Part memoir, part essay collection, Megan Dunn’s ingenious, moving, hilariously personal Things I Learned at Art School tells the story of her early life and coming-of-age in New Zealand in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. From her parents’ divorce to her Smurf collection, from the mean girls at school to the mermaid movie Splash!, from her work in strip clubs and massage parlours (and one steak restaurant) to the art school of the title, this is a dazzling, killer read from a contemporary voice of comic brilliance. Chapters include: The Ballad of Western Barbie; A Comprehensive List of All the Girls Who Teased Me at Western Heights High School, What They Looked Like and Why They Did It; On Being a Redhead; Life Begins at Forty: That Time My Uncle Killed Himself; Good Girls Write Memoirs, Bad Girls Don’t Have Time; Videos I Watched with My Father; Things I Learned at Art School; CV of a Fat Waitress; Nine Months in a Massage Parlour Called Belle de Jour; Various Uses for a Low Self-esteem; Art in the Waiting Room and Submerging Artist. Praise for Tinderbox: “Tinderbox is deadpan hilarious and Megan Dunn is a comic genius.” - Susanna Andrew, Metro “Megan Dunn's wry, whip-smart memoir about Fahrenheit 451, literary ambition & the last days of Borders Bookstores is funny & insightful as hell. Like Kathy Acker meets Sue Townsend. The read of the summer! ... already one of my favourite New Zealand books.” - Hera Lindsay Bird “Witty, highly entertaining.” - Philip Matthews, Stuff "Tinderbox is such a shape-shifter, such a sui generis work, that to call it a memoir does it a disservice ... [Dunn’s] voice is hard to resist – sardonic, brazen, sagacious – recalling, in places, Nora Ephron, John Jeremiah Sullivan, and Maggie Nelson.” - James Cook, Review 31

Lessons, demonstrations, definitions, and tips on what to expect in art school, what it means to make art, and how to think like an artist. What is the first thing to learn in art school? “Art can be anything.” The second thing? “Learn to draw.” With 101 Things to Learn in Art School, artist and teacher Kit White delivers and develops such lessons, striking an instructive balance between technical advice and sage concepts. These 101 maxims, meditations, and demonstrations offer both a toolkit of ideas for the art student and a set of guiding principles for the artist. Complementing each of the 101 succinct texts is an equally expressive drawing by the artist, often based on a historical or contemporary work of art, offering a visual correlative to the written thought. “Art can be anything” is illustrated by a drawing of Duchamp's famous urinal; a description of chiaroscuro art is illuminated by an image “after Caravaggio”; a lesson on time and media is accompanied by a view of a Jenny Holzer projection; advice about surviving a critique gains resonance from Piero della Francesca's arrow-pierced Saint Sebastian. 101 Things to Learn in Art School offers advice about the issues artists confront across all artistic media, but this is no simple handbook to making art. It is a guide to understanding art as a description of the world we live in, and it is a guide to using art as a medium for thought. And so this book belongs on the reading list of art students, art teachers, and artists, but it also belongs in the library of everyone who cares about art as a way of understanding life.

Megan Dunn had lost the plot—in her life and in her art. Her attempt to write a fictional tribute to Fahrenheit 451 wasn’t going well. Her employer, the bookseller Borders, was going bust. Her marriage was failing. Her prospects were narrowing. The world wasn’t quite against her – but it wasn’t with her either. Riffing on Ray Bradbury’s classic novel about the end of reading, Tinderbox is one of the most interesting books in decades about literary culture and its place in the world. More than that, it’s about how every one of us fits into that bigger picture – and the struggle to make sense of life in the twenty-first century. Ironically enough for a book about failures in art, Tinderbox itself is a fantastic achievement: a wonderfully crafted and beautifully written work of non-fiction that is by turns brilliantly funny and achingly sad. Tinderbox is one of the most successful books about failure you will ever read. Praise for Tinderbox: ‘Megan Dunn’s writing is utterly modern, sharp, unsentimental and beautiful; she tells a gripping story laced with humour and pathos. She is a writer to watch.’ - Michèle Roberts ‘Megan Dunn possesses a rare combination of assets – a highly original voice, great subject matter, enormous insight and serious literary ambition. Plus, she’s funny. Her work leaps off the page and makes the reader want more.’ - Kate Pullinger “It’s already one of my favourite New Zealand books.” – Hera Lindsay Bird, The Spinoff “Megan Dunn is a comic genius.” – Susanna Andrew, Metro “A wonderful, restless, formally daring first book” – James Cook, Review 31 Praise for Things I Learned at Art School: “It is, quite simply, a work of brilliance. It is an intelligent, sharp, and incisive body of work.” – Lana Lopesi, Metro “Dunn has an extraordinary facility with tone, an ability to be consistently funny while telling sad stories.” – David McCooey, Sydney Review of Books. “A rich, rewarding, funny and poignant memoir.” – Sally Blundell, Academy of New Zealand Literature “Dunn takes the reader on a digressive, funny and unflinching journey through late-20th-century New Zealand.” – Paula Morris, New Zealand Listener “As Megan Dunn makes clear in her wise, witty and wonderful memoir, the seeds of a creative life will bloom in the most unexpected of places.” – Jennifer Higgie, author of The Other Side

