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157 of 159 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Among the very best for journalers!, August 2, 2005
This review is from: The Decorated Journal: Creating Beautifully Expressive Journal Pages (Hardcover)
A new book by Gwen Diehn is like freshly discovered wine: rich, pungent and colorful. Not only does Ms. Diehn know how to make a book, she excels at writing one. I spent an entire hot summer day savoring the words and images in Decorated Journal.
This book is a feast for the journal maker and perhaps a lifesaver for the novice. From page one, you are taken on a journey that covers materials, journal writing and the history of journaling. The breadth of Ms. Diehn's "The Decorated Journal" is nearly encyclopedic. Early chapters include such tidbits as a new way to use absorbent ground. Sprinkled with fascinating trivia, but never trivial, you discover in "Brains on Paper" about Tupperware's Mr. Tupper's journals and rediscover in "Patterns Lost and Found" how others make a journal personal. The book's concluding chapter is filled with impressive instructions on journal making. If you are not familiar with Ms. Diehn's work, look for her other books and find her instructions on the coptic stitch in Making Books That Fly, Fold, Wrap, Hide, Pop Up, Twist, And Turn: Books for Kids to Make (don't let the title fool you); no other book binding instructor or writer describes this stitch as well.
This book is a must have for any journal reader or maker, newcomer, late bloomer or daily record keeper. It's intelligent and written intelligently, the way I've come to expect from a book by Gwen Diehn.
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68 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great Gwen Diehn book..., August 14, 2005
This review is from: The Decorated Journal: Creating Beautifully Expressive Journal Pages (Hardcover)
This is a wonderful book - full of ideas, inspiration, and how-to. If you like artist's books, you will enjoy this. She covers materials, paints and pigments, brushes, adhesives and more. There are hundreds of examples, photos of wonderful journals by many artists. I can't imagine there is a book artist out there who would not find a dozen great ideas from this book.
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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Making meaning and not merely another pretty book, February 27, 2007
Given the popularity of scrapbooking and memory books, which has spawned an industry of kits, supply stores and weekend seminars, I at first mistook THE DECORATED JOURNAL from its title as belonging to this trend. In fact, this book can well serve that audience because it encourages crafters to seek original artistic expression and materials. THE DECORATED JOURNAL is also valuable as a fine arts resource because it is talking about using visual art media, techniques and aesthetics to create a record or reflection of experience either in place of or in the company of text.
The author, who teaches journal making as an art form at the college level, has produced a neat exploration of ways in which artists and amateurs have created meaning in the format of journals that marry the visual and text. She speaks plainly and concisely for those of us untrained in art and provides an excellent overview of materials and choices. She sorts through various paper, media and adhesives, explaining their plusses and minuses, their ease in use and mess quotient. She takes us into the world of making our own pigments and books. She gives us "the how" and "the what" in spades.
She also gives us "the why" through color photographs of a variety of artist's journals, including her own. She references a number of books worth reading, including some out of print that sound wonderful enough to hunt down.
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