The Secret Language of Form
Visual Meaning in Art and Nature

Van James

Softbound

Regular Price: $29.95

Introductory Price: $27.95

The pleasures of discovery that lie within this book are so exhilarating that you may want a cup of soothing herb tea alongside so that you won't interrupt yourself too often by jumping up and singing for happiness.

Van James has explored form as it emerges from nature and finds its way into art and from there into the human soul. His journey into the heart of meaning as we humans find it among the many forms Creation has given us constitutes a tour through an Earthly-Cosmic landscape that is at once always grounded yet never removed from spiritual reality. Hundreds of photos, drawings, and paintings greet you to illustrate each illuminate each of the author's observations; and, to evoke wonder and awe in your own heart. This is a feast of beautiful awakening.

Visit this book again and again, to study closely, to keep at hand for those times when inspiration seems far away, for surely you will find it anew within its pages.

Contents:

Part One: The Formative Nature of Art

• Primal Images
• Archetypal Images
  • Curve and Straight Line: The Alphabet of Form
  • Point and Dot: Origin
  • Circle and Spiral: Wholeness and Eternity
  • Chevron, Zigzag and Lattice: Patterns of Humanity
  • Ladder, Spine and Tree: The Ascent
  • Symmetry: The Lawfulness of Balance
  • Cross and Swastika: Death and Transformation
• Archetypal Themes in Art
  • Mandala: Picture of the Universal Self
  • Labyrinth and Maze: Journey to the Center of the Universe
  • Thread and Knot: The World Weaves

Part Two: The Formative Art of Nature

• The Essential Gesture
• The Open Secret
  

Colour
A Textbook for Anthroposophical Painting Groups

Liane Collot d'Herbois

Softbound

$35.00

Liane Collot D’Herbois was a pioneer of spiritual color theory who explored the artistic and therapeutic qualities of light and darkness in painting.

This book is a combination of her original works that presented her remarkable ideas: Colour, part one (1979) and part two (1981). Preferring to write in “pictures” rather than “chapters,” Collot D’Herbois explains the principles behind her work and demonstrates how each color has its own unique movement and inherent quality.

The author’s third volume is Light, Darkness and Colour in Painting Therapy.

Light, Darkness and Colour in Painting Therapy

Liane Collot d'Herbois

Softbound, includes color chart bookmark

$40.00

One should try to see health and disease in the light of the theory of colour.

- Rudolf Steiner

Through her work as an art teacher Liane Collot d'Herbois discovered that an individual's constitution, temperament and illness were often revealed through their painting.

Taking Rudolf Steiner's remark above as her starting piont, together with her own observations, she went on to develop therapeutic painting.

Light, Darkness and Colour in Painting Therapy offers Collot d'Herbois's deep insights into the nature of color, light and darkness and into the way human beings relate to them in various states of health and illness. Included are exercises which you can use to explore these realities yourself. Whether your interest is in the healing arts or whether you are looking for a way to deepen your own understanding of color, you will want to explore Light, Darkness and Colour. It is amazingly complete and wonderfully deep.

The Esoteric Meaning of Raphael's Paintings
The Philosophy of Composition in The Disputa, The School of Athens, The Transfiguration

Giorgio I Spadaro

Includes full-color plates of each painting as well as black-and-white line drawings

Softbound

$20.00

Step into three of Raphael's most well-known and also most complex paintings and discover the artist's language that reveals deep truths and relationships both human and divine. Just a glance at any of these paintings quickly reveals that geometry plays an enormous role in the composition, but Spadaro goes well beyond the superficial concept of "balance of composition" to reveal that each degree of placement and it's counterparts carry a deep, often sacred, message to humanity. And he does much more than even this (as if this weren't enough!): He identifies each and every character in these paintings that are so filled with people, introduces us to their story and then paints with his words and drawings the infinitely rich tapestry that their lives contribute, in just that very spot, at just that very moment, to the sum total that each marvelous painting then becomes.

This book is a joy - the work of a master about the work of a master.

The Isenheim Altar
Suffering and Salvation in the Art of Grünewald

Gottfried Richter

Softbound - full color reproductions of the altar, paintings, and painting details

$19.95

No other painter has ever so terribly and truthfully exposed the horror of suffering, and yet kept before us . . . the conviction of salvation.

- Sister Wendy Beckett

I would like to add that, in my estimation it is also true that no other painter has so clearly painted the grace of human joy or the triumph of love over fear - Grünewald's masterpiece is a tour de force of all the possibilities of the relationship of human beings to the divine and the nature of human life and love. I have often contemplated the various panels (or the progression of the full altar) and have always come away with new insights and the renewed energy of faith, hope and love.

