Esherick, Maloof, and Nakashima: Homes of the Master Wood Artisans

Had always been a fan of the work of Sam Maloof while I was aware of Nakashima's original book  The Soul of a Tree: A Master Woodworkers Reflections . However here was a book that caught my attention immediately as it portrayed the highly personal lifetime achievement works , the very structures that made their homes , of 3 recognized master wood artisans. Having always built any home environment I've ever lived in *first* around my artist's drawing board , now predominantly digital since 1998 , I know firsthand how extremely important is the artist's personally designated space where the drawing board ( or workbench ) becomes a sacred place, a kind of altar , where the artist reliably courts their muse and recreates the world anew with each project , one after another. With that you can now imagine my enthusiastic interest in the fashioning of the kind of entire living spaces these 3 masters of their craft literally *built* for themselves as if composing a symphony or masterwork of literature rendered in the form of their personal expression of what emerges as live-in cabinetry. The actual text of the book is somewhat sparse , but I suspect intentionally so in that that it serves to just give context & description while allowing the actual pictures to speak their 1,000 words each. I may predict that one who would be attracted to this kind of book can only grow to love discovering all of the artists' personal touches as their signatures, in most cases crafted and then added by the artist's very hand , as each page takes you further along each of the three tours that speaks for each artist as they reveal themselves in what they have fashioned for themselves & their families while welcoming friends and patrons into spaces custom designed with purpose in spirit ,mind & heart. So I would recommend this open book tour of these highly individualized works-of-art as a means of looking into 3 true artists' personal nests the way I would recommend the book  Speed, Style, and Beauty [SPEED STYLE & BEAUTY] [Hardcover ]portraying Ralph Lauren's personal collection of 20th century classic sports cars and in reading into that art collection revealing Mr. Lauren's nature. Art is to be lived and what better approach than to be made to be lived in. This book makes that case beautifully.

Bought this for my husband and so he says he likes it! He works a lot so he hasn't been able to read it like he'd like but when he does get the time, it's hard for him to put it down.

Wonderful book! It is not a new book, but has great pictures and reasonable commentary. A decent snapshot of each of the subject's work.

Before this book, I'd enjoyed spotty access to these three houses and their contents. Nakashima's was the best documented in existing books, followed by Maloof, with Esherick's house a distant third. Now, with this book, there is grand access. But, as a friend used to say, idiosyncratically, it hurts my feelings. This is really too wonderful.

Great pictures, excellent printing and very extensive history of each man. It's not just a picture book, it's a very complete history of the lives and philosophies of three great masters of their art.I would recommend it if you admire these artists.

Beautiful book! Wonderful information on the homes of three unique craftsmen. The photos accompanying the text are stunning!!!

Don't waste your money! Great book idea with terrible photos shot at midnight in the dark! Can I have my money back? It is a shame that the photographer wasted access to these wonderful homes and shot such washed out photos. The photos at the Nakashimas are the worst of the lot.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book with quality photos. If you love wood, I recommend you add this to your book collection.