Customer Reviews

Ceramics for Gardens & Landscapes

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I was disappointed with this book. There is some lovely work illustrated and the biographies of the artists doing the work are comprehensive, but as a newcomer to doing work for outdoor installations I would have preferred more "how-to" information. For instance, there is no chapter on how to deal with the freeze-thaw cycle; you can glean some information from many of the artists about the techniques they use, but it is not organized as a comprehensive topic. The information about the mechanics for making a fountain is sketchy at best--basically, it's determined to be hard to do and must be figured out on a trial-and-error basis.

Offers an excellent visual guide to outdoor and garden ceramics and a nice insight into the minds behind these strange and beautiful things. If you're looking for an inspirational book, this works. If you're like me and are always looking for more tips and demos, you'll find it's a little on the thin side.

A bit heavy on biographical sketches for my taste, but the bios will be of interest to students of art history. Most bios are followed by a section on "Techniques" containing very useful details, but since the book is organized by ceramists, there is no quick way to find the technical info you are looking for. Well-written and good for casually browsing.

this book is meant to be read and inspirational...not instructional. Potters reviewed are UK based, so clay and supplies mentioned are not necessarily available in US ceramic supply companies.

Karin Hessenberg has done a wonderful job of pulling together enough photos, ideas and techniques to get the ceramic artist started in this technically difficult medium. Accompanying photos,schematic drawings and lists of materials needed are a welcome resource without overdooing the amount of steps in each project. I have found that resource books like this must fill 2 needs for me. One; to inspire me with wonderful examples of each art form by a variety of artists and, two; information enough to help me with technical problems I might not know about but, without giving me a step by step that fills up the book. I really do like to look at the pretty pictures!