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FOR GOURDS' SAKE

Name: FOR GOURDS' SAKE
Author: Gail Hohlweg
ISBN: 978-1-4243-3029-4

: GOURD ART BY GAIL HOHLWEG

by Gail Hohlweg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2007

A labor of love and a feast for the eye and imagination.

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A coffee-table book featuring color photos of the artist’s work in natural materials.

Hohlweg’s oeuvre pays homage to a historical and geographical range of influences, with sections devoted to pieces inspired by Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern and Greek art, as well as individual works with hints of India and Native America. Some designs are taken from paintings (with attribution) while others imitate patterns of traditional tile and textile art, mainly from the East. Pieces in this collection are from her first six years as a gourd artist, 2001 to 2006, arranged according to similarity of style and cultural content rather than chronology. Many works bespeak a passion for things of the Earth. The golden-brown tones of the pieces are covered in natural stippling, fluting, bumps and blemishes. Other works feature curving woody stems and vines and lacy tendrils–all of which wrap around the sensuous, rounded bodies of the natural gourds. Certain pieces demonstrate unique ingenuity, as when Hohlweg treats the gourds’ surfaces so they resemble bronze, pewter and other man-made materials. Some works also take on stiffer, more artificial shapes. The artist shows considerable whimsy and a love for puns–one political piece is entitled â€œOne Nation Under Gourd with a Bush Out of â€˜is Gourd!” while another, â€œAll o’ Gourd’s Children,” shows the faces of kids across the globe. Most pieces in the book are vessels, but there are also musical instruments, jewelry and sculptures. The photographs are rich and luminous and the selection shows an impressive spectrum of work, which is by and large allowed to speak for itself. A bit more in the way of text would be welcome. It might clarify how the artist achieved these remarkable effects and expound upon sources of the various motifs.

A labor of love and a feast for the eye and imagination.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2007

ISBN: 978-1-4243-3029-4

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.