A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Art Books

Art Book: Duct Tape Engineer

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I know you have already gotten a bit of a preview of the fact that my boy likes to build with duct tape. I KNOW I have shown you pictures of his knight’s outfit.  He is my duct tape engineer!   So when the chance came to review “Duct Tape Engineer” I thought WOW…this is a book made for me and my lad.

The Duct Tape Engineer: The Book of Big, Bigger and Epic Duct Tape Projects is filled with things that the lad and I want to build, even dad poked his head in and said “neat idea”.  We haven’t, at this point, actually built any of the items in the book to their full size, but we did build some mini versions of them.  🙂

 What can you build?   Included are plans for: 

14 different builds to delight you, inspire your creativity, and.. save you money.  Why spend 1000’s on a kayak, when you can build your own using plastic sheeting, duct tape and pvc pipe?  

Alternatively, you could do the math and downsize them and make doll furniture or child-sized seating.   All plans are for the adult person, so just doing the math and downsizing gets you inexpensive furniture that you can grow as your children do, or that can delight your offspring with doll furniture that they can pretty up to suit their tastes (or the preferences of their doll).  

 
Each project includes a set of clear ingredients.  I love that not only do you receive a written set, but are given a visual as well.

 Instructions are as well done as the needed supplies. Text along with pictures. Everything is so clearly spelled out it makes each project a dream to build.

 What did we make with it?
Nothing full sized….but we did make doll furniture using the plans just downsizing. 

 As you can see they also make excellent small polymer pet furniture as well!  🙂

My thoughts:
This is a fantastic book.  If you have a duct tape builder in your house, get this book.  If you have a creative child, who is also good at doing math (or needs to practice it) and likes to build with duct tape…get this book.  It’s fun and helps you see things that you too could create with duct tape.   This a goodly thing to do!  🙂 

 Duct Tape Engineer: The book of big, bigger, and epic duct tape projects
Lance Akiyama
Rockport
160 pages
softcover with built in fly
Crafting, duct tape, create, resource, math, engineering

Reviewed for: Quarto Group

Where can you find it?

Amazon.com: Duct Tape Engineer.
Amazon.ca: Duct Tape Engineer. 

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you! ©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

That Mad, Monkish Architect!

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This is Gaudi  is a book I reviewed about Antoni Gaudi, people either loved him or hated him, and in this tome we learn why.  🙂  Author Mollie Claypool walks us through his life, his formation of ideas, and the work that he did. 

I found it a bit different that this biography had no table of contents, it dove right into telling us about Gaudi, and continued to just walk us through his life.

Filled with images that spoke to the life he led and the work that he did, this is not a dry boring read, but one that intrigues and teaches.

He wasn’t a healthy lad by any means, and a poor student, but he made friends, and he did learn!  We are introduced to his observations about life and his dreams for the future.   He and his friends made grand plans to restore the monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet.  This monastery remained a focus for the rest of their lives. “They would remain committed to it’s restoration throughout their lives”. 

That his faith was important to him remained evident throughout the book, and in how he did his architectural work.  He never married, but experienced deep love with a young lady, but for reasons unknown dropped the relationship. 

Part of his madness, was he didn’t do his work in an always conventional fashion. He could put up walls and tear them down the same day, only to put the wall somewhere else.   He invented the “parametric, adaptive model”, a model that inspired generations of architects.

Filled with images and illustrations showing Gaudi and the work he did, this book will give any student a thorough look into the life of Antoni Gaudi. His ethics and determination shone through the pages. 

My thoughts:
I thought Gaudi was a fascinating individual, and can’t say I agree with all his life decisions, but he had his ideas and worked with them to the fullest he could. His faith was important to him and he weaved it into his work to the best of his ability.   I found the font small, which just meant closer up reading for my tired, older eyes.  🙂   I don’t see it being an issue for younger students though.  It’s written at a level I’d say for middle school and up.  It would be a interesting book to give to a highschool student and ask the question “How do you think you could interpose your faith into your work life?  What do you think of how Gaudi did it?”

This is Gaudi
Mollie Claypool
Illustrator: Christina Christoforou
80 pages.
Hardcover
Art, Architecture, biography, history,

Reviewed for Raincoast Books. 

Where can you find it?

Amazon.ca: This is Gaudi.
Amazon.com: This is Gaudi.

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book: Fine Art Adventures

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What would you do if I told you that you could explore 18 different masterpieces with your student, using those 18 masterpieces as inspiration for doing 3 different art projects with students 6 years old and up?   Wouldn’t that just peak your interest?   It certainly did mine.   Today I would like to introduce Fine Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw.


First let me tell you about the authors.  Maja has written several art books and has over 20 years experience teaching art to children.   Jill has used her art history degree as she’s been writing and editing books since 1990.

