Research Guides: Craft and Material Studies: Home

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This guide provides an overview of tools and basic strategies for conducting library research in Craft and Material Studies including
Ceramics, Fiber, Furniture & Wood, Glass and Metal & Jewelry.

Craft Reference Books

The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts
Call Number: Cabell Library Reference NK28 .G76 2006
The Design Encyclopedia
Call Number: Cabell Library Reference NK1370 .B93 2004
More than 700 full-color illustrations presenting the last 130 years in the history of the design of furniture, lighting, fabrics, ceramics, glassware, metalware, objects in a range of other materials, and mechanical, electrical, and electronic appliances, as well as automobiles and some inventions.
The Elements of Design: A Practical Encyclopedia of the Decorative Arts from the Renaissance to the Present.
Call Number: Cabell Library Reference NK 750 .E48 2003
A visual reference book on design trends in the decorative arts from 1500 to 2000. Thematic chapters dealing with the Baroque, Rococo, Aesthetic Movement, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and other eras examine the decorative arts tradition in the development of ceramic, glass, silver and metalwork, textile, and furniture design.
The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Design
Call Number: ebook
A comprehensive guide to the history and theory of design, addressing a range of design forms including graphic, textile, furniture, metal, ceramic, fashion, stage and film, vehicle and product design, as well as national histories of design and key design movements.
(Also in print Reference: NK1320 .B59 2016 )
The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide
Call Number: Cabell Library Reference RC963.6.A78 R67 2001
Dozens of at-a-glance tables and charts present vital information about art materials, ingredients, technical hazards, proper protective equipment, and safe work practices simply and accurately.
The A-Z of Modern Design
Call Number: NK1165 .A9 2009
A comprehensive guide to international product design of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It includes 350 entries on influential designers and studios and the most important design-led manufacturers worldwide, both past and present.

Craft Recommended Texts

The Craft Reader
Call Number: TT149 .C733 2010
Comprehensive anthology of writings on modern craft. Covering the period from the Industrial Revolution to today, the Reader draws on craft practice and theory from America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
History of Design: decorative arts and material culture, 1400-2000
Call Number: ebook
Spanning six centuries of global design, this far-reaching survey is the first to offer an account of the vast history of decorative arts and design produced in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and the Islamic world, from 1400 to the present.
Also in print: NK600 .H57 2013
Craft: An American History
Call Number: TT23 .A33 2021
A history of how artisans created America, from the nation's origins to the present day. From the silversmith Paul Revere to today's "maker movement," Mother Jones to Rosie the Riveter, Betsy Ross to Rosa Parks, suffrage banners to the AIDS Quilt, the author shows that craft has long been implicated in debates around equality, education, and class.
Makers: A History of American Studio Craft
Call Number: ebook
Follows the development of studio craft in the United States --objects in fiber, clay, glass, wood, and metal--from its roots in the 19th century to the diversity of expression at the end of the 20th century.
Also in print: NK807 .K67 2010
Materials and Techniques in the Decorative Arts
Call Number: NK 30 .M38 2000
Dictionary devoted to the fascinating materials and techniques used in the decorative arts. Each core material (glass, ceramics, textiles, paper, plastics, leather, metal, stone, wood, and paint) is covered from its raw state through any processing or preparation to various craft stages and finally, to any surface finishing.
Transmaterial
Call Number: ebook
3 books with hundreds of materials, organized by category, described, pictured, and annotated with technical and sourcing information.
Thinking Through Craft
Call Number: N8510 .A33 2007
An introduction to the way that artists working in all media think about craft. Provides historical case studies analysing craft's role in a variety of disciplines, including architecture, design, contemporary art, and the crafts themselves.
The Invention of Craft
Call Number: TT15 .A33 2013
Traces the origins of modern craft from the industrial revolution as a necessary counterpart to ideas of progress and upheaval. Moves back and forth between periods, from the 18th century to the present day, demonstrating how contemporary practice can be informed through the study of modern craft in its moment of invention.
Material Perceptions
Call Number: NK1110 .M38 2018
Different voices in craft theory to investigate the perception of contemporary craft as a particular discourse and aesthetic vocabulary.the conventional dualism between aesthetic objects and everyday things. The authors investigate the possibility to perceive craft objects from perspectives that relate to the aesthetic tradition of materialism.

Top Craft and Decorative Arts Databases

Use databases to search for articles and essays within craft and decorative arts journals.

Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI)
International index to articles in hundreds of design and craft journals. Also contains data on designers, craftspeople, studios, schools, workshops, and firms.
Bloomsbury Design Library
Cross-searchable access to a broad and expanding range of encyclopedias, reference works, e-books, images, and more covering the global history, theory, and practice of crafts and design.
Bloomsbury Fashion Central
Contains Berg Fashion Library, which provides cross-searchable access to interdisciplinary text and image content on world dress and fashion. Includes e-books, reference works, images, and more.
ARTbibliographies Modern
Abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, dissertations, and exhibition reviews on all forms of modern and contemporary art.
Art Index Retrospective
Electronic version of Art Index, volumes 1-32, indexing historical literature on a variety of art topics from the early twentieth century to 1984.
Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals
Citations for journal articles on architecture and design, covering subjects such as the history and practice of architecture, landscape architecture, city planning, historic preservation, and interior design.
Artforum Archive
An international monthly magazine covering contemporary art from 1962-2020. The archive contains feature articles, reviews, and interviews on artists, exhibitions, and publications.
JSTOR
Searchable backfiles of core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. (Backfiles end typically 3 - 6 years prior to the current date).

Criticism and Reviews of Contemporary Art & Design

In addition to art and design databases, try these newspaper and magazine databases
to find reviews or criticism about contemporary art and design.

Access World News
Also known as NewsBank, provides access to major national and international newspapers, local and regional titles, blogs, and more. Historical and current content, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch archive from 1903 to present.
Dow Jones Factiva
Comprehensive, full-text up-to-the-minute news and business source from Dow Jones and Reuters. Includes national, international, and regional newspapers, both current content and archives, periodicals, podcasts, newswires, and more.
Newspaper Source Plus
Full text for major national and international newspapers, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Times (London). Also includes full-text radio and television news transcripts.
New York Times via nytimes.com
Use this link to register for a free account. Important source of reporting information, and opinion on politics, finance, health, science, culture, the arts, sports, and fashion in the U.S. and abroad. See ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index for issues back to 1851.
New York Times with Index (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
Full image of articles published in The New York Times including illustrations and advertisements. Covers from the first issue in 1851 to three years prior to the current year.

Resources Beyond VCU Libraries

If you can't find the book, article, or dissertation that you want at VCU, try these resources to find what you need.

Inter-library Loan (ILL)
Via Interlibrary Loan, you can borrow books, articles, and DVDs that VCU does not own.

WorldCat (via FirstSearch)
Consolidated catalog of items held by OCLC member libraries worldwide. WorldCat FirstSearch is the subscription version of the WorldCat database, with advanced search options and result listing by number of copies available.

RALC
The Richmond Academic Library Consortium is a group of Richmond area libraries which have agreed to extend limited borrowing privileges to students, faculty, and staff of any RALC school.

Citations

Citation Styles Research Guide
VCU Libraries guide to citing information in a variety of formats including APA, MLA, and Chicago.
Citation Tools
Provides information about choosing and using citation tools such as Mendeley, Zotero, and EndNote.
Purdue OWL - Research & Citation Resources
Comprehensive guide to in-text and reference list citations for APA, MLA and Chicago styles.

Craft and Material Studies

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