Book Review :: "Inspiration in Glass" by Tanja Ostwald

"Inspiration in Glass" by Tanja Ostwald is a book I became familiar with on Facebook when one of the artists who were profiled posted a link to purchase this book.  Of course, I had to check it out right away and decided I had to have it!  You can purchase it on Amazon here.

In this book, Tanja asks a group of really talented glass bead makers about their inspiration and looks behind the scenes at their inspiration to help you find yours.

Each artisan created a new piece of glass art to symbolize their inspiration; that piece of glass art will be auctioned off at some point with proceeds being donated to a bead-related charity.

The artists included in the book are:

Akiko Isono

Annette Nilan

Astrid Riedel

Bronwen Heilman

Ginger E.L.A.

Holly Cooper

Jeri Warhaftig

Kate Fowle Meleney

Kim Fields

Kristen Frantzen Orr

Lucie Kovarova-Weir

Meike Nagel

Nicole Zumkeller & Eric Seydoux

Rocio Bearer

Sharon Peters

Stephanie Sersich

Yoskinori Kondo

The book is set up so that you learn about what inspired each artist to start making beads, some of their process, and advice they would give to other beadmakers.  While the book is not tutorial-oriented, the artists do provide a working dialogue to show you how the bead they are donating is made.  The book includes some awesome eye candy presented as an overview to the artists work.

At the end of the book, the section called Exercises to Practice provides a technique from each artist that will help you with specific aspects of glass beadmaking, for example, stringer control, puffy mandrel tips, making beads that match, and making shards.

The Artisans Spotlight section gives you some specific info related to each artist in spreadsheet format.  Hours spent at the torch, favorite music, and hobbies other than glass are just a few examples.

In conclusion, I think this is a great book for a lampworker who is not necessarily looking for a tutorial-rich book, but one that gives process-oriented lessons and inspirational information to find your own voice.  Since I admire many of these artists, I personally really enjoy reading about their inspirations and the advice they give.  There were several artists I was not familiar with and was happy to learn about them as well!  I hope this small review helps you!

**All photos used in this post were taken by me from my own personal copy of the book.**

**I was not given a copy of this book to review nor did I receive compensation in any kind for this review.**

Susan Kennedy