil War... Ready-To-Use Outline Maps of U.S. States... American Historical Illustrations and... Ready-To-Use Old West Cuts : 183... Architectural Designs Landscapes and Cityscapes for Artists... Antique Furniture and Decorative... Alphabets Decorative Ornaments and Alphabets of... Decorative Letters : 818 Different... Medieval Alphabets and Decorative... Ready-To-Use Bold Headline Alphabets :... Ready-To-Use Decorative Celtic Alphabets... Ready-To-Use Decorative Letters (Dover... 24 Art Nouveau Display Fonts (Dover... 24 Victorian Display Fonts (Dover... 24 Gothic Display Fonts (Dover... 24 Art Deco Display Fonts Food & Drink Clip-Art Food and Drink Illustrations : 390... Ready-To-Use Gourmet Food Illustrations... Ready-To-Use Humorous Food Shopping... Old-time Fruits and Flowers Vignettes in... Victorian Clip-Art Ready-To-Use Victorian Women's Fashion.... Victorian Ornaments and Designs (Dover... Ready-To-Use Victorian Borders on Layout... 504 Decorative Vignettes in Full Color... Victorian Goods and Merchandise : 2,300... 24 Victorian Display Fonts (Dover... Victorian Pictorial Borders : 124... Victorian Frames, Borders, and Cuts from... Full-Color Victorian Vignettes and... People Ready-To-Use Portraits of Famous People... Ready-To-Use Silhouettes of Children :... Ready-To-Use Children's Silhouettes for... Ready-To-Use Illustrations of Senior... Old-fashioned Silhouettes Ready-To-Use Illustrations of Women's... Old-time Men and Women Vignettes in Full... Miscellaneous Shoes, Hats and Fashion Accessories : A... 361 Full-Color Allover Patterns for... Ready-To-Use Old-fashioned Nautical... Dover Deskgallery Mega-Bundle (The... Ready-To-Use Illustrations of... 800 Decorative Woodcuts for Artists and... Ready-To-Use Humorous Illustrations of... Medieval Woodcut Illustrations : City... Ready-To-Use Old-fashioned Automobile... Ready-To-Use Illustrations of Toys,... Ready-To-Use Old Fashioned Romantic Cuts... Ready-To-Use Whimsical Illustrations of... Ready-To-Use Illustrations of Water... Ready-To-Use Humorous Attention-Getters... Ready-To-Use Humorous Cuts With Message... Ready-To-Use Signboard Mortised Cuts... Easy-To-Duplicate Juvenile Borders... Elegant French Pictorial Borders (Dover... 1001 Cartoon-Style Illustrations (Dover... Mostly Happy Clip Art of the 30'S, 40'S,... Mostly Happy Clip Art of the 30s, 40s,.. Books on Collage Hand Decorating Paper by Marie Browning The techniques in this book were mostly ones I already knew of. It is a good book for those not familiar with ways to decorate paper. It has lots of pictures and clear instructions. SoulCollage: An Intuitive Collage Process for Individuals and Groups by Seena B. Frost This book focuses on an intuitive collage process used to create a personal deck of cards that can then be used similarly to Tarot cards. It does not however follow the traditional Tarot format with major and minor arcana cards, but instead has 4 suits, some of which have a set number of cards and some that have as many cards as you wish/need to make. There are some great exercises here for exploring your inner and outer self, though it does get a little "woo-woo" in some areas for me. - NEW! Creating with Paint by Sherrill Kahn There are lots of interesting techniques for working with paint on fabric and paper. It was lots of information on types of paints and what they are best used for. The examples are all vibrant and often tribal in nature. For those who don't know, Sherrill owns "Impress Me" rubber stamps that have images along that line and many of the examples use these images. That said, most of the techniques are applicable even if you aren't into the vibrant and brigh tribal look of Sherrill's work. I found this book very inspirational. The Art and Craft of Collage by Simon Larbalestier This book is full of enough eye-candy it could serve as a coffee table book. Despite all the wonderful photographs of collage work, there is lot of information about collage from traditional to more modern approaches and the various materials that can be used. Creative Collage Techniques by Nita Leland and Virgina Williams This book has a unique approach that the other collage books I've read have not had. It is set up to prgress the reader through basic magazine clipping collage all the way through to creating your own support board by adding sand or blotting paper. There are even occassional in-depth looks at how a work was created from start to finish. A very informative book even for experienced collage artists, but still within reach of the beginner. The Art of Paper Collage by Susan Pickering Rothamel A pretty good book on collage. Some aspects are kind of brushed over, such as composition schemes which are mentioned but then not discussed any farther. It contains lots of different approaches to collage and has an artists' gallery at the back that highlights the work of several respected collage artists. The Art of Handmade Paper and Collage by Cheryl Stevenson This is a very