North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment

Customer Reviews:

SURPRISED WITH NUMBER OF PAGES.......2005-10-26

My brother-in-law has the exact same title book,his book has over 600 pages! I ordered the book thinking that I would get a similar copy at a great price. I did not realize that I was purchasing an condensed version. The information in the book, although somewhat sparse is good. Thank you.

North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment.......2005-10-04

A few years back I signed up for a class in silversmithing which soon became addictive. In addition to that interest, I have always been interested in primitive art such as that of the American Indians, the cave drawings, Australian Aboriginal art or spiritual drawings. These forms of spirituality and art or of art are very powerful. I have chosen to concentrate my silversmithing designs toward the designs I see from these primitive peoples. The book, North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment has proven to be very helpful toward that aim. In addition to that, it's just plain good reading.

One quibble/caution.......2004-05-24

This gorgeous book is indeed indispensable, especially if "read" visually. Unfortunately, quite a few of the tribal attributions for historic objects (information given to the author by museums) are wrong. Given the scope of this project, Dubin had little choice but to take often out-dated info at face value rather than do her own research. However, readers should keep this caveat in mind when using this work as a reference.

A must-have!.......2004-05-16

This book is a must-have for anyone serious about studying Native American cultures. It is a fun read, while still being absolutely crammed with information. It's clear the author put in a lot of time and work to master her subject. Not to mention, the artwork featured in the book is beautiful. I love to breeze through it when I've had a hard day, just to feel my spirits lift looking at such amazing works of art. You will learn so much and enjoy the journey enormously.

superb, magnificent.......2003-07-02

this book could easily inspire a life of crime--how else to afford the gorgeous contemporary jewelry? or acquire the museum quality antique and archeological collections?

as a knitter, embroiderer and beader, i am always looking for inspiration for my pieces. i may stoop to outright plagarism when it comes to the works in this incredible book. though i will say that i can only dream of having the level of skill the pieces display. the craftmanship, the artistry, are humbling when one considers the tools the artists had--and the reservation conditions under which too much of the art was created.

the text is wonderfully informative, if you can force yourself to read it, instead of allowing yourself to be mesmerized by the photos.

Book Description

Rich selection of authentic Indian motifs adapted from art and artifacts of Indians of the Southwest, the Plains, and the Northwest, as well as Maya and Aztecs. Easily reproducible designs add Native American flair to posters, newsletters, brochures, many other projects.

Customer Reviews:

Great.......2007-01-15

I bought this for my son who loves drawing and he really has enjoyed it. The illustrations are great and theres good information along with the illustartions.

Tribal ID Helps.......2006-11-03

As a descendant of the Native American Choctaw tribe, I was VERY pleased with this book. The illustrations are clear and precisely drawn. The reader receives a lot of inspiration for Native American art and designs. However, of far more value to the reader, the author identifies the designs with various tribes. Naturally, I was particularly pleased to find the highly modernistic looking designs of the Choctaws. I strongly recommend this book to any students of Native Americans or students of art.

Robert J. Deffeyes

EXTEMELY VALUABLE AND USEFUL SOURCE BOOK.......2006-08-06

I purchased this one some time ago and do not have one regret. I have it in almost constant use. The graphics are wonderful, easy to use and well identified as to tribal origins. I use this publications and it's designs primarily for my gourd art, i.e. carving and burning and drawing. The designs are printed on one side and I have found that by making a copy of the page I can then enlarge or reduce the designed I need. There are approximately 391 different designs here and I have check several of them out and not found one that was not authentic. The designs cover quite a bit of area, from the Pacific Northwest and Artic to Estern Woodland to the Great Pland and Rockies to the Southwest and Mexico. Each design is quite crisp and quite accurate. Cannot recommend this one highly enough.

North American Indian Motifs.......2005-09-21

I have just started to do gourd pyrography and wanted a source of authentic Indian designs to use as paterns. This book contains 391 designs which are outstanding. Most designs also includes the name of the Indian nation which used and/or originated the design. The designs are also "permission-free" which means I don't have to worry about copyright violations if I sell my gourds. An excellent book.

Absolutely fantastic!.......2005-02-16

This book is chocked full of Native American motifs and designs from many nations! Each graphic is titled by tribe, even branches of Tribes (eg: Dakota Sioux) and the book is broken down into sections of geographic areas, eg: Pacific Northwest, Great Plains, Southwest, etc. Very well put together, this was an excellent resource and the best N.A. Tribal design book I've found!

Average customer rating:

A greatest master from 20th century

Art of Howard Terpning, The
Howard Terpning
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0553081136
Release Date: 1992-08-01

Book Description

The seminal collection of paintings from Howard Terpning, master painter of the Plains Indians.

Customer Reviews:

A greatest master from 20th century.......1999-03-27

Howard Terpning is the one of the if not the best artist in this century.His spectacular artistic style is definitly far more superior to any other famous artists out there.The way he uses his colors and the way he applies brush strokes is unbelievable.When you read this book written by Elmer Kelton you will travel back in time and enjoy beautiful paintings done by a master.Such a great book,as a proffesional artist I recommend this every artist,art enthusiast and Indian art lovers,hurry up before it becomes out of print.

Native Americans: A Portrait : The Art and Travels of Charles Bird King, George Catlin, and Karl Bodmer

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Native Americans: A Portrait : The Art and Travels of Charles Bird King, George Catlin, and Karl Bodmer
Robert J. Moore
Manufacturer: Stewart Tabori & Chang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Identity by Design: Tradition, Change, and Celebration in Native Women's Dresses

Average customer rating:

Absolutely Fantastic!

Identity by Design: Tradition, Change, and Celebration in Native Women's Dresses
National Museum Of The American Indian
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Textile & Costume | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0061153699
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Book Description

This beautiful book presents a fascinating array of complete women's and girls' outfits dating from the 1830s to the present, including dresses, shawls, shoes, belts, bags, fans, and hair accessories. Also included is historical and contemporary background information on Native life and Native women and their dress. To accompany a major exhibit of the same name at the NMAI in March 2007.

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely Fantastic! .......2007-03-18

I am a traditional dance dress artist, although not as prolific (or even as expert) as some of those featured in this book. If I could have given more than 5 stars it would receive them. The photos were beautifully clear, although there only one or two photos of some of the featured dresses, they showed the splendor and detail of artistry from the past. I hope this doesn't spawn more artifakes, especially those coming to the US from overseas. This book is a long-awaited dream come true.

The Teachings of Padmasambhava (Brill's Indological Library, Vol 12)

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Guenther's brilliant work
difficult but rewarding

The Teachings of Padmasambhava (Brill's Indological Library, Vol 12)
Herbert V. Guenther
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9004105425

Book Description

This study explores the ideas of the enigmatic and controversial visionary, known as Padmasambhava. It takes as its starting point a unique and hitherto untouched source: Padmasambhava's writings preserved in the rNying-ma rgyud-'bum that remain excluded from the standard editions of the Tibetan Tanjur collections to this day. The first chapter explains Padmasambhava's holistic background that reflects an anthropocosmic worldview. The second chapter deals with the problem of how this anthropocosmic whole becomes enworlded as samsara and of how the enworlded experiencer disentangles himself from it and regains his original wholeness. The third chapter assesses Padmasambhava's psychological insights and their hermeneutical interpretations. In this study, Herbert Guenther discloses the mind of one of the greatest spiritual geniuses in human history, Padamasambhava -- wanderer, mystic, and one of the original founders of Tibetan Buddhism. Here his teachings step out from obscurity to speak with a wonderful clarity. In them is found a surprisingly postmodern portrait of how process dynamics self-organize to construct and "light up" our worlds of experience.

Customer Reviews:

Guenther's brilliant work.......2006-10-15

Although Padmasambhava (eighth century A.D.) is revered as a second buddha, almost nothing reliable is known about him. His Tantric works also have been rarely mentioned by the Tibetans themselves, probably because they were deemed too subversive. The late Prof. Guenther, who had made a lifelong study of Padmasambhava and his Nyingma lineage, begins his monograph by reviewing the scant information about the "precious teacher" (guru rimpoche) that is available, and then proceeds to delineate Padmasambhava's original, holistic, and visionary philosophy of liberation. As the author notes, "Padmasambhava has revealed himself as an `exception' personage whose vision and evolutionary thinking were far ahead of his time and have remained unparalleled through the history of Buddhist thought" (p. 38).

Utilizing a phenomenological-hermeneutical approach, as was his custom, Guenther page after page seeks to unravel Padmasambhava's Gnostic thought for the comprehension of Western readers, who are steeped in Aristotelian categories. As always, Guenther is not easy to follow, and sometimes his terminology gets in the way of comprehension. His insights about the teachings of the second buddha, however, are truly seminal.

After a detailed examination of Padmasambhava's cosmology, as a tripartite system springing from mystical experiences, Guenther goes on to discuss--in a 54-page chapter--the adept's Gnostic involutionary schema: the path home to Wholeness. This process consists in a deconstruction of the empirical, finite mind, whereupon the Whole lights up. In Padmasambhava's mystical language (and in Guenther's rendering):

Through the dissipation (dissolution) of representational thinking's constructs, )the experiencer) immerses himself in immortality's elixir (that is the whole's) giving birth to thoughts/meanings;

When the phenomenal disspates (dissolves) into its legitimate dwelling, (the experiencer) immerses himself in immortality's elixir (that is the whole's) dimensionality of meaning; and

When (the experiencer's) ontic foundation dissipates (dissolves) into its legitimate dwelling, (the experiencer) immerses himself in (the whole's) energy.

Padmasambhava's writings are riddled with Gnostic metaphors, which demonstrates that he was undoubtedly influenced by Sethian and Valentinian Gnosticism, though equally unquestionably his philosophical edifice was very much his own original creation.

In the concluding 75-page chapter, which is the most obscure, Guenther inquires into the symbolism of Padmasambhava's "luminous language of being." Central to this language is the concept of the "Little Man of Light" (khye'u-chung), the Anthropos, who is commissioned by his divine parents to retrieve the precious jewel of "real being," which then allows him to find his way back to his real home, the Whole. The consideration revolves around the originary Light (mkha') and the dharma-kaya (chos-sku), as well as the ecstatic leap into Wholeness, in the context of Padmasambhava's sweeping anthropocosmology.

In his epilogue, Guenther brilliantly summarizes his findings. "As a visionary thinker of the highest order," writes the author, "he is one who knows and speaks from experience and, for this reason alone, he is a striking example of individuality" (p. 205). "In conclusion we may say that Padmasambhava's importance lies in the fact that he is first and foremost a process-oriented thinker, maybe even the first in recorded history."

Copyright ©2006 by Georg Feuerstein. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any form requires prior permission from Traditional Yoga Studies at www.traditionalyogastudies.com

difficult but rewarding.......2000-11-12

Reading Carl Jung would help in understanding this book, and of course a study of Guenther's previous work. Also, and more importantly, a serious meditation practice, and thorough grasp of buddhist philosophy and practice. That the information has been kept under wraps by tibetan authorities, including respected lamas, is intriquing to say the least. I believe it is because the approach cuts through sectarianism and its power structures (no enlightenement without initiation, etc.) completely, to the essence of spirituality.

Average customer rating:

At Last A Book on Indian Painting!
Much needed resource
Excellent work!

Indian Contemporary Painting
Neville Tuli
Manufacturer: Harry N Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

At Last A Book on Indian Painting!.......2000-04-25

Finally a book about Indian Painting, it is impossible to find anything anywhere, libraries, internet, books, magazines, but Mumbai about Indians who paint and aren't hundreds of years old. I love you Mr. Tuli. You are the light of my life.

Much needed resource.......1999-05-05

A search of library sources locates nothing else comparable. The information is useful and the prints are well reproduced. Those interested in Indian contemporary art will be awaiting the additional proposed volumes.

Excellent work!.......1998-10-28

This book is unique in terms of the subject matter and the author's depth of research is commendable. The rare interviews with the artists were insightful in providing snapshots of modern art in India. I would definitely like to see updated future versions of the book chronicling newer Indian artists, in addition to a further sampling of the works of established artists.

