Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot’s 500 Tiles: An Inspiring Collection of International Work belongs to the now-iconic “500 series,” a publishing project that treats contemporary craft not as marginal decoration but as a full aesthetic language in its own right. Like its sister volumes on cups, bowls, and vessels, this book is less a traditional monograph … Continue reading T.A.E.’s Book Review – 500 Tiles: An Inspiring Collection of International Work editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
T.A.E.’s Book Review – 500 Teapots: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
Among all ceramic forms, the teapot occupies a singular position. It is at once sculpture and utensil, engineering problem and artistic statement, ritual object and cultural symbol. Unlike a bowl or vase, a successful teapot demands that numerous independent elements—body, spout, handle, lid, foot, balance, and pour—work together harmoniously. 500 Teapots: Contemporary Explorations of a … Continue reading T.A.E.’s Book Review – 500 Teapots: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
T.A.E.’s Book Review – 500 Pitchers: Contemporary Expressions of a Classic Form editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
Within the history of ceramics, few forms so elegantly reconcile utility and sculpture as the pitcher. It is an object defined by action: designed to pour, to balance, to be grasped by the hand, and yet constantly inviting aesthetic reinvention. 500 Pitchers: Contemporary Expressions of a Classic Form, edited by Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot, demonstrates … Continue reading T.A.E.’s Book Review – 500 Pitchers: Contemporary Expressions of a Classic Form editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
T.A.E.’s Book Review – 500 Cups: Ceramic Explorations of Utility and Grace editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
Few objects are as intimately woven into the rituals of everyday life as the ceramic cup. It is held, warmed by the hands, raised to the lips, and quietly accompanies moments of solitude and conversation alike. 500 Cups: Ceramic Explorations of Utility and Grace transforms this seemingly humble vessel into a profound artistic inquiry, revealing … Continue reading T.A.E.’s Book Review – 500 Cups: Ceramic Explorations of Utility and Grace editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
T.A.E.’s Book Review – 500 Animals in Clay: Contemporary Expressions of the Animal Form editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
An Ecological Bestiary in Ceramic Form The animal has always occupied a privileged place in the history of ceramic art. From Neolithic fertility figures to Chinese funerary horses, from medieval grotesques to Japanese netsuke, animals have served as symbols, companions, metaphors, and mirrors of humanity. 500 Animals in Clay: Contemporary Expressions of the Animal Form, … Continue reading T.A.E.’s Book Review – 500 Animals in Clay: Contemporary Expressions of the Animal Form editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
T.A.E.’s Book Review – 500 Plates & Chargers: Innovative Expressions of Function & Style editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
Among the many volumes in Lark Books' celebrated 500 series, 500 Plates & Chargers: Innovative Expressions of Function & Style stands as one of the most compelling demonstrations of how a familiar domestic object can become an arena for artistic invention. Juried by ceramic artist Linda Arbuckle and edited by Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot, this … Continue reading T.A.E.’s Book Review – 500 Plates & Chargers: Innovative Expressions of Function & Style editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
T.A.E.’s Book Review – The Figure in Clay: Contemporary Sculpting Techniques by Master Artists editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
Few instructional art books successfully bridge the divide between technical manual and philosophical meditation. The Figure in Clay: Contemporary Sculpting Techniques by Master Artists accomplishes precisely that. Rather than presenting a single "correct" method for sculpting the human figure, editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot assembles nine accomplished ceramic sculptors whose individual practices reveal that technique … Continue reading T.A.E.’s Book Review – The Figure in Clay: Contemporary Sculpting Techniques by Master Artists editor Suzanne J. E. Tourtillot
T.A.E.’s Book Review – Why Read the Classics by Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino’s Why Read the Classics? is less a tidy argument than a lively act of literary persuasion. Rather than defending canonical literature by appeal to duty or prestige, Calvino makes a subtler and more generous claim: a classic is not a relic preserved by institutions, but a work that remains unfinished in the reader’s … Continue reading T.A.E.’s Book Review – Why Read the Classics by Italo Calvino
T.A.E.’s Book Review – Schiele by Reinhard Steiner
Reinhard Steiner’s Schiele is a compact Taschen monograph, running to 96 pages, and its chapter structure already reveals its interpretive intelligence: “The artist’s self,” “I went by way of Klimt,” “The figure as signifier,” “The visionary and symbolic works,” and “Landscapes of the soul.” That progression suggests a book less interested in exhaustive biography than … Continue reading T.A.E.’s Book Review – Schiele by Reinhard Steiner
T.A.E.’s Book Review – The Craft & Art of Bamboo: 30 Eco-Friendly Projects to Make for Home & Garden by Carol Stangler
Carol Stangler’s The Craft & Art of Bamboo: 30 Eco-Friendly Projects to Make for Home & Garden is, at heart, a book about persuasion: it asks the reader to see bamboo not as a decorative novelty, but as a living medium with history, utility, and aesthetic dignity. The revised and updated 2009 edition presents itself … Continue reading T.A.E.’s Book Review – The Craft & Art of Bamboo: 30 Eco-Friendly Projects to Make for Home & Garden by Carol Stangler