Miguel Ángel Pérez Arteaga – författare

The 25 featured artists explain, in their own words, the creative processes behind their work, what inspires them, the strategies they use to stay fresh and creative, what distinguishes their work from that of other ceramic artists, and how they achieve this. Through examples of their most personal creations, -objects capable of affecting us emotionally, surprising us and making us think-, the artists reveal important details about their ceramic creations such as how it was made, how it was shaped and which glaze and engobe coating they used to give the clay color and texture. The reader is provided with an illuminating glimpse into each artist’s unique creative world, including the defining features of their work and some of the secrets that characterize their artistic processes. Paragons of exploration, risk and versatility, the extraordinary artists highlighted in this book rediscover thousand-year-old traditions, reinvent perspectives, transcend boundaries, tell stories and rebel from conventional expectations, creating in the process an exhilarating space where art, clay, water, air and fire meet and, ultimately, inspire. Some of the ceramists included are: BELGIUM: Ann VanHoey; CHINA: Wan Liya; NETHERLANDS: Cecil Kemperink; UK: Nicholas Lees; USA: Lauren Nauman, among others.

A book featuring the wide-ranging work of internationally renowned Mexican graphic designer, illustrator and artist Alejandro Magallanes.In this book featuring the work of internationally renowned Mexican graphic designer, illustrator, poet and artist Alejandro Magallanes, the author has selected from among thousands of posters, book illustrations, and works of art. It is divided into five sections that introduce the reader to a fascinating visual universe where Magallanes “illustrates with words and writes with images.” In texts throughout the book, the artist discusses the diverse nature of his projects and reflects on his graphic style. Through this vast array of work, we can see how Magallanes’s process for creating illustrations and designing advertisements for important firms is always changing. The resulting images can be poetic, intelligent, childish, mainstream and even sometimes grotesque. They are examples of the different visions of an adult who refuses to stop being a child, one who makes believe and plays all the time, twisting ideas, images and words that can become part of our memory and stay with us forever.

Ideas are not born alone. They come from a process to a large extent organized and rational but sometimes unconscious and magical. In this book we can enjoy and learn from the creative processes of great graphic designers and creative voices around the world. Here we can find impulsive design versus more cerebral design; radical and avant-garde design alongside poetic, childish, commercial, intellectual, subversive and socially oriented design. 26 designers from 15 countries show us their workspaces, their personal notebooks and their creative processes. They teach us the keys to understand what is behind those magnificent works that inspire, thrill, impact or invite us to action. In this book the creative process itself is inspiration, a unique guide to creativity with storytelling and lessons on how to live your best creative life. The book features the work and creative processes of Ralph Bauer (Netherlands/Peru), Susana Blasco (Spain), Tomasz Boguslawski (Poland), Sarah Boris (London), Chelsea Cardinal (USA), Ryan Carl (USA), André Da Loba (Portugal), Isidro Ferrer (Spain), Veronica Fuerte (Spain), Rick Griffith (USA), Sebastian Kubica (Poland), Anette Lenz (France), Jiani Lu (Canada), Alejandro Magallanes (Mexico), Veronica Majluf (Peru), Fanette Mellier (France), Cláudia Mestre (Portugal), Milimbo (Spain), Akinori Oishi (Japan), Alvaro Pecci (Spain), Stefan Sagmeister (USA), Teresa Sdralevich (Belgium), Akiko Sekimoto (Japan), Leonardo Sonnoli (Italy), Cihan Tamti (Germany), Jessica Walsh (USA).

In How Ideas Are Born, readers will find a treasure chest ofimages by 26 diverse illustrators from 12 different countriesthat the author has gathered, selected and curated for the book.The types of images and styles vary, ranging from the childlikeand naive to the poignant, suggestive and truly masterly.In addition to the 270 images, the book contains 110 drawingsand pages from notebooks and sketchbooks that take thereader deeper into the nature of each artist's work. The visualelements are complemented by revealing interviews with eachartist in which they discuss what compelled them to becomeillustrators, their inspirations, and the research, methods,personal philosophies and work processes that allow them totransform a creative impulse or an emotion into an idea, and anidea into a work of art. We learn about what drives and inspiresthem as well as the origins of their ideas and creativity, from aninnocent curiosity about shapes and colors to the desire to sharesomething fascinating and wonderful with others in a uniqueand original way. Contributors: ARGENTINA: Isol Misenta.BELGIUM: Tom Schamp. BRASIL: Flavio Morais. CANADA:Anita Kunz. FRANCE: Serge Bloch, Delphine Durand, MartinJarrie, Herve Tullet. IRELAND: Chris Haughton. ITALY: SimoneRea, Valerio Vidali. JAPAN: Yoshiko Hada. PORTUGAL: AnaBiscaia, Carolina Celas. SPAIN: Elisa Arguile, Pablo Auladell,Pep Carrio, Jesus Cisneros, Isidro Ferrer, Manuel Marsol, M.A.Perez Arteaga. SWITZERLAND: Fanny Dreyer. USA: GaryBaseman (Los Angeles, CA), Katie Benn (San Francisco, CA),Lisa Congdon (Portland, OR), Elizabeth Haidle (Portland, OR).

Isidro Ferrer is a multi-award-winning graphic designer andillustrator whose work includes illustration books, theaterposters, large-scale murals, animated shorts, sculptures, textiles,brand images and lamps. With a background in theater, he usesa variety of media, techniques and communication channels totransform his clients’ ideas into powerful yet subtle images.In About Nothing, readers will find examples of his extensivework, both the most recognizable and also the most unknown,as the author explores the personality and creative processesof this multifaceted artist, sharing Ferrer’s thinking, ideas andunderstanding of why design matters and what it means tobe a designer and an illustrator. The book portrays the artist'svision of his work as a creator, visions of his studio, excerptsfrom his notebooks, autobiographical texts and a whole treasuretrove of illustrations and designs that are largely unpublishedor made especially for this book. As a result of this wealth oftext and images, we are introduced to the personal philosophy,techniques, experiences, aesthetics, poetics and influences thatinform the work of Isidro Ferrer, with numerous examples ofhow the art of creative thinking is developed, cultivated, honedand, ultimately, transformed into beautiful objects.

This book should serve as a source of inspiration to help creative people overcome the obstacles that can appear during the production process. Featuring 25 genre-defying artists working outside the mainstream, it takes readers inside their work spaces and challenges them to focus on details that help reveal some of the secrets of their creative activity. In addition to the many images of their work, the artists, in their own words, shed light on the creative processes that made them possible. They explain why they create, what they are trying to say and how they look to literature, sculpture, music, theater or scenes from everyday life to overcome creative blocks and self-doubt and stay inspired and productive. Through their words and work, the contemporary painters, sculptors, photographers, tattooists, graffiti artists and muralists that appear in this insightful and visually sumptuous book transmits the emotion, energy, individuality and irony that defines their artistic production and the creative processes behind it. Some artists included: Alexandra Duprez, Eltono, Soeurs Siamoises, Hermann Josef Hack, Gaia Bernasconi, Luca Giovagnoli. Johanna Schaible, Nicholas Stevenson, Sophie Woodrow, Michael McGrath, Cristina Sitja.