Customer Reviews

The Art & Craft of Making Jewelry: A Complete Guide to Essential Techniques (Lark Jewelry Books)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I buy an "instructional" book, I nearly always find one or two handy tricks which make the book worth it's price. This one is loaded with great tips! Joanna Gollberg is a whiz at the technical aspects of the craft and she's very good at making the information understandable. If I could only have two books in my metalsmithing collection, this would be on the shelf along with Tim McCreight's Fundamentals.

This is another one that people will probably love or hate! It is not for beginners in the jewelry arts. I have had a chance to go thru my copy for a couple of weeks. I like it. She does do her usual good job of covering the tools and equipment for the projects and techniques she is covering. The photos are stunning and the I found the book a visual delight. I am not one to claim to enjoy or even understand the conceptual jewelry that one finds in some of the jewelry craft books as projects. Thankfully the project examples are clean of design and the couple that I did do where fun to make. There still is some far out stuff shown from other artists in the gallery's. I own it, I used it and will use it again and again. A keeper!

Sorry to disagree with many of the reviewers who have gone before, but I was guided in part by their judgment to buy this glitzy book, long on inspirational photographs, but short on genuinely helpful advice. Some claimed this book is for beginners, while others stated it isn't. Take it from someone who is a relative beginner... it is not.

This book places more emphasis on presentation rather than truly helpful advice with an almost cavalier disregard for the accuracy of the directions for the projects given within for those who need this information the most. The author seems to be so impressed with the photography and layout of the book that the wording was little more than an afterthought. It would appear that the author assumes her audience to be well-grounded in techniques that are not explained to the point where they would do anyone with less than intermediate experience any good.

HERE IS THE PUNCH LINE (and there's no getting around it):
Following the directions to the letter for soldering multi-layered applique work will NOT lead to successful results. There was no discussion about using solder with different melting points as I subsequently learned was the only to make it happen. And this is one of many such examples.

Instructions are merely guidance and considerable trial and error to find the correct way of acheiving these results will be required. This is confirmed by referencing other jewelry books, which indicate methods quite different from those given here, and most importantly, lead to successful results instead. Further, discussion of techniques with experts at a course given at a university revealed the concuring opinion that the directions lack the lucidity required to reach the stated goals.

Perhaps the 5 star reviews were by accomplished jewelers who didn't need the directions or by those who just bought it for the admittedly wonderful photography? Buy it for the pictures, but take the instructions with a grain of salt ...and be sure to have other jewelry-making books on hand or sign up with a jewelry-making course to get correct directions for achieving your goals.

UPDATE:
In answer to those who have asked, I have yet to find one perfect jewelry-making book for beginners out there. One has to sift through many to glean bits and pieces of useful information. Being past the beginner's stage at this point in time, I have found most of these books to have at least some portions useful for reference and that even includes this title currently under review. Just wanted to make sure no one thought of this book as Jewelry-Making 101, as it remains an intermediate title and assumes you already know the basics (or for whatever reason, does not provide any).

Wow - a picture does say a thousand words and this book is loaded with images that clarify a process, show a finished piece in all its beauty, and inspire confidence to design your own work utilizing the techniques described in this book. The highlights for me in this book are the "Bench Tips" as they provide little tips to help you in the process of working with metal...and yes, a more appropriate title would be "The Art & Craft of Making Metal Jewelry." The techniques described (pretty much covers everything) are short and I would have like more information, particularly if I were a beginner. The organization is excellent (see below). The gallery/completed pieces are perfect for throughout each section of the book. The few projects provided are definitely doable, maybe for the beginner, but more appropriately for the intermediate to advanced metal worker. Each project has each step clearly stated and labeled.

CONTENTS (as there is no Search Inside this Book):
*Introduction
*Metals & Their Properties (highly recommend this)
*Tools & Equipment (covers all the truly necessary pieces; the "Tool Kit" listing is very handy; includes recommended Safety Equipment - would have liked more info here, but many of the Bench Tips provide additional recommendations that are excellent reminders)
*Metalworking Basics
*Forming Metal (bending/shaping, forging, dapping, die forming, scoring, repousse, casting)
*Texturing Metal (roller, etching)
*Layering Metal (applique, granulation, filigree, kum boo)
*Mixing Metals (mokume gane)
*Adding Color (enamel, resin inlay, bezels, stones,
*Mechanisms (findings, clasps, hinges, chains)
*Metal Clay (very brief - basically just mentioning it and showing unique pieces)
*Templates (for the projects described in book)
*Contributing Authors (contributing in the sense of their pieces shown within the pages of the book)
*Acknowledgements
*About the Author
*Index

This is definitely a book for the PROFESSIONAL jewelry maker and a worthy reference tool for their library.

I got this book out at the library and fell in love with it sooooo much i had to go out and buy it. It's great!! It has visual pictures to get you through each step and it has many examples of other jewelers works. It even had works of my teacher in it. Great book and great guide. I recommend it to anyone!!

Great book. Will appeal to those just starting out with metal-smithing, particularly the tools lists and the projects associated with using each new set of tools. The gallery of work accompanying each chapter is amazing. The projects are easy to follow and the photos allow you to see exactly what should be happening at each stage. I enjoyed the book as a reference.

The beauty of this book is that it shows the technique and then shows outstanding artists work using this technique. The best book I have and I have lots.

I buy a TON of books about jewelry making, and for probably over a year now every book I've been buying has been something I immediately regretted--and quickly tossed to the "Shelf Of Neglect" section on my bookshelf (that's 3rd row down if yer ever over to visit) :-)

While I'm not a newbie to metalsmithing stuff, this book would be perfect for a beginner--BUT!! It's still good enough to keep even someone who really knows their stuff (like me*) finding it interesting as well!

I'mna shaddup now so I can go look at it some more!



*Not trying to sound like a fat-head or something, just once you learn the basics you can only see them SO many times before growing painfully bored... hope that makes sense.

I have an extensive collection of jewelry making books on my shelves and am obviously still collecting. As I've been an admirer of Joanna Gollberg's work for a long time, I purchased her book "The Art and Craft of Making Jewelry". There are many photos in the book. The project step-by-step photos are helpful and the gallery photos are pure eye candy! I would recommend this book to both beginning and intermediate jewelry students as it consists of brief two to three page descriptions of many jewelry making techniques which may be quite beneficial to the beginning student who would like to pursue the craft, but hasn't yet developed the skill or knowledge as to the areas they would like to pursue. The projects however, are most definitely not geared to the beginner, but better suited to the skilled intermediate or advanced student. Inspiration is always welcome and this book delivers that!

This is an excellent book with wonderful projects and great instructions and detail! This one is worth buying!