The real joy of this little book is that the reproducations of the Isenheim Altar are so good that they invite you to explore, contemplate, and meditate on the content, meaning, beauty of these panels. Richter's discussion of the altarpiece is an excellent introduction and offers a great deal of history and artistic insight. However, I will tell you that, as good as his essay is, it barely scratches the surface of what you will discover over the years.

Something that is not discussed in the book, but which I have found valuable in my own contemplation of this amazing altarpiece, is that the Nativity, Crucifixion and Resurrection panels encompass the 15 mysteries of Mary as meditated through the Rosary. (Notice that the Christ Child and St. Anthony are both holding prayer beads.)

The Isenheim Altar was commission by the Order of St. Anthony - a monastic fraternity that cared for the sick of their time (early 1500's). They were so aware of the healing value of contemplation and awareness of the mysteries portrayed on this altarpiece that they positioned it so that their patients could see it and benefit from its health-bestowing images.

Clearly, there is much to explore. The Isenheim Altar is a wellspring sending forth living waters.

Art and Human Consciousness

Gottfried Richter

Preface by Konrad Oberhuber, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University

Softbound

$35.00

This survey of Western art from Ancient Egypt to Picasso looks at visual art in a rich and imaginative way. Gottfried Richter’s lively and penetrating observations will inspire and enthuse the novice, while breathing new life into the thinking of art critics and historians.

Richter concerns himself broadly with architecture, sculpture, and painting—as well as mythology and legend—in presenting the creations of artist and architect as an expression of the evolution of human consciousness. In vivid images he offers the reader interpretive keys to understand this process in all areas of art history.

With many examples the author illustrates how human life has undergone a qualitative transformation as humanity has gradually freed itself from a life determined by spiritual guidance in order to take hold of the sensory world and experience free individuality.

NB: Richter was an expert in Western art, and his few comments about Eastern art, in my opinion, miss the point. Additionally, there are a few places in his discourse where more information is now known or understood than was available to him at the time of writing. Keeping these two things in mind, this is nonetheless an exciting and invigorating journey through Western artistic creation, and a really great book. It was my personal doorway into a lively appreciation of art, and that introduction is something that has continues to enrich and bless my life.

Art as Spiritual Activity
Rudolf Steiner's Contribution
to the Visual Arts

Rudolf Steiner

Edited and Introduced
by Michael Howard

$24.95

It's hard to know where to focus my enthusiasm for this volume: whether to rest it upon Michael Howard's extensive introduction (over 100 pages) to the world of Rudolf Steiner's expression of the visual arts or upon the ten seminal lectures by Steiner himself, touching as they do upon everything from the nature of aesthetics to the specifics of painting, sculpture, architecture and more. Perhaps the best I can say is that if you've ever wondered or wanted to know more about the artistic impulse behind Anthroposophic art, this is the ideal place to begin your journey. It's hard for me to imagine anyone regretting it.

Spirit in Watercolor - DVD
Goethe's Color Theory Applied

A companion to the book Color - It's Relationship to Soul and Spirit (below)

Includes step-by-step instruction and demonstration in veil painting

45 minutes

By Lois Schroff

$29.95

When one thinks clearly about darkness, light and color, it is obvious that their existence is not dependent upon the physical. Darkness and light are primal spiritual phenomena, and the world of color and soul are the result of their interaction."

- Lois Schroff

Lois Schroff has done something that many of us have been hoping someone would do - she has put a class in watercolor veil painting on video so that all those who long for a painting class but do not have a way to attend one can learn this healing and enlivening technique.

This video is the perfect companion to Schroff's book, which contains detailed descriptions and clear black & white photos of the veil painting process. Because painting is a fluid, moving activity, Spirit in Watercolor picks up the instruction where Color - Its Relationship to Soul and Spirit leaves off.

It is with joy and gratitude to Lois Schroff that we offer her video in our shop.

Color
Its Relationship to Soul and Spirit

Lois Schroff

Softbound

$21.95

Includes illustrated step-by-step instruction in Collot d'Herbois veil painting technique! Suitable for beginners, teachers and expert artists.

Profusely illustrated in color and black-and-white.

Lois Schroff's Color - Its Relationship to Soul and Spirit highlights the amazing depth of knowing that lies behind the beautiful paintings of watercolorist Liane Collot d'Herbois, whose application of the color theories of Rudolf Steiner and of J. W. von Goethe, together with her overall understanding of anthroposophical principles, are very much in evidence in her paintings. Lois Schroff has been teaching and painting in this method since 1977, following extensive studies with Collot d'Herbois.

