Lark Crafts

The 500 series for ceramics started out as an object-based series. First there was Teapots. Then Cups. But after a few years the series stepped off the beaten path. The enthusiasm and support for non-object based books like 500 Raku was beyond our expectations.

Fast forward a few more years and here we are with 500 Prints on Clay. It’s a truly impressive book, and the mix of techniques and forms is unparalleled in the 500 series.

A few of my favorites–which of course skew functional–are below, but there is much, much more inside.

The book is available wherever books are sold, including at a hefty discount at BN.com.

 

Before my days at Lark, I was still a fan of the 500s series–what potter isn’t? So I was excited when Lark broke the mold in 2008 and came out with a new gallery book for ceramic artists called Masters: Porcelain.

At the time, porcelain was a clay body I had never used–my studio only fired to cone 6 and white stoneware was white enough for me. However, after spending time with Masters: Porcelain it was undeniable that porcelain changes the tone of functional work. Leah Leitson’s ewers and Aysha Peltz’s vases showed that the clay affects the work beyond just the surface (but still, look at that surface!)

Above: “Three Faced Vases” by Aysha Peltz

Richard Burkett did a tremendous job curating the 40 artists and hundreds of images for the book. But the Masters books go beyond the images, offering insights from the artists on their work and the medium. It may seem like a small difference from the 500 series, but it adds a layer of interest beyond the standard gallery of images.

Masters: Earthenware came out two years later in 2010. Similar to porcelain, it covers 38 artists’ signature pieces with commentary. Curated by Matthias Ostermann, a celebrated ceramist in his own right, this stunning volume did anything but pale in the face of porcelain. From Linda Arbuckle’s majolica to the burnt reds of Woody Hughes, it is captivating page after page.

Both books are part of Lark’s spring Book Love sale. You can find them by clicking the links in the article above or right here:

-Masters: Porcelain

-Masters: Earthenware

 

 

 

Here at Lark, we publish books on almost every craft you can imagine. We have entire teams dedicated to topics like jewelry and needlearts. We even have a book on gourd craft. But somehow, in our decades of publishing, we have never published a guide to letterpress.

That changed last week.

Letterpress Now, which came out on 1/1, is our first book on letterpress printing. It’s the creation of author Jessica C. White. If that name sounds familiar, that may be because in addition to running her own press and working as a professor she’s also the co-founder of Ladies of Letterpress–a professional organization that now numbers more than 1,500 printers.

Inside, she teaches how to use a variety of presses–from the apartment-sized tabletop platen press to the massive cylinder presses only found in print shops. Each type of press is taught through a variety of projects: calendars, cards, invitations, thaumatropes, trading cards, and t-shirts to name a few.

And there’s also features on some of the best printers working today. Jim Sherraden shares some work from the legendary Hatch Show Print and fellow Ladies of Letterpress founder Kseniya

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As a person, sometimes you have a moment where you go to use something only to realize you don’t actually own what you want to use. As a potter, there’s a special version of that moment when it happens and you think to yourself, “Dang it. That’s something I can make!”

I experienced just this feeling last week as I searched the house for a vase to put flowers in. Small pitchers abounded–and I eventually settled on a mid-century coffee carafe–but the whole episode got me thinking I should probably put the dinnerware on hold for a few weeks and make a vase or two.

I didn’t have 500 Vases around, so I ended up flipping through The Best of 500 Ceramics. With a vase in mind, it was nice to see not only stellar examples of the form, but also some unusual ideas, pitchers, and sculptural work, too. Sometimes a wider pool is just the thing. Here’s a few forms for flowers that called to me:

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Ceramic art is a big part of our history here at Lark. We have been publishing hardworking and beautiful ceramics books for decades. In fact, our company founder now runs a studio for ceramic artists (Marshall High Studios). So to say everyone here at Lark was excited to work on a special edition of the 500 ceramics series would be an understatement.

Rather than simply pick and choose our favorites from the past decade, we invited many of the best jurors and artists in the field to select their favorites for The Best of 500 Ceramics. We also encouraged jurors to pen a few words on why they thought a particular piece was the best of the best. The result is a book with a layer of thought and contemplation new to the 500 series. For many artists, having a prominent figure in the field comment upon their work was one of the most exciting parts of this project.

