All the fascinating properties of iron and other metals can be creatively explored with 52 color plates and 717 b/w photos and drawings and detailed text. The author discusses the ironworking shop, forge and tools, including anvils, vises, hammers, tongs, punches, centrifugal blowers and machine tools. Forging procedures are explicitly shown.

Today we associate the Renaissance with painting, sculpture, and architecture—the “major” arts. Yet contemporaries often held the “minor” arts—gem-studded goldwork, richly embellished armor, splendid tapestries and embroideries, music, and ephemeral multi-media spectacles—in much higher esteem. Isabella d’Este, Marchesa of Mantua, was typical of the Italian nobility: she bequeathed to her children precious stone vases mounted in gold, engraved gems, ivories, and antique bronzes and marbles; her favorite ladies-in-waiting, by contrast, received mere paintings. Renaissance patrons and observers extolled finely wrought luxury artifacts for their exquisite craftsmanship and the symbolic capital of their components; paintings and sculptures in modest materials, although discussed by some literati, were of lesser consequence. This book endeavors to return to the mainstream material long marginalized as a result of historical and ideological biases of the intervening centuries. The author analyzes how luxury arts went from being lofty markers of ascendancy and discernment in the Renaissance to being dismissed as “decorative” or “minor” arts—extravagant trinkets of the rich unworthy of the status of Art. Then, by re-examining the objects themselves and their uses in their day, she shows how sumptuous creations constructed the world and taste of Renaissance women and men.

Presents ironwork patterns, and explains their use as achitectural ornament

This is a review of 190 years of literature on copper and its alloys. It integrates information on pigments, corrosion and minerals, and discusses environmental conditions, conservation methods, ancient and historical technologies.

Over 500 works by nearly 200 artist-craftsmen from 16 countries illustrate the unprecedented activity in modern ironwork that has led to its blossoming into a serious art form. You'll learn several techniques using hot and cold forming and see the results: architectural ironwork, sculpture, furniture, containers and vessels, lighting fixtures and candleholders, fireplace accessories, wind vanes, household and liturgical items, and the incredible knives made of Damascus steel.

Illustrated with 200 stunning photographs and encompassing objects from furniture and ceramics to jewelry and metal, this definitive work from Jo Lauria and Steve Fenton showcases some of the greatest pieces of American crafts of the last two centuries. Potter Craft

David Freedman has taken the art of blacksmithing in a new direction. His metal work ranges from giant insects in the woods of Scotland to seaweed inspired gates on the Cornish coast, ethereal deer in the ancient forests of England and organic seats in some of the UK's finest historic gardens. David's unique sculptural metalwork is shown here at its best, set within the landscape that inspires its creation. David has been forging creative metal sculptures, delicate copper water features, decorative wrought ironwork gates and much more for over 20 years from his backyard workshop in the UK. Rather than a beginner's guide or a blacksmithing manual, this book is more than a catalogue of David's work, with stunning photographs, design notes and sketches as well as perspectives from blacksmiths around the world and a look into the forge, past and present, giving a unique window into the ancient yet ever evolving blacksmith's craft. This collection is also a source of inspiration for those interested in garden design and garden art as well as public sculpture. David is also a writer of articles and fiction. His children's book Stunt Crow is available on Amazon and Jewel of The Brook is forthcoming.

This publication accompanies two exhibitions of recent sculptural work by the artist Magali Reus: "Hot Cottons" (2017-18) at Bergen Kunsthall and "As mist, description," (2018) at the South London Gallery. Featuring an essay by writer and curator Laura Mclean-Ferris and a poetic response by writer and poet Quinn Latimer as well as a fully illustrated overview of Reus's work, this catalogue provides an in-depth exploration of the artist's recent sculptural practice. Producing a sculptural language that is both familiar yet unlocatable Reus draws heavily on the past and present landscape of industry and fabrication, creating forms using a plethora of materials that include: mesh, jesmonite, cotton, steel, rubber, leather. Interested in collaborative processes of making, from virtual design to handmade fabrication, Reus combines sculptural games with material explorations. Everyday materials are transformed with powder blues, pastel greens, and dirty beiges. Reus's sculptures appear in a state of transition, in progress, mid-function, restored, or destroyed. Autographs of famous athletes, graphics from an iconic Norwegian matchbox, forms reminiscent of fire extinguishers, decorative ironwork, or modular frameworks, all feature in Reus's sculptures transforming defined materials into newly undefinable objects. Working with factories in Holland to develop specific fabrics, using complex molding and weaving techniques, all the while drawing on the language of digital design Reus navigates the contemporary post-industrial moment with playful unease, creating objects with familiar yet fluid identities. Copublished with Bergen Kunsthall, South London Gallery