A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Art

Art Book: Star Wars Build-A-Scene

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This Star Wars build-a-scene kit is perfect for the Star Wars fan in your life.   My lad is an avid paper crafter and was quite delighted when this kit made it’s way into our home. 

Three builds are included in this kit:

  • Episode III Revenge of the Sith
  • Episode IV A New Hope
  • Episode VII The Force Awakens

Each build in the book is predicated by a write up of what the build is about and how it was filmed.  Pictures from the movie are included, as well as concept scenes making this a well-rounded kit.  Not just a build but an informational kit.   Once this informational write up (about 5 pages) is completed you are given a list of supplies.  Common items like glue, paint brush, etc are listed, as well as instruction on how to do the build.  Mountain and valley folds, gluing and letting dry, and so forth.  The creators want you to be successful in doing the build, so take your time and read through all the instructions before starting. 

You will find that the sheets are perforated well on a thicker paper, but not board paper thick.  Just a nice quality paper for doing papercraft builds.  The individual pieces are well numbered.

Take your time, carefully build, read and re-read the instructions as needed, and you can complete these three scenes.   I’d say this kit is better for the older teen to adult builder as it is fiddly and you need the patience to take your time doing the build.My Thoughts:

Honestly.. we tried.. well.. my son tried!  I started, ran into problems, he tried hard to fix my oops, and well… he lost heart.  This is not a build for the inexperienced.  My son is an avid paper crafter and knows how to work with glue and paper really well .. but my mess up just brought him to a stall.  Unwilling he was to try another build, partially because he didn’t want to make me feel bad, but trying to fix my oops just disheartened him.   Adult builders.. take heart though.  if you are a good paper crafter and have the requisite patience, this kit will work really well for you.  It’s a great kit, and being able to build what you’ve seen on the big screen is wonderful. 

Star Wars Build-a-Scene.
Benjamin Harper
Claudio Dias
Three builds in one kit.Disney/Lucasfilms
48 page booklet, kit, 
Hands-on, papercraft, Star Wars, model

Reviewed for: Quarto Group

Where to find: Amazon.com

Review: Brain Bend

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Do you like mazes?  Brain Bend is a fascinating maze book, 25 of Mister Mourao’s best mazes…mazes where he plays with colour, shape and perspective.   These aren’t mazes for the faint of heart…but they are intriguing.

Each of the 25 mazes starts off with the maze coloured in, then you are given an uncoloured maze with the start and end points highlighted, step three is the maze uncoloured for your colouring picture.

I have to admit I really liked how this book was set up.  Some of the finished mazes were really well done.   How the colours flowed together and the twists and turns of the mazes.   I’m amazed at the skill it takes to put these mazes together.

Brain Bend is a rather unique book that  features 25 wild, vibrant, architecturally themed mazes.  Artist and illustrator Mister Mourao created mind-bending designs. This designs ranged in style from structured to free form. They offer a challenge to stimulate your brain cells as you work to solve these mazes and then colour them in. 

Helpful features: Maze solutions at the back of the book, and perforated pages for ease of removing pages, and heavy duty high-quality paper that prevents bleed through.   There are two oversized mazes included complete with colouring outline.

Now, are the mazes easy?  NO.  In fact I wasn’t able to complete any of them without some peaking.  I didn’t try that many, just a couple, they aren’t for the novice who wants a quick solve.  BUT I do know that if I’d been inclined to take my time I could have worked them out.  I’m just not that committed I guess. 🙂  IF you like challenges and like doing them via well made mazes, this book will work really well for you.

Brain Bend: Extreme Architecture 
                      mazes to decode and color
Mister Mourao
Rockport
Art, mazes, puzzles, 
Soft-cover, 120 pages
Adult

Reviewed for: Quarto Group.

Where to Find it?

Amazon: Brain Bend: Extreme Architecture mazes to decode and color

Review: Color Me Calm

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Check out what I have for you today!   It’s a colouring calendar!   How cool is that?    It’s one of those daily calendars that you rip off the pages for every day of the year.  365 days of colouring.  I LOVE IT! The name of this daily calendar: Color For Calm. 

Color For Calm is a rip-off page, all year long daily calendar.  Each day presents a new coloring challenge (one on weekends), a challenge that will give you few minutes to catch your second wind, to relax into the world that is colour.  I noted most days were on a white background, but shared weekend dates had a faint coloured back in blue, pinks, yellows etc.  Not over-whelming to affect the colour palate but just enough to show the difference.  I liked all the colourful designs that framed each page.

And guess what.. it even comes with it’s own colouring pencils!   Five double-coloured pencil, the only thing it’s missing is the pencil sharpener.   It even comes with a handy hole for hanging it on the wall.

