Review by Booklist Review
If it were possible to package the world of Irish crafts between covers, Shaw-Smith's book would do it. Visually stunning and articulate in its far-ranging commentary, it focuses on the traditional arts and crafts of Ireland and on the people who continue to practice and value these time-honored pursuits. Like most countries, Ireland began to lose touch with its cottage industries as the Industrial Revolution and digital revolution brought new and increasingly impersonal methods of production, but, happily, the growing prosperity these changes brought served to ultimately preserve endangered crafts as a revival of interest in traditional crafts took place. Crisp photography, exquisite illustrations, and a well-written historical perspective highlight 48 individual crafts organized within the categories of textiles, stonework, woodwork, leather, metalwork, ceramics, glassware, calligraphy, and willow, rush, and straw. Each craft's history and lore are intriguingly presented. The story of hand knitting, for example, includes references to literature as the types and meanings of various stitches are explained. --Lauren Roberts Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
An accomplished independent filmmaker, the Dublin-born Shaw-Smith presents a dazzling book that documents the traditional crafts of Ireland before they disappear. Hands, his movie series on traditional Irish crafts, has been seen worldwide and won many awards, and his honest, straightforward documentary style is evident in this book. He and his wife, Sally, traveled the entire countryside of Ireland and its islands to photograph traditional craftspeople working in their surroundings. The book is divided into ten sections ("Textiles," "Stonework," "Woodwork," "Metalwork," "Glassware," etc.), with each section depicting a variety of crafts, from the famous lace to the relatively unknown pampooties (a type of footwear). Of the nearly 700 illustrations, 621 are color photographs taken by David; the others are drawings by Sally. The images are accompanied by texts from Irish folklorists and historians, who provide a solid introduction to each craft discussed. Two outstanding features are a list of places in Ireland to see traditional crafts in progress and a bibliography. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries and where there's an audience for all things Irish.-Sheila Devaney, Univ. of Georgia Libs., Athens (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
