Customer Reviews

Altered Curiosities: Assemblage Techniques and Projects

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just a few examples:
pp19 - "This technique is called annealing. The metal will remain warm and soft enough to easily work for a while. As you work, if it cools down to the point of being difficult to manipulate, just heat it up again!"

truth - Once metal has been annealed it stays annealed, no matter how much it "cools down." What hardens it is the further working of it - bending, striking, etc. This is called "work hardening." It has everything to do with the crystalline structure of the material, not any residual heat in it.

pp20- "A two-part epoxy sets up fast and strong in under five minutes"

truth - A "five minute epoxy" will, but all other epoxies take longer, sometimes much longer. Bottom line in any good work is - don't use 5 minute epoxy for anything that needs to last - especially if you plan to sell it to someone. It is weak and brittle, and any good craftsman knows this.

pp24- "silver solder"

truth - not with that torch you won't. What is being used is "silver bearing solder" which is what is known as a "soft solder." Soft solder is great stuff - I use it all the time - but if you go into a shop and buy actual "silver solder", a hard solder, you will be unhappy that it doesn't work at all like in the book.

pp77- "Router knob top"

truth - What is being called a "router bit" is in fact a hole saw. The way it is being used in the photo will more often than not end up ruining the piece of wood, or damaging your fingers badly. Even if you succeed to not do either of those things, you will discover that you do not have the recess as pictured in the project, but rather a circular saw kerf that you must now gouge or chisel out to get that recess. This use of the term "router bit" is repeated on page 95, whereas what is pictured in use on page 96 is a Forstner bit - as it turns out, a Forstner bit is perfect for creating these recesses in pieces of wood. When the novice reader goes to their hardware store and asks for a "router bit" they will be led to a selection of items that they have no possible use for with a hand drill on these projects.

There are other things wrong with this book, including some wording that make me wonder if the editors were asleep at their desks, not familiar with the English language, or maybe just in over their heads.

The reason I am being so pissy about all of this is because I teach people to make things. And I am constantly having to help them unlearn things they picked up in books like this. Jane Ann Wynn is a very creative woman, and I applaud her effort in sharing her gorgeous techniques with a wider audience, but with tools and techniques put forth in ways that are anywhere from confusing, to downright flesh-removingly dangerous, I feel I have to speak up. Books like this, which try to cross the line between simply inspiring picture books into the realm of technical instruction really should do much better in the technical instruction efforts, or why try really?

Just when I thought I had seen all there was to assemblage out comes this book. Jane Ann Wynn has been extremely generous in sharing her techniques with us and also in encouraging us to use methods such as soldering that we might be too scared to use otherwise. One of the things I really like about the book is that the art work that is presented here is not cute and whimsical but groovy, edgy and even disturbing with a good dose of humour thrown in. The bird-feeder is really something else and the jewellery is very cool. Highly recommended.

As an artist who loves to experiment with any form of altered art this book hits the spot. I was immediately attracted to this book because of the awesome cover then I opened it and started to read. I instantly got goose bumps and an overwhelming urge to CREATE SOMETHING! The photos are beautiful and leave you wanting more, more, more and Jane Wynn gives step by step instructions that make these works of art doable. She invites you into her world with wonderful stories that inspire and motivate you. If you are in a rut or just need that little bit of something to jumpstart your creativity this book if for you. This book is a treasure and should be a must for anyone interested in altered art.

I want to thank all the reviewers who loved and extolled this obviously groundbreaking book. I also want to thank Christopher Palmer for his comments on possible technical errors in the text or the photograph cut-lines. If you proceed to the "Comments" following his Amazon.com review, you will note that the review engendered some controversy and ill feeling, which I would like to address here.

I know that authors (and I include myself, although to date I have only edited for publication -- not yet authored and published -- a book-length manuscript) can be exquisitely sensitive to criticism. I understand exactly where Jane A. Wynn is coming from in her response to Christopher Palmer's review. That said, Mr. Palmer's review alerted me to the possible necessity of filtering some specific instructions in the book through the perspective of an instructor who works with the relevant tools and who finds himself having to correct some errors that his students have picked up from other sources. His review did NOT, however, discourage me from investigating this obviously attractive and exciting book about altered imagery, which appears to include information not otherwise available on assemblage (a particular new interest of mine).

