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Ukrainian Design Book I

Ukrainian Design Book I

This is the first book of a series of previously unpublished patterns for the reader to recreate and enjoy. By breaking down the design to its simplest form, you will discover that you can create very complicated and magnificent patterns. As we describe each egg from beginning pencil lines to the final dye bath, the symbolism and color meanings will also be explained.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars A Valued Folk Reference
When I was in “art school” both undergrad and master’s I recall long talks about “folk art” by teachers who really made no folk art, and to some extent seemed not only distant from it but above it. And then too heard talks by art historians who made clearly no art at all. Meanwhile in my life I was discovering the craft in the area of West Virginia I lived, learning how to make many things from thumb pianos to eggs, to corn husk dolls and apple dolls, from tatting to lace, batik, candle making, to crocheting hats and assimilating who people were, and where I was, into concrete making and doing, especially in food. I loved it.

An excellent child’s life happily including the making of Ukrianian eggs, pysanky. If you do not know the form just look on-line a minute. It will amaze you, if you see it in person you will be more amazed. It is said within the Ukrainian people as long as a pysanka is being made the world will never end, so at least for the last few weeks I’ve returned to the technique to make the eggs I loved as a child.

From the perspective of my fine art teachers folk art took on a kind of craft kitsch. But I, living in people still making in WVa, tended to find the dividing line around money. I still do, as I see the craft and making disappearing with newspapers and other artifacts of American life that I value. Time is constrained, people are on-line too much, making requires funds, plus the drive to create has shifted away I think from things like this. Worrisome. What people maintained from homelands, made in their lives still seems to survive though in food. At least we have that. I think the secret we miss is teaching the young traditions like this and then sharing it with others. It is something you can do with a modest investment, this book can help you set it up and you gain a wonderful sense of the doing, of accomplishment and beauty plus share something from other cultures. I find this the real way to become culturally aware. Make the crafts, adapt it to yourself.

This said, this book introduces pysanky, a technique of decorating an egg through a wax resist and dye process that always reminds me of batik. It is a wonderful resource as I no longer live in West Virginia or near any makers of this art and cannot see nor ask them a makers questions. The net is providing visual resource -say through You Tube, but I do prefer a book. I like to read, re-read, look, consider, share in book form. I found the text remarkably useful. I’ve had the book at least 20 years. My mother bought me this one as a wedding present. Just today reading more carefully I learned a new thing. Use an extra orange dye bath to rinse the eggs between color applications. Some colors are hard to apply after other colors. I had sort of come to that realization making the eggs but this confirmed it. Another tip that helped me, how to go back to a white background with a bleach rinse. You usually end in black. Now I know how to do something different.

The book does detail diagrammatic instructions on how to make traditional eggs.Very easy to follow. I do not do these, actually, because I am trained in art and as divergent a person as it gets, but I appreciate this none the less for what it is preserving and passing along of this cultural tradition. Ukrainian eggs mark births, weddings, times in life. They hold a kind of symbolic meaning, insight into a people and into the values they hold. This book presents this very simply, with an instructive purpose.

I started making these at 8. I taught myself for the most part watching some ladies at the mall in my hometown. In that way the beeswax and the process adapted into an Appalachian, me, and her relationship to making, design, to life and what we do passing our days. This spring break returning to read this was lovely. I’ve ordered from the shop recently that produced this book and these designs, you get excellent supplies, prompt, high quality. I got twelve goose eggs there. Delightful to decorate. I wish them many many more years. A great resource. The shop must be a wonder to see. Do not hesitate to get this.

5 Stars Brilliant!
As someone who’s been doing Ukrainian egg decorating for only a few months, I found this book delightful. However, if you’ve not used this technique before and hope to learn from this book, my suggestion is to take a class, or at the very least watch a video. The methods described in this book are precise and well written, but there’s nothing like seeing it done. This book contains lovely, inspirational photos and clear step-by-step instructions for how to replicate the designs. An excellent book for anyone who loves to decorate eggs.

4 Stars Good for beginner if…
This book, along with an initial read of the instructions on [...] is all I needed to get started. I purchased this book through All Things Ukrainian as part of a kit that included dyes, kistkas, egg blower, and this book. I found the instructions to be easy to follow and I feel successful although I’d never even seen this art form in person before. After the description on how to do each design, there are brief descriptions of the symbolism and colors used in each design. A few designs are bleached; where you start with colors and end with a bleach dip, leaving a background of white (if you’re using a white egg). I wouldn’t say there is much inspiration in the book, but clear instructions on traditional patterns. I chose to start with the traditional and hope to move to more personal expressions later. I am very pleased with the patterns in this book.

4 Stars good patterns, but you’ll need more than this
If you are a beginner to the art of pysanky, as I am, this book will not be enough to get you started. It gives brief directions and gets straight to the patterns, which are after all the point of this book. The cover has color photos of all the egg designs presented in the book, the inside cover has black-and-white pictures of the sides of the eggs; the pages of the book contain only black and white line drawings of the patterns. The patterns are given step-by-step with a line drawing for each step, but as a beginner I still find some of them a bit confusing. However, they are lovely designs and for more experienced decorators (which I hope to be very soon) I’m sure the patterns and instructions are adequate. Throughout the book, where a certain pattern is used, its symbolism is briefly explained. So, if you are a beginner, get a good starter book - I am finding Jane Pollak’s Decorating Eggs to be an excellent learning and inspiration resource.

