Bøger af Bill Lawson

Pottery and ceramics is normally regarded in a serious, mirthless manner. It doesn't matter whether it is magnificent works of art, educational and therapeutic activities, or the cutting edge of industrial technology in electronics or safe storage of nuclear waste that is under consideration. But there is a more human aspect to pottery and ceramics as well. The Cherokee people used a clay to make pipes which became much sought after by Europeans in their quest to make porcelain. Josiah Wedgwood was almost paranoid about colonial competition and feared industrial espionage. A distinguished British officer designed the Simple Yet Perfect (syp) Teapot. Much decoration on oriental pottery and porcelain has erotic connotations. These are just a few of the fascinating trivia and oddities that are contained in this book which bring the field of pottery and ceramics to life.

Contemporary with a ruling family of pompous illegitimates The Garden of Love is an early Renaissance painting, attributed to Antonio Vivarini (1415-1480), that is shrouded in mystery. It could be about romantic love, or the biblical Eve or perhaps it is disguised comment on the sexual mores of the time or....? It certainly is unlike any of his other work, and over time, various changes have been made to the painting, including the removal of a male figure. This historical fiction imagines a possible creation of The Garden of Love and traces its hazardous journey to post World War 2 Australia, where it is displayed today in the National Gallery of Victoria.