Schroff delves into the mysteries of color, light, and darkness from artistic, scientific and esoteric perspectives. With a detailed "how to" section on the specifics of the Collot watercolor technique, this is nevertheless a book not only for painters, but for everyone interested in color. This edition of the book is expanded by new material based on the author's recent years of teaching and study and by color illustrations of paintings by both Collot d'Herbois and Schroff. An extensive bibliography encourages further research.

Topics include:

• mysteries of light, color, and darkness
• the relationship of light, color and darkness to thinking, feeling and willing
• watercolor painting instruction in the manner of Liane Collot d'Herbois
• dark/light exercises
• prism experiments of J.W. von Goethe

Drawing Geometry
A Primer of Basic Forms for Artists, Designers and Architects

Jon Allen

Softbound

$20.00

Teachers, parents, artists and design professionals can all find something to love in Jon Allen's Drawing Geometry. Here, in clean, clear drawings with step-by-step instructions, are the secrets of constructing a myriad of plane geometric forms. If you've never had the joy of discovering how a compass can transform paper and pencil into blossoming flowers of form, this book will introduce you to the magic and wonder of it all. If you've already mastered geometric construction, you'll love Allen's book even more - here in one volume lie the keys to the kingdom.

Truly a delight - do enjoy, whether with your students or for yourself!

Blackboard Drawings
1919-1924

Rudolf Steiner

Edited by Walter Kugler

Softbound

$49.95

Rudolf Steiner recorded his view of the world in numerous books. He also gave more than 5,000 lectures, in which he explained his ideas, using only minimal notes. When describing especially difficult subjects, Steiner frequently resorted to illustrating what he was saying with colored chalk on a large blackboard. After his earlier lectures, the drawings were erased and irretrievably lost. After the autumn of 1919, however, thick black paper was used to cover the blackboards so that the drawings could be rolled up and saved.

The Trustees of Rudolf Steiner’s Estate in Dornach, Switzerland, possess more than a thousand such drawings. A selection of these drawings was first shown to the general public in 1992, and since then, exhibitions in Europe, America, and Japan have generated much interest in Steiner's works.

Did Rudolf Steiner dream these things? Did he dream them as they once occurred, at the beginning of all time? They are, for sure, far more astonishing than the demiurges and serpents and bulls found in other cosmogonies.

—Jorge Luis Borges, author of numerous works, including Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings

Art Inspired by Rudolf Steiner

John Fletcher

Hardbound, dustjacketed, "coffee table" format, abundant color and black-and-white plates and illustrations

Sorry - out of print

I could spend hours and hours over the course of years browsing through this book - as I have been doing in the 2 weeks since it arrived. There aren't too many art books of any description that trace the influence of one person in the art of many others. That's two bad, because what a fascinating journey it is to see the ripple effects of one person (who was not so much an accomplished visual artist, in this case, but more of a shaper of artistic viewpoints) as they stretch out around the world and through our own history. The abundance of color plates and drawings, you'll be able to grasp not only the extent of Rudolf Steiner's artistic heartbeat, but to follow it into the work of a myriad other painters, sculptors, architects, metal workers, glass makers and more. I found this to be a really eye-opening experience - to be able to find because of so many examples what the uniting threads really are. I think you'll find, as I have, that Steiner's influence is both deeper and more widely extended than the handful of commonly seen examples would indicate. This is a treasure for a lifetime of exploration.

Goethe & Palladio
Goethe's study of the relationship between art and nature, leading through architecture to the discovery of the metamorphosis of plants

David Lowe/Simon Sharp

Softbound

$15.00

The poet, dramatist, novelist, and scientist, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe had to wait many years before he was able to travel south to Italy, "the land where the lemon trees bloom." He had gained success in several fields, but he had a sense of being trapped and confined and felt a need for light. Italy would give this to him in a number of ways.

Taking as their basis Goethe’s Italian Journey, the authors of this fascinating and unusual study explore how Goethe’s experience of Palladio’s architecture influenced his view of the relationship between art and nature in general and, in particular, helped him form his understanding of metamorphosis, leading to his discovery of the “archetypal plant.”

In his carefully written account of his travels, Goethe seems to oscillate between experiences of architecture and experiences of nature. In nature, he searched for the "archetypal plant," the essential form whose metamorphosis through time would produce the plant we see in its cycle from seed to fruit. In the art and architecture of antiquity and in Palladio’s classical reformulation of it, he tried to understand the purpose and function of artistic creation.

Until now, no one has put these two together. David Lowe and Simon Sharp show for the first time how these seemingly unrelated subjects are related—how the living geometries and volumes of harmoniously proportioned buildings, the “great idea” of architecture, can lead to the intuition of similar principles in nature.

David Lowe and Simon Sharp have worked together for twenty-one years. One of their first projects was the recreation of Goethe’s Italian Journey. They have given numerous workshops and presentations on the subject in the U.S. and U.K., including The British Museum, the German Embassy, and the Edinburgh Festival.

