The unique work of
Creative Art.
The latest book by Marco E. Nobili, the internationally known author of books about fine firearms, examines the unique works of art produced by the engraving guild Creative Art whose atelier is located in Gardone V.T., Italy. The book concentrates on engravings of fine sporting and collectors' firearms, but also focuses on other venues of the engravers' art: knives, jewelry, ornate filigree, inlays of precious metals, copperplate engravings, and textile prints. The first part of the book examines the different techniques and tools used by the master engravers of Creative Art. The employment of burin, hammer, and chisel to produce standard styles of engravings, the mixed techniques, the subtleties of shading systems, and much more, are full explained. Every topic examined is showcased by many beautiful photographs and sketches.
The second part of the book focuses on the creative aspects that are completely independent of techniques and allow each individual engraver full scope to express his or her personality and artistic style in interpreting and executing the desires of the firearm manufacturer and customer. Each member of the Creative Art guild is individually introduced to the reader. A brief biographical sketch and examples of each member's works of art are provided. Examples of engravings produced early in the guild's formation are compared with more recent ones.
Traditional engraving patterns such as ornate and English scroll are compared with modern patterns like game scenes, or "fantasy" compositions. The reader can easily see an evolution of the themes of sporting firearms engraving, and can appreciate how specific themes no longer have to be connected with the purposes of the firearms they embellish, but can be pure artistic expressions. The ornate engraving shows its own evolution, from fine "liberty" patterns to the asymmetric, rich in floral decorations and inlays, ones. Creative Art has contributed significantly to the enhancement of these engraving styles since the guild's founding, and the black and white photographs as well as the colour plates contained in the book are clear evidence of this. The writer, whose book "Modern Engraving Real Book" (published by "Il Volo srl", MI) has already met with great success in this field, writes a brief commentary for each photograph or sketch which assists even the least experienced reader to appreciate aspects of the engravers' art which are not readily apparent, but which are, nevertheless, important to understanding the final result. For instance, Creative Art has developed a unique "reversed" system to inlet gold. After shading the main subjects on the steel, Creative Art's master engravers frame them in a gold background using a "swallow-tail" technique.
The book, "The Unique Work of Creative Art" offers numerous expressive images, and is a truly indispensable addition to the library of every connoisseur or modern arts in general, and fine firearms in particular.
The big-format book (21x29.5 cm) contains 236 pages within its leatherette cover and colour dust jacket and is particularly rich in black and white photographs and colour plates. The text is in Italian with a parallel English translation. Mr Tullio Fabbri, well-known manufacturer of fine firearms, has written its introduction.