Karen Wilkinson

The Art of Tinkering is sort of like an inspiration-porn type of book. Rather than offering discrete tips and tricks to beginners, it showcases several different types of projects that live at the intersection of art and engineering, and then indicates how something similar might be accomplished by a "normal" person.

I honestly found most of the projects in this book to be either intimidating (and I've been a "tinkerer" for years) or ugly AF. Thankfully I'm already established in my creative show more and nerdy hobbies; this book may have seriously turned me off to it if I had read it several years ago. show less

The Art of Tinkering is a collection of exhibits, artwork, and projects that celebrate a whole new way to learn, in which people create their own knowledge through making and doing, working with readily available materials, getting their hands dirty, collaborating with others, problem-solving in the most fun sense of the word, and, yes, oftentimes failing and bouncing back from getting stuck. Each artist featured in The Art of Tinkering goes through this process, and lovingly shares the show more backstory behind their own work so that readers can feel invited to join in on the whimsy. Whether it's sharing their favorite tools (who knew toenail clippers could be so handy?) or offering a glimpse of their workspaces (you'd be amazed how many electronics tools you can pack into one pantry!), the stories, lessons, and tips in The Art of Tinkering offer a fascinating portrait of today's maker scene. Artists include Scott Weaver, Arthur Ganson, Moxie, Tim Hunkin, AnnMarie Thomas, Ranjit Bhatnagar and Jie Qi show less

It was more of a showcase of what people have done, instead of a "how to" book. I thought it was okay content wise, but the book itself is lovely.