informative book with great instructions on both papermaking and collage. The examples and projects presented are varied, but good quality. Techniques include kaleidascope collages and watercolored dimensional collage made from handmade paper. Collage: A New Approach by Jonathan Talbot This book presents a unique approach to applying papers and smaller objects in a collage with a dry technique that removes the element of having to take apart a composition, apply adhesive and then try to put it back together again. It does not include any techniques on different types of collage or on composition of collage. It's a great technique, and this book is a value at only $10. I just don't want anyone to be disappointed in what the book contains. Creative Paper Art: Techniques for Transforming the Surface by Nancy Welch This book has lots of information on decorating paper. The techniques span a huge variety of mediums and supplies needed. There is even a section with a few ideas of how to use this paper once it is decorated. I found this book to be quite inspirational. Books on Creativity The Artists' Way by Julia Cameron This well revered book among artists circle has merits, though I have as yet been unable to get beyond about the third chapter (week) of exercises. Many find it beneficial to work through it with a friend or organized circle of people. - NEW! Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland Celebrate your Creative Self: Over 25 Exercises to Unleash the Artist Within by Mary Todd Beam This book is a great stimulus, even if you don't specifically work through the exercises. While it concentrates on acrylics and watercolor, many of the techniques presented can be easily adapted or combined with collage. This is my new favorite book on my shelf. How to Be Creative if You Never Thought You Could by Tera Leigh A fine book for budding crafters and artists who are unsure of their area of choice with a wide variety of projects with great pictures and directions. The surrounding text is spot on about why we stiffle our creativity and how to remove the blocks. The projects are great for those who are new to the craft scene, though perhaps slightly elementary to the more experienced crafter/artist. The projects do cover a wide variety of types such that there is something to be learned from them for most everyone. - NEW! The Creative Artist: A Fine Artist's Guide to Expanding Your Creativity and Achieving Your Artistic Potential by Nita Leland This is a book with great information and exercises appropriate for jump starting your creativity or refreshing your knowledge of design principles. It also includes some techniques for a variety of mediums. A great creativity booster! - NEW! How to Survive & Prosper as an Artist by Caroll Michels Books on Journaling The Decorated Page: Journals, Scarpbooks and Albums Made Simply Beautiful by Gwen Diehn This is a great book full of ideas on how to personalize a blank book or journal to make it less intimidating to work in. This is one of the few books where there is some brief discussion of layout design (though not in the "cute" scrapbook sense). There is also a good discussion of basic supplies. I found this book to be quite useful and much can also be applied to altered books and the like. Visual Journaling: Going Deeper than Words by Barbara Ganim and Susan Fox It looks promising, though I haven't gotten any farther than the first introductory chapters. Books on Papermaking Complete Guide to Papermaking by Arnold Grummer This is a great book on papermaking. It includes a great history of paper as well as several different ways to make paper and paper casts. The Art of Handmade Paper and Collage by Cheryl Stevenson This is a very informative book with great instructions on both papermaking and collage. The examples and projects presented are varied, but good quality. Techniques include kaleidascope collages and watercolored dimensional collage made from handmade paper. Miscellaneous Books ArtEffects by Jane Drysdale Green This book is a huge compilation of information and techniques in a wide variety of media, including inks, watercolors, acrylics, pastels and oils. It includes the usual techniques as well as the obscure with at least one sample image for each. A great addition to any artistic bookshelf! - NEW! Decoupage: How to cut, glue, and varnish to make decorative decoupage objects from ordinary household items - 15 projects by Juliet Moxley I recieved this book as a gift. It's quite informative, project-based, though the techniques used in the projects are applicable to other projects as well. Good photography and examples. DK Art School: An Introduction to Art Techniques by Rob Smith et. al. A good overview of rudimentary art techniques from drawing, perspective and composition to pastels, watercolor and mixed media. A welcome resource for the self-taught artist for occasional reference. - NEW!
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