Art Books

50 Toys to Make

October 17, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

50 Toys to make is an older book I pulled off my shelf the other day. I’m still flirting with the idea of teaching a class for older children to make gifts for younger ones in their families. Or even items that maybe I can make and sell as gifts. I dunno, mostly for a class idea though. 🙂

Anyways, it’s a good book filled with techniques and step by step instructions to help you (or a child) be successful. Starting off with a page talking the different materials you’ll be using, with helpful hints. For instance I learned when working with Balsa wood it’s a good idea to wear a mask since it produces a fine dust it’s best not to be breathing in. There were also equipment and technique pages as well. These pages came with text and full colour images to help you see what is being discussed.

One of the things I really liked was the inclusion of templates printed on graph paper. This makes it cost-effective to include in a book as well as making it easy to expand them as needed to make the project.

The crafts are divided into four sections to make it easier to find what you are looking for:

The Nursery
Early Learning
Dolls, puppets and soft toys
Games and Outdoor fun

Each project comes with a materials list as well as step by step instructions to easily complete the project.

Some of the projects are making a flower power cushion, a jack in the box, Activity blanket, sunny flower blackboard, rag doll, and character Skittles. So many projects… so little time! All kinds of ways to make like fun and interesting for children.

My thoughts:

I like this book. 🙂 If I didn’t it wouldn’t still be on my shelf after my massive cull in the spring! I love the step by step instructions which make it easy, even for me to complete the projects. The variety in the 50 projects presented keeps me interested, I never thought of making a game out of old pop bottles before. Did you?

50 Toys to Make: Fun & Practical projects to make for babies and children.
Petra Boash
Acropolis Books
Hardcover, 96 pages
Toys, DIY, crafts

Observe, Collect, Draw

August 15, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Observe, Collect, Draw is a journal to help you learn more about yourself (by collecting data) in order that you may become more connected to who you are. Doing this will enable you to be the creative, talented person that you are. So if you are an artist, or writer, or sculptor, you can bring forth your talents more easily. 🙂 This is my review.

From the back cover:

A guided journal with a fresh approach to the trend of journal-as-tool-for-self-examination. The journal is delightfully illustrated in the authors’ trademark style-accessible, whimsical, detailed. Blending inspiring examples with engaging instruction, this journal asks: What do we learn about ourselves when we measure our gratitude, confidence, and distraction levels? What do our collections say about who we are: our books, music, the clothes we wear? Observe, Collect, Draw! functions as a mini-course in information design, as accessible to beginners as it is engaging to seasoned info designers.

The Nitty Gritty

Three main Sections to this journal

Part one: learning to see. This is where you overcome your fear of the blank page while learning more about using the data you have as material.

Part two: Observing, Collecting, Drawing. Immersing yourself in the world of data by following guided exercises to observe, acknowledge, count and draw.

Part three: Crafting your visual language. You’ll find open ended ideas for drawing with the data you have collected, following your own rules and using your own style. Your work, done your way, using your own style and rules.

Throughout the pages you will find whimsical drawings starting with learning what Data is. Data is simply getting the math about the things that are in your life: plants, people, food, events, interactions, it’s all just data. It tells us who we are and what we do. What’s important to us is shown to us in the data we collect about our lives.

You can then take that data and turn it into a useful form.

Like when a person enjoys a beautiful sunset and takes those colours and turns into a painting, necklace or rug.

The goal of this journal is to help you figure out what the data is in your life, so that you can in turn take that data and be the artist you are meant to be. To that end, guided exercises are given to help you collect data.

For instance, grab up your camera/phone. Take a look at the pictures that are on it. Now map out what’s on it, animals could be blue, people red, houses orange… Whatever. Just map it out. Colour code and use dots and shadings to show connections. This gives you data.

You not only look at the good things of your life, but you also get into the harder things in life, like figuring out what makes you complain. What you complain about? Who do you complain to? It’s all data.

The more you document your life, the more data you can mine, which gives you more information you can turn into artistic endeavors. Once you have worked your way through all 35 exercises, you are invited to then draw. First you analyze the data you have collected, find the stories of your life, then experiment with how those stories look using colour, lines, images, and before you know it you have a data image. Once you have that, you work your way through 12 additional exercises, or if you will, drawing prompts.

These drawing prompts include things like the animals you see, your holiday souvenir, your family, small talk, social media and more.

My Thoughts:

I wasn’t too sure about this book when I first got it. It’s like HUH? I’m supposed to examine my life so that it makes my art better? Who in the world has time for that?!?!?!? But as I went through it, it started to make sense. The more you know about yourself and the way you put things together, the more you can bring yourself out in the art that you produce. It’s not a bad thing that, is it?

