Design for Jewellery Makers by Seijen ten Hoorn

 

                                               Search Press, June 2023, 208 pg. ISBN 9781800920057

Award-winning jewelry designer Seijen ten Hoorn’s book is a visual feast that will likely appeal to all creatives. The author has a master’s degree in jewelry and metalwork, and she generously shares her training. The book’s helpful index directs readers to a massive number of topics—sketching, model making, mold making, saw piercing, surface finishing, press forming, and more—for all kinds of jewelry. Readers are treated to a taste of each topic. There are also lists of resources that creatives can explore in greater depth. In addition to rings, pendants, brooches, cuffs, bracelets, and necklaces, there are explanations and descriptions of many contemporary earring styles (e.g., ear climbers and huggies) that a youthful crowd will likely appreciate. Throughout the book, there are valuable tips designed to generate ideas. The author encourages artists to arrange, tinker, and play with materials by using mood boards, sketchbooks, and inexpensive models. Design for Jewellery Makers is a comprehensive overview of jewelry design that also offers creative exercises for aspiring artists.

The Beginner's Guide to Decorating Pottery: An Introduction to Glazes, Patterns, Inlay, Luster, and Dimensional Designs by Emily Reinhardt

 Ceramic artist and designer Reinhardt offers the third book (after Sunshine Cobb’s The Beginner’s Guide to Hand Building) in the “Essential Ceramic Skills” series. Reinhardt’s title is a great introduction to surface decoration; it focuses on the most appealing aspect of pottery making—the patterns and glazes. The book gives useful tips for safety and how to position pieces in the kiln. She also warns crafters to test underglazes. The book encourages experimentation and describes how it led to the author’s signature gold luster and the decision to make functional objects as well as art pieces. The author provides instructions for creating tableware, coasters, ceramic beads, and vases. For the tableware and spoons, there are explanations about how to use nontoxic, food-safe glazes. In the “Gallery” sections, the book spotlights the creative work of other ceramicists. There’s also an extensive list of supplies, tools, and publications, plus recommendations for books, workshops, residencies, and podcasts.

Functional and beautiful, this book will likely inspire readers want to perfect their pottery techniques. An excellent and useful purchase for libraries with vibrant art communities.

Tinkercad Contest

If you're a teacher or librarian or parent, consider encouraging your child to enter this Tinkercad Contest:

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The Tinkercad Student Design Contest is for all students who are using Tinkercad. To enter, you simply need to post an instructable showing how you made a Tinkercad 3D design as part of your homeschooling experience. No 3D printer is required!

We are giving away two prizes of $100 gift cards for the following five categories:

Make it Move – To win this prize, you need to demonstrate that you have designed and made something with functioning moving parts.

Connectors – This prize is for any project that encourages the creation of connectors. It can be as simple as an L-bracket for a robot or as complicated as connecting a bicycle to power a blender. We are looking for creativity and functionality.

Silly Solutions – Show us an example of how you identified a problem, or something broken, and used 3D design to create a fix.

Mashup – Show us how you took two of your favorite things (or things from the gallery) and creatively combined them to make something new.

Scene – This prize is for designs of physical spaces, from parks and landmarks to undersea adventures.

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Only 29 days left to enter the Tinkercad Student Design Contest!