Lark Books/Sterling Publishing Co

Library Bookwatch, Oct, 2004

Lark Books/Sterling Publishing Co.

387 Park Avenue South

New York, NY 10016-8810

Steven Aimone's Design!: A Lively Guide to Design Basics for Artists & Craftspeople (1579903495, $19.95)is no technical guide for interior designers and artists alone: it's user-friendly presentation invites the usual audience of artists and craftspeople but promises to go beyond the boundaries to non-artist novices with a format which clarifies the topic with clear examples. Steven Aimone holds an MFA in painting and drawing and is also an artist, independent curator and fine arts instructor: his varied background and personal works lends a depth to this fine coverage of everything on how to use a focal point to strengthen a design to considering the power of shapes and shape-making. Annie Cicale's The Art & Craft of Hand Lettering: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration (1579904033, $24.95) provides techniques, projects and inspiration all wrapped nearly in a fine visual embellishment and celebration of the hand lettering form. Cicale's calligraphy teaching background lends to her presentation of seventeen decorative projects which can be applied to a range of mediums, from fabrics to paper, setting The Art And Craft Of Hand Lettering apart from competitors in the subject. Terry Taylor's Artful Eggs: Six Dozen Extraordinary Ways To Decorate An Egg (1579904637, $19.95) provides crafts with 72 techniques to decorate the egg, from decoupage sources from paper napkins to using plastic pearls to create egg patterns. Kids and adults alike will find Artful Eggs provides plenty of creative egg embellishments suitable for either Easter or general crafting projects--and comes packed with color illustrations and step-by-step instructions to make the whole effort easy.