Is it worth getting? I think so. It’s good to stop and think about the things you do sometimes, helps a body to become more aware of personal foibles, strengths, interests they perhaps weren’t aware of, and gives ideas to talk about.. for instance today I was thinking about how much I like mint tea… making MY OWN mint tea, and then wondered if I could inspire others to like mint tea. This I thought about because of a page in this book. Good yes? Indeed.

Observe, Collect, Draw! A Visual Journal.
Giorgia Lupi
Stefanie Posavec
Princeton Architectural Press
Softcover, 160 pages
Journal, Art, Self-discovery
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Other Giorgia Lupi books you might be interested in
Dear Data.
Dear Data Postcard kit.

Things to Make and Do

August 1, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

As you can see from my image, my copy of Things to Make and Do is a bit battered and stained. Although this small book doesn’t have any many crafts in it as some do, I like it because it has projects in it that I haven’t found in most other craft/art books. Let me take a moment to tell you about this helpful book.

What do you get?

Produced by Scholastic Services, this almost 80 page book contains about 40 projects. These range in difficulty from easy (book marks) to hard (prickly vase). Well written instructions help the maker complete their projects well. Part of the author’s goal is to help the young makers design and create projects they may be able to sell. To that end she enclosed a small section at the close of the book to assist them in their endeavors (things to do).

The Nitty Gritty

Illustrator Ethel Gold provides simple drawings to guide the maker in their projects. Some of the projects look remarkably simple, but their complexity is see as you go through the steps to make them. The projects use items often readily found around the house, I didn’t run into anything I didn’t know what it was.

I have to admit, I did need to research what crafting wax is. I’d heard of it before but wasn’t sure what it looked like. Now I know more eh?

I mentioned a couple of the projects to my lad and he thought they sounded good to make. “That could be helpful mom” and “do you think something like that I could sell?” It’s good to raise an entrepreneurial lad you know?

This project made me think of how my mom likes to make cards. Designing them well for each person, the pride she takes in giving something personal to others. It’s cool to see and this project would be a good first step in helping a new generation learn the skill of card-making.

Things to Make and Do
Linda Beech
Ethel Gold (illustrator)
Scholastic Book Services
80 pages, softcover
Crafts, Projects, Make it

Hands Around the World

July 25, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Do you ever struggle with helping bring about cultural awareness? Hands around the World is filled with 365 creative ways to help build cultural awareness in your students and to help us respect one another around the globe. There are activities for every day of the year.

So why am I talking about a cultural awareness book on my art day? Well.. you see, often part of building awareness with each other is engaging in crafting or art projects with each other. Reading the poems or seeing the crafts that people around the world make. Whether it’s a japanese wind sock, or colouring a flag, making a puppet so you can put on a puppet show of a native story, or even making a Batwa story mouse. There are so many ideas floating around the peoples of the world, why not build on them together?

What do you get?

365 ideas, one for every day of the year.

Ideas vary in their ranges: recipes, stories, activities, crafts, games, physical activities, and more.

Learn new skills such a folding napkins, making a homemade toy, acting, or putting on a cultural sale.

My Thoughts:

I love the sheer variety of tried and tested ideas presented in this great Kids Can! Book. Susan Milord does a great job of providing some very unique ways to help children from a variety of cultures connect with each other. It’s good to see how other people do things, to learn their history, and to discover how we express ourselves within our cultural heritage.

Hands Around the World : 365 creative ways to build culture awareness & Global respect
Susan Milord
Series: Kids Can
Williamson Publishing
160 pages, softcover
Elementary, Cultural awareness, Heritage,
Art, crafts, cooking, dance, activities
Where to find.

Bright Ideas: Seasonal Activities

July 18, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

I grew up with Bright Idea books floating around with things to do with children. Published in 1984 they have been around a spell. This particular book, Seasonal Activities, is filled with not just craft ideas, but with different things you can do with children throughout the different Seasons of the year.

What do you get?

Seasonal Activities is divided into Four sections along with a reproducible materials section. 128 pages filled with over 150 activities to do for children 5 to 11.

Each page lists the age range geared for, most often 5-9 or 7-11, with some variation, the type of activity, the size of group needed, and the supplies required. Each activity was previously published in the Scholastic Magazine, and as such has been tried and tested. Simple black and white illustrations dot the pages.

Even though my lad is 13 years old, I found activities that I will be modifying to use over the coming year as we study Canada and the wars. Things like travel study guides, radar mapping, cleaning barracks and more. Do they need to be adapted sure? It’s all part of the learning right?

My Thoughts:

I love the sheer variety of things to do. From kite-flying to building a collage. There are things to delight and entertain any number of curious, creative 5-11 year olds. With some modifications, they could even be used at hands-on, stem projects for older students as well.

