Customer Reviews

500 Baskets: A Celebration of the Basketmaker's Art (500 Series)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A wonderfully photographed book! I keep going back and finding new things I missed the first time I looked through it. It is a great book for the artist, basketweaver or someone who just loves beauty and form. The variety of styles, techniques and materials keeps me looking and enjoying. It is basically a picture/reference book and not a guide or instructional book. I'm very glad I bought this book and will enjoy it for years to come.

All of the Lark Books are fantastic...they just have a knack for getting the best visual material into the print arena. "500 Baskets" is of particular interest to contemporary container-makers because it reviews many of the exciting and innovative vessels being created in the 21st century. This is a book not to be looked at once and then gather dust -- it is a great inspirational book and provides energy and incentive to any artist or collector who is interested in containers and vessels.

The pictorial array from traditional to scultural baskets was the best way to present these baskets. For those in the art field to a novice interested in the making of baskets, this book showcased the creativity of a beautiful artform that is often overlooked. In my opinion, Lark books did a good job with just enough text about the basket and the name of the artists to let the baskets shine.

If you love baskets - you shall love this book. 500 items yes - but it feels like they shall never ever stop! They are so different - and many not really baskets at all. Different materials, differents forms, the only thing you want more - is to hold them in your hand. What does they feel like!
Many countries is represented, but a great lot of the baskets is from the US, but hallo! three from Denmark, and that is why I discovered the book. Those basket makers had the book with them on their stand at an exhibition with new and old baskets here ind Denmark. [...]

I think the title says it all -- "A Celebration of the Basketmaker's Art." This beautiful assemblage of color photographs are pure "eye candy" for other basketmakers and to people that appreciate basket weaving. Whether you are a basket artist already, aspire to be one in the future, or are a collector of contemporary art, you'll find page after page of inspiring and captivating basketry photos in this book. There are no instructions, patterns or actual techniques featured in this book, only exquisite examples of the completed artwork. Each subject is based on the foundation of traditional basketweaving techniques, but has stretched the limit and broken free of the constraints of the traditional and time-honored look, to emerge as something vibrant and thoroughly modern. Lark Books and all these wonderful 500 basketweavers have produced a book that will live on for years, and since it's only "eye" candy, we won't get fat from eating it all up, page after every wonderful page!

The baskets in this book are defined by one of three characteristics; basketry technique, traditional basketry materials or the concept of the basket as per the juror Jan Peters of the acclaimed Del Mano Gallery in Los Angeles.
I, personally, am especially taken with the pieces that best fall into the "concept" category; a wide range of innovative vessel forms and materials. Any one interested in basketry, sculpture or contemporary art in general should add this book to their collection.
One aside; I am one of the featured artist but this fact has not colored my view of this fine book.

This very reasonably priced book is not an instruction book, per se, except in the sense that it will provide you with a tsunami of creative ideas such that you would likely be encouraged to learn basket making. All of the photos are in beautiful color and are large enough that the reader can see the minute details of the various methods used by the artists. Most of the artists also include a helpful summary of the techniques and materials used. In addition, the index in the back of the book lists the many artists in alphabetical order and the pages where their baskets are shown. The index made it easy for me to find the work of my favorite artists: two of whom are Kari Lonning, and Dona Look.

Some of the materials used by the artists are mind boggling. Here is a short list: hornet's nest paper, melon seeds, craft-knife blades, pencil stubs, credit card fragments, small strips of colored card stock from cereal boxes, garden hose, valve handles, international newspapers, fish scales, recycled street-cleaning broom bristles, toothpicks, rubber from bike tires, recycled zippers, and of course traditional basket-making materials. And all in good taste.

I strongly recommend this wonderful book.

Beautiful photography, very little "traditional" basketry. I expected to see a few pieces that stretched the definition of basket--it is an artsy book--but the majority of the pieces are not what I would term basket.

The photography is gorgeous. So are the weavings. All of the art objects inside this book are structures, but I wouldn't call them all baskets. I would find this book more appealing if somebody had decided on a structure for it. The way it exists, the photos seem in random order. Possibly the learning experience as well as the emotional experience would have been more satisfying if there had been an organization to 500 separate pieces.

I was quite pleased with this book. It met my expectations as to both content and the quality of the images.