Fine Art Adventures was written with the novice art teacher in mind.  Just assemble the needed supplies and open the book and teach your art class. 

The book is divided into sections: Colour, Black & White, Shape, Animals, Portraits, Landscape, Myths & Legends and Light & Black.   In the landscape section we look at three different paintings: Winter Landscape, Mone Sanite-Victorie and Nocturne in Blue and Silver.  Each of the 18 paintings comes with two art lessons.  

Before you start the lesson you are given a history on the artist and his painting.   

Next comes a picture of the project along with pictorial steps (with text underneath) of the project along with a materials list. 

Each of the projects is simple enough to do.  They could, most likely, fit into an hour long co-op class…guess what I am thinking of doing???   Having a fun art class!

Most of the projects use materials easily attained in most basic art stories, others might take a bit of sussing out on amazon (like shrink plastic), but not that difficult.   Then it’s just a matter of sitting down with a group of children and having fun doing some art.  (and learning some history at the same time).

My thoughts:
I like this book and how it is laid out into sections.  It would so easy to teach art to your children/students as the lessons are well laid, with hints about when to use speed, how to mix up your paints, or whatever else you need.  The instructions are easy to read and having the pictorial alongside makes it super easy to follow. I love how each of the lessons grabs a hold of ONE idea from the painting studied and then finds a way to work with the idea presented.  Some of the ways are SO COOL!  🙂  I want to do this book so bad with some students, I think it would be so much fun.

In showing it to an art teacher, her response was “wow…that would be so interesting to do”, and “did you see this lesson?…what would be good to show the colours..oh, I like this”.   (she said she’ll be looking for it!)

Fine Art Adventures: 36 creative, hands-on projects inspired by classic masterpieces
Maja Pitamic & Jilll Laidlaw
Chicago Review Press
144 pages
Softcover, art, resource, children’s art
Age: 6 and up

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: Fine Art Adventures.
Amazon.com: Fine Art Adventures: 36 Creative, Hands-On Projects Inspired by Classic Masterpieces

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book: Wild Garden

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 Do you remember A Hand Lettered Life from last week?   This is another in the Scratch and Create Series that I thought you might like to know about.   Wild Garden is a set of postcards, making them ideal work on anywhere you find yourself needing to wait around and the finished product makes an excellent quick thank you gift for those you meet along the way.

Scratch & Create is a neat little product where you use a stylus to create colour!   So instead of putting colour on to the page (and needing to think what colours go together), you are taking a silver coating off to reveal beauty underneath.

You use this stylus pen to do your creating.

I have to admit, I love the portability of Wild Garden, the fact that I can stick it in my purse and take along while my boy does his karate lessons…that works for me.  I don’t always want to read a book or play on the tablet while he is at practice.   So these little cards make the ideal way for me to spend time waiting.

At the end of it, I have a finished product that I can give as a thank you gift to his Sensei, or put in a envelope to tell a friend I was thinking of her.

Since the colours are already done for me I don’t have to haul along a bunch of markers or pencil crayons either.  Just a simple neat package that travels easily.

Just check out the bright colours!

I have to admit, it takes a bit of time to know how much pressure to exert and which end of the stylus to use for best results, so you might want to keep your first attempt for a family member gifting, but once you have the hang of it, the rest of the 20 postcards will prove to be an easy gift.

Do keep a cloth handy to wipe up the silver coating as it comes off, you don’t want to end up wearing it.  It does clean up real easily. 

This would be a great item for folks who like to scrapbook or doodle while they wait, or are just sitting back relaxing.  It’s a great way to keep the hands busy.

Wild Garden
Scratch & Create
Helen Hardik
20 postcards, One Stylus Pen
Rockport Publishing
Reviewed for: The Quarto Group

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book: Hand Lettered Life

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 Today I have a bit of a different book for you.  You know how sometimes I like to look at Adult Colouring Books?  Well today I have a new format of a ‘colouring book’ for you, called a Scratch and Create.  This one is called Hand Lettered Life and was put together by Shandra Smith.

art color scratch&create

This book is filled with 16 Scratch Board and 4 alphabet and ornament stencils to help you create your own quotes and colourful images.  In these pages, the colouring is done for you, all you need to do is create the colourful image.

To do so you have this handy dandy stylus to use.

Once you have your stylus in hand, you take your board (with perforated edge for ease of removal) and your stencils and then you basically scratch off the grey tile to reveal the bright colour underneath, using the stencil as a guide line.

I’ll show you what I worked at with one board.

I thought I’d try a couple of things to see how the stylus and board worked.  I punched out a dragonfly and thought I’d see how tracing goes, because sometimes you just want an outline of something, you know?  Tracing the solid stencil worked really well.  Easy to do with the pointed end of the stylus.

