Customer Reviews

500 Vases: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Form (500 Series)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As someone who has only recently begun working with clay, I've looked over and purchased any number of popular books to help me with techniques and inspiration. This book is my favorite of the 500 books from Lark. There's no explanation of techniques, as with the other 500 books, but the pieces that Julia Galloway (and Ray Hemachandra from Lark) has chosen are truly inspiring. I read a bit about Galloway, and found that she is both a very popular and accomplished artist, as well as a professor of art. With that in mind, the pieces she shares with the reader are meant for us, to enjoy, and to trigger our hearts, minds, and hands to create. Great photography, too, the pieces come off the pages well.

This is a book of photos of contemporary ceramics, chosen from the best artists working in the US. Marvelous pieces with wonderfully creative designs and endlessly varied surface effects. The artists are identified in an Appendix. The editor, who is a professor of ceramics and an artist herself, clearly worked hard to select these pieces, and the photos are also of high quality. If you love ceramics but can't afford to collect 500 top quality pieces, this is a must-have. Also highly recommended is another book in the series, "500 Cups."

Like most of the other "500" ceramics books, this is one I'd recommend to fellow potters. With 500 photos, you can't beat the price. It is a diverse collection that includes some familiar names. If you liked "500 Pitchers, " you'll like this one.

The 500 series is remarkable and inspiring. I'm a middle school art teacher and using books like this to see what others do is great for students and for myself.

With many forms, the vase has been an art form the world over. "500 Vases: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Form" is a collection of photographs on the many variations and tweaks to the wonders of the vase. Each entry provides a full color photo, its type, its date, its dimensions all to provide a bit of insight on the vase. A fine pick for those who love crafts, "500 Vases" may serve as the inspiration any pottery crafter needs to make something wonderful.

The book was recommended by a potter we talked with while vacationing in Santa Fe, so I bought this book for my wife as a Christmas present.She really likes the book and is using it for ideas at her local pottery class.

I found this book to be extremely inpsiring with a wide range of beautiful work, it is far reaching in its efforts to capture a combinition of media and techniques.