Making a Life
Working by Hand and Discovering the Life You Are Meant to Live
Published on 29. October 2019
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-57965-744-4 (ISBN)
Description
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019Why do we make things by hand? And why do we make them beautiful? Led by the question of why working with our hands remains vital and valuable in the modern world, author and maker Melanie Falick went on a transformative, inspiring journey. Traveling across continents, she met quilters and potters, weavers and painters, metalsmiths, printmakers, woodworkers, and more, and uncovered truths that have been speaking to us for millennia yet feel urgently relevant today: We make in order to slow down. To connect with others. To express ideas and emotions, feel competent, create something tangible and long-lasting. And to feed the soul. In revealing stories and gorgeous original photographs, Making a Life captures all the joy of making and the power it has to give our lives authenticity and meaning.
Reviews / Votes
"[This] book is filled with stories of weavers, ceramicists, welders, woodworkers, quilters and more, with photos of the art, the crafts, homes and workspaces. Falick examines how making by hand contributes to a good life."-Associated Press
"This book is a gem, and one that will inspire you to keep (or begin!) making and creating, a desire that's inside each of us."
-The House that Lars Built, November 2019 Book Club Pick
"A remarkable series of 30 vignettes that simultaneously comfort and stimulate. . . . Falick's treasury, sumptuously photographed, will appeal to anyone who admires the people dedicated to making the world around them more beautiful."
-Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Lovely and thoughtfully inspiring. . . . These very up-close-and-personal profiles, supplemented by elegant color photographs of people at work and their projects, capture the spirit of making and the dedication that's behind the art. . . . In wholehearted agreement with the author: 'When we get to the point where we aren't able to make things with our hands and feel no mastery, we feel lost.' "
-Booklist, starred review
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Workman Publishing
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
400 color photographs
Dimensions
Height: 284 mm
Width: 212 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
1407 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-57965-744-4 (9781579657444)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2019
Workman Publishing Company
€12.99
Available for download
Person
Melanie Falick is an independent writer, editor, and creative consultant-and a lifelong maker. Formerly the publishing director of STC Craft/Melanie Falick Books, an imprint of Abrams, she is also the author of Knitting in America,Kids Knitting, and Weekend Knitting, as well as several other titles. Find her on Instagram @melaniefalick and at melaniefalick.com.