I found that using the outline stencil didn’t work as well.  I had to really push down on the edges of the outline to keep the lines smooth.  

It took some practice to figure out which end of the stylus was the best to use, and then how best to use it.  It’s a good thing they give four practice boards in the front of the book eh?   Very helpful that!

I learned that the colours on the outside of the board reflect the colours underneath the silver coating.  

I must warn you, keep a cloth handy to keep the silver coating from transfering to your clothes, it washes out easily, but if you are out at a gathering, you don’t need it on your nice clothes eh?

I can’t say I’m completely enamoured with how it all turned out, I don’t feel particularly creative to really make full use of this book. 

It also requires more attention to detail then what I am prone to give to any kind of art form.  Less forgiving of errors as well.  BUT overall I think for the right person this could be a stellar form of relaxation.  Sitting back and watching the colours come to life in front of you.

Hand-Lettered Life: design our own quotes with 16 scratch boards and 4 alphabet and ornament tiles
Shandra Smith
Series: Scratch & Create (four in series currently)
Rockport Publishers
24 pages
Colour, Stencil, Scratch, Art Book

Reviewed for: Quarto Group

Where Can I Find It?
Amazon.ca:  Hand-lettered Life.
Amazon.com:  Hand-lettered Life.

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book: Art Up Close

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Wow! I really like this art book. It’s called Art Up Close. Despite the fact that it has no art to draw or to inspire, my lad even likes it! 

I have to tell you all the details about this marvellous book, and truly it is a GOOD book.


First off, there are over 20 different masterpieces featured, from ancient to modern times.

Each two page spread looks like this one.  A piece of art work surrounded by up to 12 circles which are parts of the painting blown up.  Your challenge is to find each of those circles.

 Each circle is designed to help you dig deeper into the art work, perhaps discovering things you weren’t aware of before.

When you find it, it’s always a good thing you know?

And don’t worry, if you can’t find it, you can always turn to the back of the book.  Where first you learn a bit more about the art work.

Then as you scroll pass this section you discover the answer (provided under a lift the flap).  It’s not good to cheat BUT it is good to be able to find the answer if you are truly stuck, don’t you think?

I appreciated the sheer variety in these pieces, from early Egyptian art through Arabic manuscripts, to the Aztecs and on to the early 19th century and ending with Jackson Pollock of 1952.    I can’t say that I liked all the art work, but I definitely learned more about it!   It was good to have details to pick out as it helped me to pick out other details as well as I searched the painting. 

Claire d’Harcourt achieved her purpose in helping students of art history learn more about these paintings and to pay attention to the details.

I think this book would be a great add-on to any student of art history, from homeschoolers adding an art credit, to older students wanting to understand more about our past.  Art is a good way to look back at where we are, and understand our fellow man all the more.

Art Up Close: From Ancient to Modern
Claire d’Harcourt
64 pages
ages 10+
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Type: Hardcover art book, oversized.

Reviewed for Raincoast books. 

Where can you find it?

Amazon.ca: Art Up Close: from Ancient to Modern.
Amazon.com: Art Up Close: From Ancient to Modern. 

 

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book: CatDoodles

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Do you like cats? Do you like to doodle as a way to relax?
Well, let me tell you about this fun little book that crossed my desk today. Catdoodles. The Cat Loves Drawing book. 

Now mind me here.. if cats are TOTALLY not your thing, this is not the book for you.  BUT if you are like my boy and think cats are well… the cat’s meow.. then this book just might appeal to you as a doodler.  

 Okay so Masudo starts this book off with giving you some basic instructions on how to doodle cats.  🙂

As well as giving some instructions on how to use this book.

Then pages are simply provided for you to doodle on.  Some have tons of room to draw on.  Like for instance this one:

Whereas others, like my absolute favourite in the whole book, provide less room, but with small boxes that I just ache to fill in.  🙂

Some pages strike me as silly and actually caused my 12 year to snort when he saw it.  What Can I say… he just doesn’t see putting sweaters on a cat (at least that was how he pictured it).

All in all, it’s not a bad little book to fill in and just relax, letting your fretting ease away and you draw in the whimsy that is “the cat”.  And there are.. JUST SO MANY CATS!  

Happy cats, sad cats, tiny cats, big cats, black cats, white cats, even some colourful cats….just cats… cats.. cats.

Indulge your fancy.   And get Catdoodles.  🙂

 
Cat Doodles: the Cat Lovers Drawing Book
Akido Masudo
Type: Art/doodling
Publisher: Quarry Books
Pages: 64 pages
Softcover

Reviewed for Quarto Group. 

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: Cat Doodles.
Amazon.com:  Cat Doodles: The Cat Lovers Drawing Book.
 

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites