Artful

Ali Smith melds the tale and the essay into a magical hybrid form, a song of praise to the power of stories in our lives In February 2012, the novelist Ali Smith delivered the Weidenfeld lectures on European comparative literature at St. Anne’s College, Oxford. Her lectures took the shape of this set of discursive stories. Refusing to be tied down to either fiction or the essay form, Artful is narrated by a character who is haunted—literally—by a former lover, the writer of a series of lectures about art and literature. A hypnotic dialogue unfolds, a duet between and a meditation on art and storytelling, a book about love, grief, memory, and revitalization. Smith’s heady powers as a fiction writer harmonize with her keen perceptions as a reader and critic to form a living thing that reminds us that life and art are never separate. Artful is a book about the things art can do, the things art is full of, and the quicksilver nature of all artfulness. It glances off artists and writers from Michelangelo through Dickens, then all the way past postmodernity, exploring every form, from ancient cave painting to 1960s cinema musicals. This kaleidoscope opens up new, inventive, elastic insights—on the relation of aesthetic form to the human mind, the ways we build our minds from stories, the bridges art builds between us. Artful is a celebration of literature’s worth in and to the world and a meaningful contribution to that worth in itself. There has never been a book quite like it.

“Do away with patterns and embrace your creative spirit with this vibrant and fun book.” —Quilting Arts With simple design principles, you can create unique improvisational quilts. Without using patterns, learn five easy piecing techniques for your improvisational toolbox (including circles, blocks, and strips), and watch the art unfold before your eyes. Focus on color combos and negative space to discover your personal style—and then add dazzling texture with free-motion quilting. Also included is information on hanging finished art quilts without a sleeve, plus tried and true improv tips to encourage creative play.

The wonderful thing about mathematical art is that the most beautiful geometric patterns can be produced without needing to be able to draw, or be 'good at art'. Mathematical art is accessible to learners of all ages: its algorithmic nature means that it simply requires the ability to follow instructions carefully and to use a pencil and ruler accurately. It is engaging, enriching, thoroughly enjoyable and is a great leveller in the classroom. Learners who may not normally shine in mathematics lessons will take your breath away with their creativity. Those who struggle with their mathematics will experience the joy of success through their mathematical art-making. The six Artful Maths activities in this book are hands-on tasks that will develop important skills such as hand-eye co-ordination, manual dexterity and design thinking, which is a valuable form of problem-solving. Decisions need to be made about placement, size and colour, all of which entail thinking about measurements, proportions and symmetry. They can be undertaken alone or with a teacher to draw out the mathematics underlying the patterns and to practice key content in the school curriculum. For ages 9 to 16+. Contents: Curves of Pursuit, Mazes and Labyrinths, Impossible Objects, Epicycloids, Perfect Proportions, Parabolic Curves.

Creating the Artful Home: the Aesthetic Movement and Its Influence on Home Decor covers the history of a movement that emphasized "art for art's sake"-and the influence it had on home decor. The Aesthetic Movement in America lasted just a few decades (1870-1900), and served mainly as a bridge between the high Victorian sensibility and the radical shift to the Arts & Crafts style. The movement germinated among artists who used opulent color, decorative patterning, and lavish materials simply for the aesthetic effects they could evoke. It was commonly held that a home that expressed an artful, harmonious soul would instill high aesthetic and moral merit in its inhabitants. The Aesthetic Movement in America helped to popularize the idea that everyone should be able to enjoy beautiful, well-made homes and furnishings-not just the very wealthy. Artful homes could be composed from brilliant antique store finds, discriminating department store purchases, and gems hand-made by the ladies of the house. It was the moment when people embraced the idea that only a beautiful home could be a happy home. Karen Zukowski delves into the movement's establishment, evolution, and main characters, and shows how today's homes can incorporate Aesthetic principles: Through suggestion rather than statement, sensuality, massive use of symbols, and synaesthetic effects-that is, correspondence between words, colors and music. How influential designers such as Clarence Cook and Charles Eastlake popularized the idea that beautiful homes with tasteful furnishings could be available to practically everyone How today's designers, manufacturers, and retailers deploy the very same stylistic markers of the Aesthetic Movement: rich color, layered pattern and texture, mixtures of historical motifs

The authors show how to "manage" ingenuity--and "manufacture" the next great idea, in other words they tell what managers need to know about how artists and highly creative people work.

Artful Rainwater Design has three main parts: first, the book outlines five amenity-focused goals that might be highlighted in a project: education, recreation, safety, public relations, and aesthetic appeal. Next, it focuses on techniques for ecologically sustainable stormwater management that complement the amenity goals. Finally, it features diverse case studies that show how designers around the country are implementing principles of artful rainwater design.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 298-309) and index.

Today's leadership challenges are not technical but transformational. Leaders fail, not from a lack of knowledge or resources, but from a failure of the imagination.