Indian Bead-Weaving Patterns: Chain-Weaving Designs and Bead Loom Weaving-An Illustrated "How-To" Guide

Average customer rating:

Indian Bead Weaving Patterns
The Most Complete...
Classical Patterns
Beadwork as Meditation, Many Thanks, Mr. Goodhue!
Can't Be Beat

Indian Bead-Weaving Patterns: Chain-Weaving Designs and Bead Loom Weaving-An Illustrated "How-To" Guide
Horace Goodhue
Manufacturer: Bead-Craft
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Decorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Beadwork | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0961350318

Book Description

Indian Bead-Weaving Patterns is written for beginning and advanced beaders. It contains over 200 instructional illustrations and photographs of 47 beadwork pieces. Emphasis is on the use of traditional Native American beading techniques. The major portion of this book covers chain-weaving patterns, examples of which include multiple strands, 6-bead and 8-bead daisy chains, "Ogalala Butterfly," ladder weaves, "Peyote Stitch," fancy tubes, "spider" designs, "Apache Leaf," "Zig-zag" variations, 5- and 8-bead diagonals, "Potawatomi Weave," "Wide Net," "Lakota Chain," beaded braids, and beaded dolls. Also included in this book are notes on supplies, knots and threading and an illustrated section on How to Make and Use an Indian Bead Loom. With this new, enlarged edition, come two additional sections, TRIANGLE BASE has illustrated directions for making this very popular pattern for pendants and ear-drops; and BEAD EMBROIDERY includes detailed instructions for Rosettes and Applique work. Additional descriptions and illustrations are also given for other patterns of sewn beadery. Expanded to 80 pages in 1989, reprinted in 1993, this has been the best introduction to Native American beadworking since 1971.

Customer Reviews:

Indian Bead Weaving Patterns.......2007-09-15

The late Mr. Goodhue had a unique way of learning how many of the patterns he describes were originally executed: he would take a piece apart bead-by-bead to find out how it was constructed. This resulted in very detailed diagrams for many, many intricate bead weaving patterns. The instructions and diagrams are easy to follow, although to get even tension and consistent results, some of the patterns require a good deal of practice.

The Most Complete..........2007-01-08

To me, this is the most complete technical book ever wrote on Indian Beading works. But excuse my poor english, I'm french !

Classical Patterns.......2006-08-26

This book is invaluable. I have seen many wonderful patterns for beading drived from it and the beaders have given the book credit. Many beautiful patterns come from this book and the artists use it as a base for their original designs. I hope it never goes out of print. I always keep two copies, just in case.
Alisa Norton Miller

Beadwork as Meditation, Many Thanks, Mr. Goodhue!.......2006-06-22

I can ditto everything Diane Fitzgerald says -- and I have her books as well. After I became familiar with the weaves in the book, I translated them to fashion colors and created many lovely items which I sold. By adding fringe or texture, by using iridescent or matte finish beads, by "driving on the shoulder" so to speak (i.e., doing an unstructured Oglala Butterfly around a featured handmade large bead), I could make all sorts of new looks. The diagrams are clear. I photocopied several to color with my own color scheme ideas before undertaking a project.

But I have to say this book quite saved my life when my life was falling apart. I had someone I loved in the hospital with a head injury, not even expected to live. I held a stressful job and the rest of my life was not going well at all. I began working Mr. Goodhue's book, working every weave. Culling seed beads through a magnifying lamp, listening to music or to books on tape, I could forget my problems for 45 seconds at a time! With this book, a few colors of size 11 beads, a package of needles and some size B or D thread, you'll have hours of fun and a lot of bracelets! And a whole lot more. I hope Horace is beading in Heaven!

Can't Be Beat.......2005-12-03

I bought this book a number of years ago and it has always been my favorite. After seeing some little beaded Indian men and women on necklaces in a craft store in Cherokee, NC, I wanted to learn to make some. Goodhue's book is the only book I have come across which has instructions for the little dolls (although I don't think he has a picture of them). The only thing that would make the book better is some larger, color pictures of finished products, but at least you can't beat the hand-drawn diagrams for bead placement and thread direction. I had never made a decent looking daisy-chain until I came across it!