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The Charles Dickens Collection Vol 2 David Copperfield The Pickwick Papers The Old Curiosity Shop Dombey and Son

The Charles Dickens Collection Vol 2 David Copperfield The Pickwick Papers The Old Curiosity Shop Dombey and Son

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 08/15/2006 Rating: Nr

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars A different view than expected but very enjoyable. Count on BBC
We have ordered many of the classics and find that the BBC productions are usually far and away better than others. The Dicken’s Collection is a must have

5 Stars superbly told version of the classic novel
After renting this series from my local library, I decided to purchase it along with the rest of the Charles Dickens collections, all of which were also enjoyable. I found the novel a bit difficult to understand and at times boring, but this production really made the story come alive. I was not bored at all while watching the series, and would recommend that Charles Dickens fans see this series. The acting is great throughout the film, especially Maggie Smith as the aunt. Daniel Radcliff also does an excellent job as the young David. The costumes in the movie were also splendid to look at. The series really helps you to identify with the characters and understand the world as it was during the time period.

5 Stars Great Series
This collection is made up from a TV series from the way it plays. In other words episode start, serial, episode ending and credits. That is the downside when you want to watch “Great Expectations” or others unbroken from start to finish. It would have been a good idea for the DVD producers to have editted all this out. Otherwise, this series is probably the best among many that have been produced in the last 3 decades. Still some of the older black-white movies such as Scrooge made in the 50’s manage to grasp the ambience of living and other conditions in Dicken’s time. This is not a bad effort though and is money well spent. Importantly there is no embellishment of the script and faithfully follows Dickens’s books, (with good value too).

5 Stars Good condition, shipped fast
The item arrived within 3 days which was less than the estimated shipping time. It arrived without incident and in peak condition.

5 Stars Charles Dickens Collection Volume 2
These DVDs were bought for my wife and she has really enjoyed them. She said the quality of the movies was very good and she hopes you will have other BBC productions in the near future featuring other Charles Dickens works.

From my point of view about ordering from Amazon is how easy it is to look for and order movies that you cannot buy in local stores. Thank you.

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Dolce Dark Walnut Coffee Table

Dolce Dark Walnut Coffee Table

Form and function are paired in this beautifully designed coffee table, an ideal place for resting your beverages, your magazines and your feet. The wood veneer tabletop extends out over the solid wood legs, and the legs flare, adding good looks to this simply styled coffee table. A drawer for storing the remote, coasters and more completes the table. Imported. 17.75Hx19.63Wx39.25L”.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Very Nice Coffee Table
The quality of this is defiantly worth the money. It gives off an great urban but modern vibe, and brings my whole living room together. This defiantly tops all of the other things I saw and malls and furniture stores. I get endless compliments on this table and I know why. It kind of stands out, its hard not to notice how nice it is. I’m very satisfied.

5 Stars Very nice. Fast shipping.
I ordered this on line on 4-15 with free shipping and it arrived 2 days later. Don’t ask me how they accomplished that. I checked it for damage. There was none. I followed the simple directions and it was assembled in 5 minutes. I will probably buy 2 matching end tables. It is not heirloom quality but certainly fine for our media room.

3 Stars good for the price
i bought this coffee table not too long ago, when it came in the mail it already had a chip out of the veneer on the top.My boyfriend said that we can stain it, but i dont know when we will be able to find the time, it would also be expensive to have it shipped back. It is a pretty sturdy table though, good for the money. be careful and use coasters with the table because one time we put a glass that had water on the bottom of it, and it bubbled the veneer in that spot. temporary, not much nicer than you would get at ikea, but its a nice looking table in the mean time.

2 Stars Looks nice but very cheap
When you first put it together it looks nice, although you can totally tell its a cheap piece of furniture. I suppose for the low price of $79.99 its worth it but the finish is already chipping all around the sides and the top. Deep scratches etc. I have no children or pets, just two adults using this table and its not holding up well after just a few months. It’s also way too small to be of use as a coffee table I think.

I should have known as I also have the dolce desk and filing cabinet and the desk is horribly scratched all over it, it looks terrible and the finish has rubbed off all over after less than a year of use.

The folding bookcase I have and love. It has no scratches or finish rubbing off but mainly I think because it never gets touched.

The dolce collection looks nice but its very cheaply made and looks it as well.

1 Star Cheap
I ordered this table and when I received it there were 2 different size legs so it could not be put together without one side being 6″ taller than the other side. I took it back to a store to exchange it and they did not believe that I received 2 different height legs. After a while, they exchanged them, and now after having the table for 6 months, the paint is chipping off the edges of the table. It looks so cheap and was not worth what we paid for the table.

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