I am a big fan of Austin Kleon and his books, blog and email newsletter. I have been following his career for several years. I find his approach to creativity — which is part writing, part collage, part drawing — to be very inspiring. I know some people had a knee-jerk reaction to the title…
About a week ago, Notebook Stories posted a photo on Instagram of a delicious collection of books about sketchbooks. I threw down the gauntlet and insisted a more in-depth post about the books shown. It only seemed fair to return the favor. So, here are a few of my favorite sketchbook books: Jason Brooks, James…
Oh, what a delight it was to find a new book from the inimitable Caroline Weaver of CW Pencil Enterprise fame. After the Pencil Perfect, I couldn’t imagine what other book she might publish but Pencils You Should Know: A History of the Ultimate Writing Utensil in 75 Anecdotes is a perfect follow-up. The book…
How could I possibly pass up a book that would teach me how to make my own ink? Make Ink: A Forager’s Guide to Natural Inkmaking by Jason Logan was an insta-buy for me. The swashes of color on the cover alone were enough to get it in my cart. Then, I was at a…
Review by Tina Koyama Make Art Every Day: A Weekly Planner for Creative Thinkers–With Art Techniques, Exercises, Reminders, and 500+ Stickers (To Do) is a unique planner and creativity inspiration book. Written by illustrator Katie Vernon, the 127-page book is filled with her colorful, whimsical images that evoke children’s book illustrations. After the weekly planner…
Before there was the Pantone Matching System, there was Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours: Adapted to Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Mineralogy, Anatomy, and the Arts. According to the wrap around the cover, this was the book (not this specific edition or copy) that Charles Darwin took with him aboard the HMS Beagle on his journey to research…
I had The Revenge of Analog by David Sax sitting on my “to read” pile for several months before I actually picked it up and started reading it. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be too esoteric or high-brow for me as I don’t normally read a lot of non-fiction. I was pleasantly…