Seasonal Ideas

Bright Ideas
Scholastic Publications
Softcover, ages 5-11,
crafts, activities, seasons

Found on Amazon.

McCalls Golden Do-It Book

July 11, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

I can’t recall where I picked this book up or even if it’s a hangover from my childhood, all I know is that every time I go a cull of my art books and ask,”Do I REALLY need to keep this one?”, somehow this book ends up back on my shelf. 🙂 Ergo, I thought it was about time for me to share it with you. My copy of McCalls Golden Do-It Book is getting a bit battered, the spine is loose, the pages a bit worn, but still the ideas are as real as anything. So much make and do within the pages of this book.

What do you get?

A number of different sections divide up this tome. Each section containing 2-8 projects, great for children 6-14 years old. (or later if so inclined). Littles might like to try their hand as well but will most likely need some older person’s help to make the projects turn out well.

Crayons, Paint, Paper, and Paste
Printing
Sculpture
Toys
Weaving
Needlework
Dolls
Music
Puppets
Gifts
How-to Section

You may be wondering, have we even completed any of the projects? Well we’ve made cars and houses out of boxes, the lad for a while was big into paper craft, we’ve made boats and done some weaving. Do I have pictures? Um… no. That would have been on my hard drive (external) that crashed last year and we’ve been unable to recover the data. And well.. that’s that!

One thing I do want to try yet with my lad is making a seed painting and a yarn painting. I just think they’d be rather neat to do and see what we could each come up with… or maybe I should save those ideas for co-op days. 🙂 Even to making sample kites to fly over enemy territory…hmm.. the ideas are endless.

What do I think?

Some of the instructions could be a bit clearer and some items are used which aren’t as common today (for instance, I’ve never used rubber cement with my lad). I’ve not heard of excelsior… which when I google it is a woody twine all mixed together. Where to find I dunno. It does sound neat to play around with just to see what one could do with it. Most of the instructions are just enough while leaving the rest to common sense. Will it make the cut next spring? I dunno, we’ve done most of what we want to in it, so we may just need to pass it along to another family with a creative keener. 🙂 It’s a good book with oodles of images and ideas to go along with each art project.

McCalls Golden Do-It Book

Hardcover, 160 pages, 6-14 years

Art, crafts, creativity

Where to find Amazon.

Archidoodle City

June 13, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

When I opened the pages of my newest review book, Archidoodle City, my heart did this little smile. I don’t know why. I am SO not an architect, but as I turned the pages and saw the variety contained therein… my heart smiled. Come along with me, perhaps your heart will smile too. 🙂

Steve Bowkett is a teacher of architecture and has done so for more than 25 years. He is currently the senior lecturer at London South Bank University. He wrote a previous book call Archidoodle. He has a wife and children, and along with a dog, and a couple of cats, called Buckinghamshire home. You can see his passion for design within the pages of this lovely tome. Seriously… I just really like this book. 🙂

Being the teacher that he is, he opens this book with some lessons talking about the tools of the trade, and the importance of vanishing points. He shows how to create different effects so the student can add definition to their work.

As you work your way through the pages of this book, which says it is geared to architects of all ages, but really.. anyone who likes to draw will enjoy this book, you will find projects of differing levels of complexity. I loved how he combined real life with opportunities to try your own hand at it. For instance the Water Towers of Manhattan. Students did wrap around art on them to “promote the global water crisis”. In this book the student is encouraged to come up with their own theme to promote and a number of blank water towers to fill.

Real-life architecture from around the globe as used as points of inspiration. Mr. Bowkett gives the student a groundwork to start from, sparking the imagination to fill in, create and make something all their own. I appreciate how he sparks the imagination by giving it some well defined starting points and parameters to work with in. Having just a blank sheet can sometimes be intimidating. Having a starting point, or a space to work with, provides a safety net and allows the imagination to soar.

Archidoodle City: an Architect’s Activity Book
Steve Bowkett
Laurence King
160 pages, ages 8+
Architecture, Art, Drawing
Activity Book
Reviewed for Raincoast books.
Where to find: Amazon link.

My Thoughts:

I think this is a fantastic book that will amuse students from age 8 and up. Some of the pieces (divided over a two page spread) are more challenging than others, but a challenge is good for any age. I loved that not every page was presented the same way. Some of the projects were rather grand, others were smaller (three or six on a two page spread). We traveled all over the world: Italy, USA, Tokyo and beyond. We discover toilets, bus stations and ventilation tubes. There is architecture in places that I wouldn’t have even considered. Get this book. Be amazed. Have fun drawing, learning and discovering. 🙂

Art Books