Glass: An Inspirational Portfolio (Artisans)

This is a delightful and elegant coffee table book for glass artists and enthusiasts. Its small size makes it a versatile accent piece that can be used almost anywhere and the spiral binding makes in easy to leaf through. The book starts out with an overview of glass including history and a summary of how various types of glass are made. A variety of glass decoration techniques are then explained including glazing, painting, staining, sandblasting, acid etching, fusing, slumping, casting and bonding. These are not intended as instruction, rather as a general guide to glassmaking methodology. A beautiful and varied showcase of over 30 pieces of glass artwork follows. Each piece is displayed by itself on a single page. On the opposite page, along with the artwork title, size and date completed, there is background information on and a quote from the artist. There is a great glossary, index and list of artists with contact information. This book is fascinating for casual browsing and will inspire any glassmaker for years to come.

this book is beautifully bound. contains bright colorful photography and a quick narrative on different techniques of art glass. it doesn't go into blowing very much, but it does provide some examples on techniques that may not be know as widely to the layman. it's not a how-to on the techniques, but more of a catalog on them. i got it as a gift and i really love it.