This is must-reading for anyone interested in Goethe's ideas on plants and metamorphosis.

Art as Seen in the Light of Mystery Wisdom

Rudolf Stiener

Softbound

$18.95

This was the first book of Steiner on art that I read, and it remains a favorite. Steiner's departure point is the former union of art, science and religion found in the ancient holy Mysteries - a union that nourished culture and civilization throughout millenia. Steiner's wide-ranging lecutres offer spiritual insight into the world of modern and ancient art. His themes include the relation of art to technology, the moral experience of the worlds of color and music, and the legendary Norwegian Dream Song of Olaf Åsteson. He also speaks of the relationship between the arts of architecture, sculpture, painting, music, poetry and eurythmy and the various aspects of the human being. Altogether, these lectures are a rhapsodic tour de force of the true nature of art.

Colour
Twelve Lectures

Rudolf Stiener

Softbound

$24.00

In these lectures, Steiner begins with Goethe's Theory of Color, and discusses how moral effect of color upon human beings. He focuses particularly on the effect of color on human feeling and upon the health and well-being of the observer. Steiner lays the foundation for a practical technique for working with color based on the distinction between "image" and "luster" colors. It is this technique that paved the way for a new direction in the visual arts. Color is the most comprehensive compilation in English of Steiner's insights into the nature of color, painting and artistic creation. A truly seminal work that is also fascinating to read.

Painting in Waldorf Education

Dick Bruin and Attie Lichthart

Includes CD-Rom with 62 full color and black-and-white images of examples discussed in the text!!!

Softbound

$18.00

Painting in Waldorf Education is an exciting and much-longed-for resource for teachers and parents. This extraordinary book was written by two experienced Waldorf teachers from Holland who present the rationale as well as detailed practical exercises for teaching painting from Kindergarten through the grades and high school years. At last! a step-by-step presentation of the "how" of a painting lesson (beginning with observation and other preparatory exercises for students that are also wonderful for adults!). That the fundamental "why" and "when" questions are also answered makes Painting in Waldorf Education a resource that will be used often and remain in use for many, many years to come.

Included with the book is a CD Rom containing sixty-two color and black and white images selected from the work of their students.

Fundamentals of Artistic Therapy
The Nature and Task of Painting Therapy

Dr. Margarethe Hauschka

Softbound

Out of Print

From her medical, artistic, therapeutic, and anthroposophical experience, the author gives a concentrated foundation for the development of artistic therapy and the training of the therapist. This important book, which is the fundamental work in its field, will be of interest to all those involved in medical and therapeutic work. Includes 50 full-color examples from the course of instruction at the School for Artistic Therapy at Boll, Germany.

New Eyes for Plants
A Workbook for Observing and Drawing Plants

Margaret Colquhoun
and Axel Ewald

$30.00

This gorgeous book presents one of the finest ways to get to know and understand the life of plants and their relationship to the world and to us. Approached with a sensitive artistry, the reader is guided through exercises and examples that unveil the vibrancy of plantlife as they refine one's artistic skills. If you have ever longed to really "see" plants in their fullness, this book will guide your way.

Drawing from the Book of Nature

Dennis Klocek

Softbound

$23.95

Draning from the Book of Nature does double-duty as a book that is about both drawing and the natural world of plant and animal. Here is a wonderful resource for teachers, students or anyone wishing to develop their capacity for the artistic observation of natural phenomena.

Dennis Klocek, with his refreshing combination of depth and clarity, offers a wealth of insight into the lives of plants and animals. His text is enhanced with step-by-step lessons to help the reader bring the kingdoms of nature to life on paper.

The Power of Limits
Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture

Gyorgy Doczi

Softbound, Large Format

$24.95

The Power of Limits is an exposition of the rhythms and harmonies of both natural and artistic forms. I have used its contents for meditative contemplation for many years now, and have not come even close to exhausting the insights and revelations Doczi's remarkable book evokes. Whenever I get frustrated at how slowly postive change comes about, I reach for The Power of Limits to remind myself of the grace and beauty that limitation brings the world. Steiner defined art as "the impress of the spirit upon matter." Doczi shows us what that means.

Grail of Beauty
The Seven Soul Arts and the Mission of the Nine Muses

Alan Whitehead

$22.95

Alan Whitehead has given us a lovely overview of the arts from the perspective of Rudolf Steiner's artistic impulse. Here is a tour of the evolution of art, the nature and purpose of the different arts, and - because Alan is, after all, a teacher first and foremost - lots of ideas about how to bring the arts alive in your home, community and school. This is a very joyous and wonderful book which I hope many, many people will be able to read.