Susan Halls’s Ceramics for Beginners: Animals & Figures positions itself at the intersection of pedagogical clarity and sculptural imagination. Aimed squarely at novices, this volume nevertheless aspires—even at the introductory level—to cultivate both technical facility and aesthetic sensibility in its readers. As a literary scholar might probe a text for subtext, narrative arc, and ideological underpinnings, so … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Ceramics for Beginners: Animals & Figures by Susan Halls
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Art Forms in Nature by Ernst Haeckel
Ernst Haeckel’s Art Forms in Nature (original German title: Kunstformen der Natur, first published between 1899 and 1904) stands at a fascinating crossroads of science, art, and philosophy. Though often referenced primarily for its breathtaking lithographs of organisms—radiolarians, diatoms, jellyfish, and countless other invertebrates—Haeckel’s work extends far beyond mere naturalistic illustration. He fashioned a visual and intellectual manifesto … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Art Forms in Nature by Ernst Haeckel
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Craft Perception and Practice: A Canadian Discourse, Vol. 2, edited by Paula Gustafson
Craft Perception and Practice: A Canadian Discourse, Vol. 2, edited by Paula Gustafson, represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of Canadian craft scholarship. Published by Ronsdale Press in 2005, this volume collects twenty-two essays and critical commentaries by nineteen independent critics, curators, professional artists, art historians, and studio art instructors. By bringing together voices … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Craft Perception and Practice: A Canadian Discourse, Vol. 2, edited by Paula Gustafson
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Craft Perception and Practice: A Canadian Discourse, Vol. 1, edited by Paula Gustafson
Paula Gustafson’s Craft Perception and Practice: A Canadian Discourse, Vol. 1 is an ambitious, multifaceted exploration that positions Canadian craft not merely as an artisanal pursuit but as a site of critical inquiry and cultural negotiation. Gustafson—long known for her incisive editorial work in Artichoke magazine—assembles a slate of voices that interrogate craft’s epistemological foundations, its links … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Craft Perception and Practice: A Canadian Discourse, Vol. 1, edited by Paula Gustafson
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – 500 Figures in Clay: Ceramic Artists Celebrate the Human Form,” edited by Veronika Alice Gunter
“500 Figures in Clay: Ceramic Artists Celebrate the Human Form,” edited by Veronika Alice Gunter, is an ambitious compendium that seeks to investigate one of the most enduring subjects in art— the human figure—through the tactile and revelatory medium of clay. In assembling the work of five hundred contemporary ceramicists from around the world, Gunter … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – 500 Figures in Clay: Ceramic Artists Celebrate the Human Form,” edited by Veronika Alice Gunter
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Sculptural Ceramics by Ian Gregory
Ian Gregory’s Sculptural Ceramics emerges as a pivotal text within contemporary ceramic discourse, deftly bridging the divide between traditional craft and avant-garde sculptural practice. As both an artist and educator, Gregory crafts a compelling narrative that situates ceramics not merely as functional or decorative vessels, but as an expressive medium capable of engaging with complex conceptual frameworks … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Sculptural Ceramics by Ian Gregory
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Amphigorey by Edward Gorey
Amphigorey by Edward Gorey is not merely an anthology of illustrated absurdities; it is a masterclass in gothic minimalism, an invitation to probe the margins of narrative coherence and the black comedy that resides in the interstices. First assembled in 1972, this collection of twenty early books and pamphlets showcases Gorey’s distinctive blend of Victorian pastiche, wry … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Amphigorey by Edward Gorey
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Atavistic Avatar: The Cartoon Brut Art of The Pizz by Janice S. Gore
Atavistic Avatar: The Cartoon Brut Art of The Pizz by Janice S. Gore offers an erudite excavation of Stephen Pizzurro’s riotous visual world, positioning his “Cartoon Brut” aesthetic not as a fleeting underground curiosity but as a crucial site where the primal and the pop collide. Gore’s study is structured with the precision of a philologist … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Atavistic Avatar: The Cartoon Brut Art of The Pizz by Janice S. Gore
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Picasso: Black and White, Edited by Carmen Giménez
In Picasso: Black and White, edited by Carmen Giménez, the reader is invited to traverse the often-overlooked monochromatic corridor of Pablo Picasso’s immense oeuvre—a space not of limitation, but of liberation. This exquisite volume, published in conjunction with the Guggenheim Museum’s 2012 exhibition, is not merely a visual archive; it is a meditation on the elemental … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Picasso: Black and White, Edited by Carmen Giménez
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – ARh+ by H.R. Giger
In ARh+, Hans Ruedi Giger, the late Swiss surrealist and visionary designer, delivers a visceral autopsy of the human psyche through one of the most unflinchingly intimate portfolios of his career. Less a book than an arcane grimoire, ARh+collects artworks, diary fragments, photographs, and design sketches that together form a blood-soaked fingerprint of a singularly uncompromising imagination. … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – ARh+ by H.R. Giger
The New Renaissance Mindset 