Volumes published and on sale

Proceedings of the Conference Knowledge, Practice and Experience of Artistic Crafts, edited by M. P. Lebole, B. Zini, May 16, 2008, Florence, LEF 2008 (parallel text in English)

The international OmA congress saw the bringing together of important names in the field of museum education with the aim of creating a network of first-class experiences, aimed at creating an educational model that can be applied to all the museums of Applied Arts. This model, according to OmA, could help younger generations to acquire an understanding and knowledge of art and know-how.

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It is the first volume of the series Dire e Fare, a collection of illustrated books that tell the history of art and crafts and lead to the rediscovering of the ancient trades which, after telling about them, suggest what one can do, with a series of simple and fun exercises. The book is dedicated to the art of assembling, that is putting together two or more colored pieces (of stone or wood or also metal, ivory etc.) that go to make something perfectly fit together without relief, creating a decorative design on surfaces.

G. Maracchi, L’arte dell’intrecciare spiegata ai ragazzi , Florence, LEF collana Dire e fare 2007

The second volume of the series Dire e Fare, a collection of illustrated books that tell the history of art and crafts, is dedicated to the art of weaving, one of the oldest human activities that started with the weaving of fibers, branches, plants, and bark, with which up to a century ago objects of everyday use were made in the country with the natural resources people had at their disposal, often during idle times of work in the fields. The book, rich with illustrations and explanations, describes in detail the techniques and the varied uses of weaving, and suggests three simple and fun experiments to do with children to combine words with the experience of a trade and an activity that is rapidly disappearing.

Proceedings of the Congress Mestieri d’Arte: un patrimonio per il futuro (Artistic Crafts: A Heritage for the Future) , edited by M. P. Lebole, B. Zini, May 19, 2007, Florence, LEF (parallel text in English)

The objective of the congress is to outline the state of things of artistic crafts in some of the most important European countries and set in motion contacts to create a network of relationships within the many European contexts. The drawing up of a common manifesto that can be used as an outline for those who decide the policies for this sector at a national and European level. The adoption of common lines of action among the different European countries. The promotion of European legislative initiatives that, keeping in mind the singularity of artistic crafts, will favor their future development and outline guidance lines for training.

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Feasibility project for the constitution of the international center for artistic industries CIMA, Florence, Polistampa 2007.

The volume presents CIMA’s ambitious project, the main objective of which is to realize an international archive that gathers studies and testimonies on the manufactories and artistic crafts coming from all over the world. Besides geography, in fact, a territory is characterized by the activities of the artistic crafts which have an important role in the forming of a cultural identity of the people who live there, something that modern times, instead, seem to have forgotten. The new-born CIMA organization intends therefore to become a center for the coordination of studies at an international as well as local level and a museum of applied arts with a permanent collection of items that are testimonies to manual skill and important traditional techniques. The publication concludes with an investigation on the cultural institutions and government associations in the sector that are already in operation in the world, here presented one by one, beginning with the projects outside Italy to then go to the organizations having a national and regional character, divided according to their geographical area.

G. Maracchi, Fabbricare pantofole e pianelle, Florence, LEF 2005

Included in the popular paperback collection “saper fare” published by LEF, the small volume briefly recounts the history of footwear, illustrating their making through images, detailed descriptions of the tools, the workshop and the models. At the end of the book there is useful information about footwear museums and references to find material to make tailor-made shoes.

The small volume of the SCUDI collection “saper fare” introduces the history and work techniques of the hat through the description of equipment and materials, designs, patterns and various models. The book is edited by La Fierucola di G. Pucci.