Ceramics Books and Magazines

I browsed several bookshops looking at books to help me get started, and have not regretted going with this one.


Doesn't WOW, but good for beginners   June 24, 2002
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

The colorful fish design on the cover of this book attracted me, but most of the projects don't particularly WOW me. The first few pages cover all the same basic introductory instructions that all other mosaic books do, though not extensively.

The good quality of this book is that it begins with a very simple project which uses a pre-made decorative wall tile as the centerpiece. You simply frame it with small mosaic pieces. This is a great project for trying one's hand at mosaic to get a feel for the craft. The projects become progressively more difficult, yet remain fairly simple, so it's a great way to learn, even though the projects may not be all that appealing. The cover's fish design for a plaque is actually one of the more difficult pieces because of its more complex tile layout. A mid-difficulty project includes a couple of mosaic-covered boxes that I find attractive and would make with color modifications.

There is a tabletop at the end of the book which I think would be prettier with a change of color choices, but I would never try it using the author's technique, which is to create the mosaic top, then put cement on the table and turn the table upside down and try to place it over the mosaic. The instructions say "try not to panic", but I'm afraid I would, worried that, unable to see the mosaic top, I might not get it centered, and end up with a huge mess. There has to be a better way to do that one.

Often the instructions refer you to look at the list of suppliers for materials, but the problem is the list doesn't tell you which suppliers carry which materials. You'd have to call every single one (21 of them) to find out which of the suggested materials they carry.

All in all, I would recommend this book for beginners. For others, keeping the book in your mosaic library can inspire some ideas, and I think the more ideas on hand, the better.


Making Mosaics: 15 Stylish Projects from Start to Finish   November 12, 2001
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Having seen Martin Cheek's website, which contains an impressive and whimsical sampling of his own work, I was looking forward to a "projects" book by him. I am a bit disappointed. The projects are, for the most part, completely aesthetically unappealing to me. The level of the book is "beginner" (which I am), so initially I thought the images were overly simple in order to accommodate the reader's lack of expertise. At the same time, however, he suggests projects which would be out of the realm of most beginning mosaicists -- like making and firing your own decorative tiles, for instance. And although each project comes replete with a long list of necessary supplies, in some cases he never mentions any instructions for certain items on the list. Maybe his intermediate/advanced level books are better.


Great for Beginners   May 17, 2001
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This is a good book for beginners (me). I did a bit of research on Martin Cheek, he has other books and they are all good choices. Unfortunately his classes are in the UK, a bit of a haul for US residents.