I would like to also share a few words from the foreward, written by Glen R. Brown. He does an excellent job summing up where contemporary ceramics finds itself at this moment in time:

“Twenty years of observing contemporary ceramics from the perspective of an art historian and critic have led me to accept a certain paradox: the only sound generalization about contemporary ceramics is that no generalization is ultimately sound.

The field is simply too diverse. In fact, its only truly defining trait, apart from a steadfast devotion to clay, may be the democracy of its embrace. Time-tested ideas are rarely abandoned by the historical wayside, while new trends and techniques exert a constant allure for today’s ceramic artists…

When I served as a juror for Lark Crafts’ 500 Ceramic Sculptures in 2009, I found the experience exhilarating. The process reaffirmed my conviction that clay will never lose its relevance as a medium of expression and an avenue for intellectual exploration. Its applications have been every bit as innovative over the past 10 years as at any time during its long history in human hands.

The Best of 500 Ceramics reflects on that unflagging innovation as much as it recaps a decade of inspiring work. This reflection is unique in that it has been woven from the multiple perspectives of those who know ceramics best.”

You can find The Best of 500 Ceramics at Barnes & Noble and wherever books are sold.

 

My name is Carol Sulcoski and my book Sock Yarn Studio will be published by Lark in less than a month. I’m very excited to make my first appearance on the Lark Crafts blog.

Like many of you, I first learned how to knit when I was a child, and then came back to it as an adult. I started out making hats, then baby items, and then bigger projects, like sweaters. I have to confess, though, that in my early years as a knitter, I didn’t appreciate the many advantages of working with fine-gauge yarns. I only wanted to knit with worsted weights or heavier. Likewise, I didn’t quite understand why so many knitters were fascinated with making socks out of skinny yarn; it seemed so fiddly and so time-consuming. But as I knit more and more, and became more and more obsessed with yarn, I decided to give sock knitting a go.

Turns out I loved knitting socks. And one reason I loved knitting socks so much was the yarn.

The first pair of socks I knit were in Koigu, a handdyed all-wool fingering weight yarn. I had never seen colors and color combinations like the ones in Koigu, and I loved how the yarn was squishy and plump and felt wonderful sliding through my fingers. I loved the way each stitch stood so perfect and straight; the ribbing looked like it had been aligned with a ruler. Koigu was the first handpainted yarn I fell in love with, and it’s still one of my all-time favorite yarns to work with.

Next I discovered the genius of self-patterning yarns. I first encountered a yarn called Regia, a German sock yarn that was one of the first self-patterning yarns available in the US. I simply could not believe how fun it was to knit with a yarn that made, all by itself, different-colored stripes, checked patterns and other designs. Hardly any ends to weave in, no charts to follow, just watching the patterns develop as I knit my sock.

As I got more proficient at sock knitting, I began to notice all sorts of sock yarns. I learned that solid colored sock yarns weren’t boring at all—no, they were perfect for knitting more intricate stitch patterns like cables and lace. Without sharp color changes to distract the eye, one’s stitchwork was the focus of attention.

After I came to appreciate solid yarns, I began to notice yarns that had been handdyed in a single color, what most people refer to as “semi-solid” yarns. The lightness and darkness of the shades, the subtle changes in hue, became as inviting to me as multi-colored yarns.

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A couple weeks ago, I headed up to Burnsville and visited a few studios around the Penland School of Crafts. Some highlights were the EnergyXchange, John Britt, Terry Gess, and Michael Kline. The Lark Ceramics page on Facebook has a couple full albums. However, since we have some blog readers who may enjoy ceramics as well, I thought I’d post a few photos here for all to enjoy:

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After the “Ravelympics” debacle, we weren’t sure what, if anything, we could post when it came to summer-games-inspired crafts. But we think we’ve found at least one way to celebrate.

One of our friends recently joined up with RecordSetter, an online database of all sorts of fun, crazy, and impressive world records. So we scoured their site to see what crafting records have already been claimed in the hopes that it would inspire some of our readers to go for the gold this summer. I don’t know if I could stake a claim to largest pot ever thrown, but I could probably throw the largest pot for an iguana to drink out of while in a Prius. Think I’m crazy? You haven’t seen some of these records.

The Largest Doily Crocheted in One Hour

The Fastest Time to Cast-on 15 Stitches While Dressed as a French Girl

The Most Handcrafted Items Made in One Year

The Fastest Time to Fold a Paper Crane Using an NYC Subway Map

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