I showed this calendar to my sister and she checked through to see if it was themed, I didn’t find it to remarkably be so.  In December there were Christmasy themes, but not overwhelming, October has some Hallowe’en but most fall oriented designs, similarly for the rest of the year. I would expect with any annual calendar to have something about any given holiday pertaining to that holiday. 

Color for Calm All Year Long 2018: 
Box Calendar with Colored Pencils attached to Base
Carrie Stephens
RockPoint
300 colour plates, 5 double-sided pencils
Coloring, Calm, Calendar
Reviewed for: Quarto Group

 

Where to buy it:

Color for Calm All Year Long 2018: Box Calendar with Colored Pencils attached to Base.

Art Book: How to Build Lego Cars

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Do you love building with Lego?   Do you see it for the art form that it is?  Yes, it’s STEM and building and engineering, but … it is also an art form.   You can really see it in these magnificantcars that Peter Blackert helps you design in How to Build Brick Cars.

Oh…these aren’t your standard lego cars…these are master builder cars that go on to inspire you to model your own creations.
15 different cars which work you up from basic to expert, teaching you the skills you need to design your own lego models of the sports, race, and muscle cars you see around you every day.

You get to build cars such as the Ford Raptor, Datsun Coupe, Ferrari 250, Porsche 911 and so many more.  15 cars all told.

You will find detailed parts lists as well as information about the car being built.  The parts list is in full colour with numbers written alongside.  I didn’t find those numbers worked well with the Lego Store, so they might be with another area?  I don’t know.  BUT I do know you could go into any Lego Store with this book and they could help you find any pieces that you need, with the picture is on the page along with colour.  Easy peasy!

After the opening section you get into the meat of the build.  Full colour illustrations walk you step by step through the build. As long as you are paying attention (and don’t skip steps) you can complete your build.

My thoughts:
This is a great book for any lego enthusiast.  Getting help to make the car of your dreams?  What more could you ask for.  The detailed instruction ensure that anyone who can follow lego instructions can complete these builds…just as long as you have all the lego parts at hand.    Go ahead, create some lego art!

How to Build Brick Cars: Detailed Lego Designs for Sports cars, race cars, and muscle cars.
Peter Blackert
MotorBooks
192 Pages
Paperback, oversized
Lego, creator, build, master builder, animals, design

Reviewed for: Quarto Group.

Where can I find it?

How to Build Brick Cars.    Amazon.ca   Or   Amazon.com.

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

Acrylic Paint Fun

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My lad’s been taking a class in Acrylic Painting, I thought I would show you some of the work he’s done.

This was done on an old record.  They mixed the colour in a cup with some glue???  (I think) and then put it on the record.   Each student had their work turn out a bit different.

I really liked how these tiles and light fixtures turned out.  Rather cool eh?  I just love the colours and hope that when we move we might put them up in the lad’s room.  The splash of orange on the blue.. .Just really liked this!

Art Book: Beasts from Bricks

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Oh, who doesn’t like to build with lego?  I spent hours as a child playing with lego and have had lots of fun playing with my boy child…though the older he gets the more he keeps himself busy with other things and plays less with his mama.  BUT this book is cool!  Making animals from around the world, using the designs in Beasts from Bricks.  It’s great!


15 different animals which take you through the different continents of the world, teaching you the skills you need to design your own lego models of various animals you can meet in your life (or perhaps WISH you could meet in real life).

You get to build animals such as the African Elephant, Indian rhinocerous, Suffolk sheep, walrus, jack rabbit, anteater and a wombat (as well as others).   I loved that each new animals was introduced to us along with why the author builder created them.

You will find detailed parts lists along with a colour key.  The parts list is in full colour with numbers written alongside.  I didn’t find those numbers worked well with the Lego Store, so they might be with another area?  I don’t know.  BUT I do know you could go into any Lego Store with this book and they could help you find any pieces that you need, since the picture is on the page along with it’s colour.  Easy peasy!

After the opening section you get into the meat of the build.  Full colour illustrations walk you step by step through the build. As long as you are paying attention (and don’t skip steps) you can complete your build.  You may even find yourself inspired to find other animals you can build.  Sometimes to just be changing the colour (as in making a white sheep black, or multi coloured), or by using the skills you have been taught to come up with your own designs.  Who knows what you’ll be able to build eh?

Little things I liked: Each animal is colour coded, so you know all the blue is one animal, different builds he’s made pictured at the back of book, clear instructions, image of finished animal, and the pedestal each animal is placed on so you aren’t limited to stance or flat surfaces.

My Thoughts:
Get this book.  Have fun learning about and then building animals from all over the world. It’ll be great fun, you know it!  🙂

Beasts from bricks
Ekow Nimako
Quarry books
144 pages
Softcover, oversized
Lego, building, STEM, animals, engineering

Reviewed for: Quarto Group

Where can I find it?
Beasts from bricks.  Amazon.ca    Or    Amazon.com.

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