Woodcut (The artwork of Bryan Nash Gill) Hardcover – May 2, 2012

The purchase of this book by me is really a testament to good writing, as I pre-ordered this book after reading a glowing review of it in the NYT.I don't ordinarily buy an art book without having first seen it; however, the review coupled with the publisher (Princeton) made this a compelling choice.I was so excited about its arrival that I even blurted out to a bookseller I know that I had just purchased a fantastic new book title 'Woodcut' etc.; a brag that I reserve for my best finds/sales.Upon opening the packaging, I was immediately disappointed by the small size of the book (at the time of pre-ordering I didn't see any size stated).Folks!!! This book is only approximately 10" x 10" in size (and maybe 3/4" thick in approx. 120 pps.): A laughably small size when you consider that some of the prints the author made were more than 4 FEET per side.As such, you can imagine how small the actual reproductions are. In fact, only a single, solitary print even spills onto a second page and it doesn't fill it. The editors even went so far as to cram as many as four reproductions on to a single page: Not excusable.The printing and binding of this book were done in China. Once again, nobody who cares about producing an art book is going to send the job to China for, her production skills are just not up to snuff at this time.Here's why the points I have just made about this book are critical. One of the things I had wished for in this book was that the artist had taken on the task of reproducing a wide variety of tree species that occur around his studio. In other words, I had hoped a high art book with a scientific/naturalist angle enabling a reader to see, in cross-section, the species of the forest as found in his neck of the woods, Connecticut.This the artist failed to do. He, instead, chose to reproduce pretty patterns. Again, this would have been great, but for the diminutive size of the book and prints and the less than stellar quality of the paper and reproductions. As such, these are mildly interesting but do not in any way do justice to the underlying death mask, I think.For me, a lover and collector of art books, this book is a bit like that porridge served to David Copperfield, I, though, won't ask for more, sir!

Gill's prints pass his personal, perhaps metaphysical relationship with the grain of each tree trunk or piece of wood cross section on to the viewer.  As you stare at the many circles, you find yourself entering into a sort of mental maze, asking some of the same questions Gill must have asked – how old was this tree, what caused the aberrations in circular patterns, what insect damage occurred, what are the coloration variations.Of course, one can look at these prints and simply be attracted by their abstraction and geometric playfulness.  To others, they are simply graphically pleasing. But what makes Gill's work special is the personal "records of my connection," as he expressed it.One might ask, wasn't he just copying? The answer, emphatically, would have to be "no." In every step Gill exercised his creative talent and artistic eye –  in the tree or board he chose, the particular crosscut he singled out, the painstaking way in which he prepared each surface, the ink used and the how he extracted the patterns, circle by circle. If you aren't able to purchase one of Gill's large monoprints, this book may be a good second option.

I would encourage anyone interested in art and humane expression to read and view this book. Then live with it for an extended period of time. Any art book must give us small images of usually larger works of art. But if you want to see sixteen pages reproducing full sized excerpts from the originals that will show you clearly the difference between a careful and caring printing process and its transformative power compared to a simple photograph, Buy this book. These are printed in black and white on paper as are many of the originals. If you want to experience one exceptional source of the shear beauty of intricate designs and textures hidden in trees, Buy this book. If you want to grasp the special sense of time and change held in the hearts of trees, Buy this book. If you want to understand a different and difficult printing process, Buy this book. I suggest you run through the preview selections until you find one of the full sized excerpts. Five stars from this reader.

My son had been wanting this book and asked us to give it to him for Christmas. He has started with wood turning and woodworking, and absolutely loves this book and feels that it really sparks his creativity.

I bought this book after having viewed an exhibition of the artist's work. Like most books of this type, it serves as a record of the work and the process the artist used to create it. The actual prints, of course, are much larger and vivid than the reproductions in the book. Beyond that, the book goes into detail about the living history of the trees extracted from study of the cross sections portrayed in the prints. A good book to study on a cold winter night.

Absolutely incredible. Worth every penny. A great, great gift for anyone

I really like the idea of this book, when I got it I was a little disappointed by the prints. I thought this was more of a coffee table picture book, there's a lot more text than I was expecting. That may be a silly complaint, I was just expecting more artwork inside. :)

Beautiful book.