Gain a wealth of information, inspiration, and know-how on moving your artistic career forward from one of the most successful illustration agents in the industry! I Just Like to Make Things is a dazzling, colorful volume of career and personal advice for artists, filled with ideas, playsheets (as opposed to worksheets), case studies, and tools for staying inspired and creative. These pages are grounded in the wisdom and experience gleaned from a long and buzzing career as creative juggernaut Lilla Rogers shares her analysis of leveraging various working styles and ways to keep your art fresh. Artist interviews provide inside details about the best jobs, as well as tips on how to work smart and stay creative. You’ll also find annotated case studies of several successful art jobs, in addition to coloring book pages, hand-drawn charts, and lots of crazy fun. Acquire real-life, professional advice from an artist known for setting the trend with I Just Like to Make Things!

Missile Mouse, secret agent for the Galactic Security Agency, is a risk taker and a rule breaker. But when trouble strikes, he's the mouse needed to save the day.

The artist shares seven lessons learned in art school, featuring cartoons of the seven instructors who taught them.

Lessons, demonstrations, definitions, and tips on what to expect in art school, what it means to make art, and how to think like an artist. What is the first thing to learn in art school? “Art can be anything.” The second thing? “Learn to draw.” With 101 Things to Learn in Art School, artist and teacher Kit White delivers and develops such lessons, striking an instructive balance between technical advice and sage concepts. These 101 maxims, meditations, and demonstrations offer both a toolkit of ideas for the art student and a set of guiding principles for the artist. Complementing each of the 101 succinct texts is an equally expressive drawing by the artist, often based on a historical or contemporary work of art, offering a visual correlative to the written thought. “Art can be anything” is illustrated by a drawing of Duchamp's famous urinal; a description of chiaroscuro art is illuminated by an image “after Caravaggio”; a lesson on time and media is accompanied by a view of a Jenny Holzer projection; advice about surviving a critique gains resonance from Piero della Francesca's arrow-pierced Saint Sebastian. 101 Things to Learn in Art School offers advice about the issues artists confront across all artistic media, but this is no simple handbook to making art. It is a guide to understanding art as a description of the world we live in, and it is a guide to using art as a medium for thought. And so this book belongs on the reading list of art students, art teachers, and artists, but it also belongs in the library of everyone who cares about art as a way of understanding life.

An engaging, enlightening, and cleverly illustrated guide to product design, written by experienced professional designers and instructors. Products are in every area of our lives, but just what product designers do and how they think is a mystery to most. Product design is not art, engineering, or craft, even as it calls for skills and understandings in each of these areas—along with psychology, history, cultural anthropology, physics, ergonomics, materials technology, marketing, and manufacturing. This accessible guide provides an entry point into this vast field through 101 brief, illustrated lessons exploring such areas as • why all design is performed in relation to the body • why every product is part of a system • the difference between being clever and being gimmicky • why notions of beauty are universal across cultures • how to use both storytelling and argument to effectively persuade Written by three experienced design instructors and professionals, 101 Things I Learned® in Product Design School provides concise, thoughtful touch points for beginning design students, experienced professionals, and anyone else wishing to better understand this complex field that shapes our lives every day.

With Painting School, kids will discover how easy it is to paint anything—animals, people, nature, objects, and more—with simple steps and easy lessons! Painting School provides the first steps to a lifelong love of art. Your child will learn how to paint anything they see in the world around them by following a few simple steps. This comprehensive, 240-page art guide reveals how easy it is to paint, with easy-to-follow step-by-step projects, colorful art, and clear instructions. Before the step-by-step painting projects, this book begins with the basics, such as the paintbrushes and paints to use, the differences between popular paint types, how to mix colors, what to paint on, and much more. Then painting class really begins! A variety of subjects are covered, from animals and people to nature and simple, everyday objects. Some of the projects include: Zoo animals, such as a panda and a lion Pets, such as dogs and cats People, such as kids, adults, and a jogger and a firefighter Fairy tale characters, such as a princess and a brave knight Mythical creatures, such as a mermaid Vehicles, such as a car and an ice cream truck Fruits and vegetables Plants, such as trees and flowers Dinosaurs, such as a Tyrannosaurus rex and more Featuring more than 250 subjects, Painting School teaches young artists how to paint each one with clear, easy-to-follow steps. So grab a brush and let’s paint—school is in session!