Customer Reviews

Beyond the Basics: Gourd Art (Beyond the Basics (Sterling Publishing))

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great book for any level of gourd artist. Not only does it showcase many different artists and styles, it also has a step-by-step project from each one of them. As a gourd artist and president of our local gourd club I am always looking for new material to use or to present to our club. This is one of my favorite books, and I do have all the gourd books I can get my hands on. When I took my copy to our meeting many of our members couldn't wait to get a copy of their own.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in working with hard-shell gourds.

I really learned a lot about gourds as fine art by reading this book. It is tells you about many of the techniques used by these award winner gourd artists. Large color photos that go step-by-step and helpful hints make you feel like the artists are right there teaching you. Email addresses are listed at the end of book to enable you to contact the artist for help. I emailed a few of the artists and the artists answered. Get this book if you want do work on gourds!

Well, I must admit I am biased (I'm one of the featured artists), but I do think that David MacFarlane and Sterling Publishing did a wonderful job with this book. Check it out for yourself!

It features over 24 top gourd artists, including Jennifer Avery, Latana Bernier, Rosalind Bonsett, Carla Bratt, Barbara Carpenter, Jenni Christiansen, Lisa Conner, Emily Dillard, Debora Easley, Bonnie Gibson, Geri Gittings, Gourd Artist's Guild, Barbara Holman, Cindy Lee, Melynda Lotven, Anne McGillivray, Jan Meng, Mira Mickler Moss, LInda & Opie O'Brien, Dyan Mai Peterson, Colleen Platt, and Kitty Riordan.

This book is generously illustrated throughout with beautiful color photos. It is full of art, projects, instructions, information and techniques. A must have for anyone interested in gourd art!

I feel the greatest strength of this work is it's ability to inspire. Even though I have been involed in working with gourds for quite a number of years now, I in no way produce work such as we find presented in this book. This is good. It has shown me just how far this particular art form can be taken. I have gathered a great many ideas from it's pages. The illustrations are wonderful, and, as I said, quite inspirational. It should certainly be noted though that the title of the book certainly says it all when it states "Beyond the Basics." That it most certainly is! This is one you will probably want to add to your collection as it is good to refer to to let you know just how far you can indeed go. Highly recommend this one.

The artwork in this book went beyond the ordinary. I enjoyed reading about the professional artists and seeing photos of their finished works. I especially liked the projects with detailed information on the techniques that they used. Definitely a great book to help a gourd artist get new ideas in developing his/her own unique style.

I have a rather large collection of gourd books and regulary make reccomendations to beginners as to which books might help them the most. Last year I formed a local gourd club, which numbers over 20 members, at our February meeting I passed my new book Beyond The Basics around and over half of them ordered the book. Most of them ordered from Amazon as the price was unbeatable. At this months meeting everyone was talking about the inspiration they gained from this beautiful book. Great photos and clear instructions that even I can follow with results that garner rave reviews.
Marilyn Crayton
Bachelor Valley Gourd Club

This was an exellent book! The pictures were detailed and with explicit color. Very informable and the instructions for each project easy to understand! I go through it every time I sit to paint or woodburn on a gourd, its almost wore out! I can't wait to order more books from Amazon. The prices are great and the reviews are great as well. Thankyou, Vicki Gonzales - GOURDABLES, etc.,

This is a beautiful collection of gourd art from the true masters, replete w/ useful suggestions, patterns, and instructions. THANK YOU!!!! Highly recommend to all levels of gourd crafters.

This book is not only beautiful to look at, but most informative. So many wonderful projects for the beginner to advanced gourd artist. Bonnie is a very talented artist who graciously shares her knowledge with the reader.

The philosophy of the arthur (DAVID MACFARLANE) is wonderful. One can learn much more than the BASICS in Gourd Art from this book. The pictures of the artists and their work explained are tops. The book reveals where one can go in the persuit of gourd crafting.