Customer Reviews

Contemporary Glass Enameling: Fusing with Powders, Paints, and Frit

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

 

 

"Contemporary Glass Enameling" starts with a novice's introduction to types of glass, tools used to distribute and distort media, and techniques to otherwise manipulate the medium for a desired effect. What I particularly liked about the first half of the book was references to specific brands and pictures of tools, paintbrushes, sifters, and other tools by brand name so you can go to a local store or search the Internet to learn more and buy these tools and materials. Interspersed with the ABC's part of the book are very high quality photos of professional glass work and descriptions of how the pieces were made, very helpful to me as I try to gather techniques.

Later in the book is an "Artist Profiles" section that not only shows wonderful works of art but also gives hints on how they were constructed. For example, I've seen Judy Conway's "Chesapeake" series in person and assumed that they were clear surrounding black for the blank areas. I learned that actually she cut 3/8" strips of transparent brown and stacked them vertically to get the dark canvas effect. There's also very insightful comments about Brock Craig, Peter Tarlow, Gil Reynolds (who wrote the foreward), and other artists' work. Very nice to see the work and also learn how some of them were done.

Surprisingly, for a book that focuses primarilary on powders, enamels, and frits, the book also covers mold creation, inclusions, draping, and other techniques that you wouldn't expect to see in this book. These nuggets were a pleasant surprise.

Overal a very professional book, extremely well photographed, and accessible to both beginners and more advanced fusers. You'll finish the book with a list of things to buy and test as well as new techniques to experiment with. Well recommended to start or round out your fused glass book collection.

This book was lame and expensive. I came to this book because previous books that I've read about glass painting and enameling were from the 1970s, and hence don't cover many modern enamels and materials. I thought this book fill me in on modern possibilities in enameling.

Turns out though, that Ms Weiner spends about a third of the book on general art instruction that has no specific relationship to glass OR enamels (basic color theory and paintbrush selection). Then she spends another third on profiles and pictures of other artists' works. This part wouldn't be so bad except that the profiles do not describe the techniques these artists used at all, and there's a distinct vibe that she's just promoting her buddies in the glass world.

Finally, the enameling advice she does give is shoddy and incomplete (not surprising since it's jammed into the remaining third of the book). For example, I couldn't believe she could spend a whole gratuitous chapter on paintbrush selection, yet NOT EVEN MENTION the most classic and fundamental of all glass enamelers' brushes - the badger brush. She also mentions that enamels can be fused between two pieces of float glass, but then never tells you how to do it - no firing schedules, no recommendations on the types of enamels best suited to this. It is SO frustrating! That's the whole reason I bought a book like this - for technical instruction. Finally she doesn't review the numerous types and brands of enamels on the market today - a real labyrinth that I was hoping to find help with. She chooses two suppliers and just seems to promote them the whole way through.

In short, this book is fluff and a huge disappointment. It shows you lots of pretty things that other people do but moves you no closer to being able to do it yourself. I returned my copy and got my $40 bucks back. You are way better off reading The Art of Painting on Glass by Albinus Elskus - a treasure trove of technical instruction, even if it's a little outdated in terms of products since was written in the 1970s.

When I picked this book up, I could not put it down- except to run to my glass studio! It is a perfect balance of eye candy and then the instructions to make your own.

I am delighted by the thorough listing of tools accompanied by the explanations and examples of how to use them. Everything has well photographed pictures and illustrations. Sources for materials are given. Special "tips" are highlighted in boxes for easy reference. As a previous review mentioned, I too was very pleased to see molds included in this book. The section on troubleshooting firing problems is worth the price of the book, as it has photos to help diagnose problems. The section on the techniques of well know artists, as well as the other numerous photos through out the book are inspiring.

I would rate this book as an advanced beginner and up. The author assumes the reader has basic glass cutting skills. Projects with specific instrutions are not given, so if that is what you are looking for, this is not your book. This book, in my opinion, is designed to excite your imagination, and give you the tools to accomplish it.