Customer Reviews

Learning by Doing Northwest Coast Native Indian Art

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

 

 

As an admirer of native art and a novice carver, I have found new appreciation for this beautiful art form. This book (and it's companion, Learning by Designing) have provided a means for me to advance my skills as well as become more familiar with some of the features making northwest native art geographically unique. It provides ample and readily usable information. After only a short time, I am applying design concepts to my own work. The two books complement each other very well, and I eagerly await the next volume.

I would like to recommend this book to anyone working with native art themes as well as those who appreciate or collect it.

Thank You for the wonderful material!

This book is definetly geared toward a classroom environment, consisting mostly of worksheets/quizzes on basic design elements. The excercises are also very basic, involving tracing dot-to-dots, filling in missing areas of a design, etc. While this would be great for elementary school/middle school kids, it isn't as useful for independent learners, though there are good tidbits of information here and there. Also note that this book (and the other two books in the series) do not deal with meaning at all - they are purely concerned with the technical aspect of the art.

In terms of the technical aspects of learning Pacific Northwest Coast art I highly recommend Clark & Gilbert's "Learning by Designing, vol. 1" and Bill Holm's "Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form".

While visiting the Northwest Coast of British Columbia we wanted to learn more about the art styles and methods of drawing NW Native Indian art. This book, along with Learning by Designing (from Raven Publishing) were our favourites. Because of its step by step methods and sample drawings we were able to easily re-create and paint our own authentic designs. We highly recommend these books.

This book contains a nice idea, though the designs in the book are not great examples of the art form. Someone wishing to learn how to design with formlines might be better off using an exhibit catalog such as Kwakiutl Art or maybe An Analysis of Form by Bill Holm. There are many subtleties in the art and this book makes a valiant attempt to describe the art form but in the end fails in terms of examples and description.

This book is geared more toward an educational reference tool for elementary and high school teachers. However, it works just as well as a self-teaching guide for beginners. I look forward to trying some of the exercises myself.

I've used this series to teach design, carving and painting. The books are easy to follow with excellent illustrations and great teaching tools. My thanks to the authors for helping us pass along our heritage! [ ... ]

A very good description of the animals depicted in Northwestern Indian Art and how to draw them. A good reference for those seeking to use NIA with some authenticity.