Favorite Art Books of 2011

* Not included in the photo but I wanted to mention my favorite fiction book of 2011, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

-Poetry and Art: Kylie Johnson's Count Me the Stars and A Once Courageous Heart (I found one of these books at an Anthropologie store in AZ. The clerk told me that there was a second title and that they were out. I drove 20 minutes to the next store and they had it! I bought extra copies and gave them to friends at Christmas. I *love* these books. I would love, love, love to own one of her pottery pieces someday!)

-Morran Book compiled by Camilla Engman (Speaking of Camilla, her book published by Uppercase is a must.)

-Uppercase Magazine's Dottie Angel and Work/Life 2 (A disclaimer, I have everything that Uppercase has ever published. To say I am a fan is an understatement. I haven't reached stalker status yet but I do love their work.)

-Bowie Style's Print Pattern 2 (I loved the first book and was quite eager for the second book!)

-Open Studios with Lotta Jansdotter (artist's + the space they create in=Bliss)

-Masters: Book Arts (pure eye candy for the artist book lover. I wish that someone would publish more books like this one. Their Masters: Collage is also Heaven. They are refreshing changes from the abundance of technique/how to books on the market and they give our art the elevation that it deserves.)

-Speaking of technique books, two of them that I bought on eye candy status alone were Sarah Ahearn Bellemare's Painted Pages and Misty Mawn's Unfurling. (I can honestly say that I will probably never do the techniques or projects described in the books but their artwork is just gorgeous, honest and heartfelt. I enjoy both artists' works immensely.)

-I used to buy Amelia's magazine whenever I saw it and could afford it. I absolutely adored it. I have their previous book, Amelia's Anthology of Illustration but when I saw the new one, Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration at Book Soup in West Hollywood, I whipped out the credit card.

-I am a regular reader of Julia Rothman's blog, Book By Its Cover (it's one of my favorite blogs as it's all about one of my favorite subjects, BOOKS.) I was very excited when I heard that she was coming out with a compilation of artist's sketchbooks called Drawn In: A Peek into the Sketchbooks... One of my favorite artists, Abbey Hendrickson, is in it which makes it worth picking up immediately!

-Modern Vintage Style-I like looking at artist's studios as well as homes that look like they belong to an artist and that's why this book was a must have for me!

-Typography Sketchbooks-yeah, I was hooked in from the minute I heard the title. Plus, Maira Kalman's work is in it...(fyi, Maira has quite a few books out that she has illustrated including Food Rules, Why We Broke Up and her latest is Looking at Lincoln. Um, yeah, I have all of her books, too.)

-The Bird King and Other Sketches-A Shaun Tan sketchbook. Enough said. (Don't know who Shaun Tan is? Go here. Yup, I have all of his books, too.)

-Missed Connections-Beautiful. Sweet. One of the best books I read in 2011. I want to see more from her.

-Cook Until Desired Tenderness-This book came out originally in 2005 but I never saw nor heard of it (or the artist, Cleo Papanikolas until I was at Castle in the Air in Berkeley in March of 2011. Her work is rich and inviting. I haven't read it yet as I can't stop looking at the illustrations long enough to pay any attention to the words on the page! A visual delight!

-Creative Walls-Another eye candy, can't put it down book.

-Floating Worlds: The Letters of Edward Gorey and Peter F. Neumeyer-Edward Gorey + Mail Art + A Really Well Written Book=Happiness I Can't Put Into Words.

-My Heart Wanders-I'm halfway through the book and I can't put it down. It's visually stunning. It's an interesting read when I'm not looking at the photos! An American Edition is due out sometime this year.

-Blabber Blabber Blabber: Volume 1 of Everything by Lynda Barry-Folks, this is a Lynda Barry book (volume 1 of 10) published by Drawn and Quarterly. If you are a Lynda Barry fan, you *need* it. If you don't know who Lynda Barry is, get your head out of the sand and go here. If you buy one comic book this year, get Blabber Blabber Blabber. Seriously, I think it was the most underrated comic of 2011.

-Nomad by Sibella Court-I am a huge fan of Sibella Court's first book, Etcetera. Nomad is in the same vein and is a visual feast for artists!

-The New Artisans-My favorite art book of 2011. I am always enthralled with anything made by hand and this book has everything in it. I can't put it down. It is pure inspiration.

-My two favorite collage books of 2011 were Cut & Paste and Cutting Edges. I've blogged about both books before. While they may not be for everyone, I recommend them for anyone with a strong interest in the art of collage.

-The Curiosities of Janice Lowry-A retrospective of Janice Lowry's 30 years as a working artist. It's a book that I can't help but pick up and flip through every time I pass it or see it (on my shelf or even at the bookstore!) I wish that there was more of her journals included but I am hoping for a second book (or even more!)

*****

What were your favorite books of 2011? What books are you looking forward to in 2012?