[.ca] The Art & Soul of Glass Beads: 17 Bead Artists Share ... (ISBN 0873495659)

New appreciation for Glass:
As a neophyte to beading, I am constantly searching for books that combine inspiration with achievability. This book blends both qualities with its easy to decipher illustrations and colorful photography. The insight into the designers behind the creation made me feel that beading and jewelry making will become more than just a passing hobby for me. For those who begin by purchasing glass beads by shopping at mass market stores, this book helps educate the reader to types of beads on the market and train our eyes to seek out and truly appreciate the art that goes into making glass beads. This book also contains one of the instructions to help the beginner beaders. From basic stringing to the glossary of beads, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in beading. I consider this book as important as a good pair of pliers that will become part of my tool box.

It's "Art and Soul," not "Lampworking 101":
After familiarizing myself with this book and then coming on here to see the reviews, I have to hope that those who see the negative reviews can see that there must be some sort of hidden agenda. After all, how is it that a book is seen both as a "1," or the very worst of the worst, and a "5," the best of the best, and just by happenstance, those who rate it as a "1" plug another book? Susan Ray's book does not ever portray itself as a how-to book on making glass beads. Both the back cover synopsis and the introduction talk about how readers can create "stunning necklaces, earrings, bracelets, eye-glass holders, lariats, and more." It further explains how the book is meant to give you insight into the people (the soul) behind the glass beads (the art). I guess I can see how the large image of some glass beads could lead people to think it is a primer on lampwork, but again, when you read the details, it's clear what it is. I very much appreciated the angle and tone of this book, learning about the people behind the art. And after feeling as though I had been let in on the "secret" of their work, it was wonderfully inspiring to see what I could create with their glass beads. The full-scale color illustrations make it easy to see how each piece is laid out. My only wish (and the reason why this isn't a "5" review) is that a bead key of some sort would have been included with each illustration to better help me know exactly which beads were being used where. Overall, though, this is just a lovely and inspiring book that is well-written and executed in the vein it is meant to be. It is a jewelry-making book that just happens to go beyond the usual how-to format and gives us readers a glimpse into the art and soul of glass beads!

Magnificent Book for Every Level of Beader:
Being new to beading, I am trying to read everything I can to educate myself on the different types of beads and what can be created using wire, beads and patience. This book has inspired me to think "outside the box" in my creations and I admire the beautiful masterpieces that appear in the book. The writing encourages me and I look forward to future books by Susan Ray and Richard Pearce.

Better than the other books I've read:
This book is among one of the best, I mean "BEST" books I've ever owned. I have the other lampworking books and this one is just as good if not better. It not only has great photography, but awesome commentary and biographies. It leaves you with feelings of inspiration and awe. I highly recommend it. For sad reasons from immature people there has been some terrible things written. I know for a fact that these are false and are only written because people are threatened by other artists who want to expand and/or write a book. They don't believe there's room enough for a new author. Well surprise there's one right here that's bigger and better and will continue to expand.. Those people are sad souls. And get nothing but "Bad karma"... Buy this book because if your a neutral person you "will" love it...It's pure enjoyment...

A book with an indentity crisis.:
Even as a complete newbie to making glass beads, this book left me cold. I don't quite know who it's target audience is meant to be - people who make glass beads? or people who string them? Either way, it fails miserably. The cover promises that the artists inside will share inspiration and methods. There is precious little of the latter that I can see. The photography is dissapointing - many images are grainy or reproduced too small to be of any use. Each project featured shows you a photo and an illustration of the finished jewellery (usually necklaces) - but doesn't tell you how the beads are made or even anything much about stringing them, other than a list of what spacer beads the maker used. With such a promising front cover - this book was a dissapointment. This is no disrespect to the artists featured, just the book seemed to have no purpose and no real information to impart to the reader other than the feelings each artist has about their work.