Customer Reviews

500 Cups: Ceramic Explorations of Utility & Grace (A Lake Ceramics Book)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like so many of the Lark books, this one is filled with, you guessed it, 500 photos. Nicely dnone I might add (I am a commercial photographer who dabbles in ceramics to keep myself sane...ish). Now I must admit that I didn't actually count the photo's to see if there are exactly 500, but I'll bet the editor did.

This book isn't a technique book, but a beautiful reference of about any imaginable ceramic cup, functional and not (some are full of holes and would hold nothing but cotton), traditional, contemporary, Japanese style, hand built, thrown, altered and, well, just about everything I have personally ever been exposed to or even heard about.

I love this book.

I find great inspiration as I turn each page.

If you are looking for references, inspiration, or just some great ceramic works, I highly recommend this book. While you are at it, check out the one on bowls. It's great as well.

Anyone who thinks there is very little difference between one cup and another would have that notion blown away by simply flipping open any page of this book. When the teacher of a local community college pottery course saw this book, she asked everyone in her classes to refer to it before beginning to design their next cup projects. It opened their minds to some of the infinite possibilities available to practitioners of the potter's craft.

Basically this book is strait up hardcore pottery porn. If you like beautifully lit photographs of pretty pottery then this book is for you. There is very little discussion of technique, functionality, or expressive intent. Just lots and lots of pictures. However, the format of all cups in this book does help show up the range of possibilites within the context of a paticular form. Overall this book has been very helpful to me for teaching ceramics, despite the limitations of technical information.

This book is basically a picture book with many unique creations by other artists. They give me lots of new ideas to use in my own pottery. I highly recommend this book for the person that just needs a new direction to go with their art. I am currently requesting the other books like 500 bowls, pitchers, plates, etc.

One thing to know is that this book is not a How-To Manual. Apparently the artists wanted to keep their techniques private, but their work public. I found that many of the pieces looked difficult to replicate, as they can become very abstract. There are some descriptions of certain properties, such as the type of firing and clay. Other than that, the pieces served me as inspirations for experimentation.

It is a good reference book for the ceramic artist and collector. It provides wonderful pictures, inspiration, and ideas.

We just opened the pottery area of our store this year. The learning curve is steep: setting up the studio, hiring teachers, choosing clay bodies and glazes, and wheels, repairing kilns and firing other peoples work! So, I have purchased a lot of pottery books recently! This one is very cool. It doesn't teach you how to make anything, but it is a great way to see a huge variety of possibilites. I just love looking through it. There are several cups in there that I want to try to build (when I get better skills). The Lark Ceramics books are excellent resource books-stock your library up with them. You won't be sorry.

If you like cups, mugs, and tumblers, then this is a book well worth purchasing. This form of pottery is my favorite and this book inspires me everytime I open it. The book is filled with fantastic images of works by some of the best potters in the world...a MUST have!

My daughter and I had so much fun looking at the amazing photos in this lovely book. However I am mainly a self-taught potter, and I was hoping for a bit of insight or instruction. Very much lacking. However, this gorgeous book with huge variety should provide some inspiration.

Beautiful art book displaying many cups. Good for leafing through to gain inspiration on ideas. Beautiful photographs.

Beautiful book, gorgeous photographs of unique and beautiful pieces. Highly recommended. Hundreds of different artists, cups and mugs for all tastes. Hours of page flipping, lots of great inspirational ideas.