It may also be useful to note that sometimes a book is only as good as its editors. As a long-time publishing professional myself, I know this only too well -- most recently from sweating out a friend's publishers'-proofs-reviewing process with her after she was subjected to the last-minute dictates of an (impetuous?) editor under the influence of a zealous and persuasive in-house proofreader who had several last-minute suggestions for "improving" the book. Working at great speed under deadline pressure, my friend had to dig up and stick in several additional features, including a requested list of references and resources, with no time to be thorough or even impeccably accurate, let alone to annotate properly. Meanwhile, the crucial photos accompanying my friend's instructional manual may have received insufficient publisher-attention; at any rate, the author was distressed by some technical problems she noted in the shots that finally went to press. Unfortunately many readers may not be aware of this kind of behind-the-scenes "collaborative" process, which may detract from the writer's original vision or even compromise the final product. It is not necessarily reasonable or correct to lay the blame for any book-related issue entirely at the feet of the person whose name appears on its cover.

Regrettably, Chris Palmer's "neophyte" readers may not all be as sophisticated as we might hope: (1) able to take his specific critique in stride and protect their fingers accordingly if necessary (or at least careful to purchase the appropriate tool after researching any seeming ambiguity at, say, the most reputable Internet DIY sites), while (2) remaining eager to explore this obviously appealing and inspiring volume with its wealth of ideas and its illustrations of stunning works of art. Mr. Palmer could have provided a bit more well-deserved praise amidst the warnings he enumerated for the unwary. And I do empathize totally with Ms. Wynn, who must have been appalled and wounded by his words; God forbid I should have to confront such dire and scary corrections to anything I might personally write or publish. Still, I can see why he wrote what he wrote, and I expect his words will do more good than harm overall. I hope and trust his review will not harm sales of what has been a wonderful, even life-changing book to so many readers.

Ideally, all the rave reviews of this book will lead to brisk sales, which in turn will lead to a second edition. And ideally, the next edition will correct or clarify any problem-points relating to proper technical procedure or personal safety -- making an already-wonderful book even more valuable to accomplished, tool-saavy artists and vulnerable neophytes alike.

I highly recommend this mixed media art book to add to your collection of treasured books! Fascinating, imaginative, soulful, artist Jane Wynn so generously shares with us many of her unique projects and clever techniques. Her prose will delight, warm your heart, and make you stop and think. This book is a wonderful celebration!!

Gorgeous book and photos of collected objects, and many helpful suggestions for doing more of the same myself.

Altered Curiosities is a book filled with inspiration for the creative alterer. The author really does tell you HOW to take one ordinary thing and alter it so that you can combine it with other items to become a work of art. It isn't so much a how to make the finished object book as it is a how to take original things and burn them, cut them, drill them, bend them until you can reassemble them into an artwork. It has me thinking in new ways about junk that is in my junk drawer. Perhaps it isn't junk...maybe it is art! I love the book!

as the proud (and not so proud) owner of dozens of altered art books, i have to say that this is my favorite. i have never bought a book for anything more than general inspiration but with this book i want to recreate everything in it -- it's wonderful! i have already started to make some fun knobs for my knobless vintage dresser, robbed my son's critter drawer and bought some taxidermy eyes -- what great ideas! jane ann wynn is amazing and creates the most beautiful things every time, unlike those who create one great piece and pop it into book form with a bunch of filler crap that makes you wish you never bought the book. i cannot praise this book enough -- i just love it (so much in fact, that i think i should reset all other book reviews down one star because there is no comparison). i love the step-by-step instructions and the fact that most of the items are quite easily obtainable (sans wisdom tooth). :)

I love Jane's work but I don't want to replicate it. That's all the information I could glean from this book. It is primarily a project book and techniques are briefly explained without showing the many options of sawing apart an old plastic toys or smashing in a glass bottle. I also didn't get a sense of her method of composition. I don't have a garage full of old toys, spoons, nails, doll heads etc... So I need to know how I might conceptualize using her techniques but incorporating materials that I plan on using when junk hunting.

Altered Curiosities: Assemblage Techniques and Projects

I have this book on my coffee table so that I am reminded to look at it many times a week. I am now collecting the odd pieces I come across in a day and am enjoying seeking out that "special object" at garage sales for my new art project(s). The book provides great ideas and direction to give you that creative push into found art work.