September 11, 2008
The term African art encompasses the work of tribal artists throughout the huge continent of Africa, and African art is created by hundreds of tribes, each having some unique elements of style and tradition. Some subtle differences in tribal art may not be obvious to the casual observer, but nonetheless exist.
In general African tribal art depicts human faces and forms, and animal forms. Carvings may be relatively simple or quite intricate in tribal art, and may have multiple meanings couched in the details. As a great deal of relatively simple African art is created for export and for the tourist trade, the general public may have a misconception about such art, as there is often great similarity in the masks and figures seen on the tourist market. Many objects are simply and quickly carved for the purpose of making a small profit on his art on the part of the carver. Serious African art is another matter.
African art rarely depicts ugliness or deformity, even in the “skin” textures on a face or figure, as such ugliness is considered evil, and the African artist does not wish to depict evil in his work. Generally, masks and figure art are highly polished with a glossy finish. In some cases, particularly on certain masks, colored stains are used.
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May 4, 2008
Embroidery has been a popular form of commercial venture and leisure pursuit that allows us to customize and personalize our garments and belongings to suit our taste, fashion and inclination. It is the art or handicraft of creating or decorating a design on a piece of fabric or other similar materials with ornamental needlework. It is done either by using a manual sewing machine or a specially designed, computerized embroidery machine.
Modern, computerized machines have made embroidery more intricate and complex. With their ease and less cost, the use of the manual machines is falling out of good turn. A portable unit may be less than 30 inches in width and 180 pounds in weight. Some operate quietly and won’t disturb any conversation or your neighbors’ sleep.
The thread commonly used is polyester or rayon. It weighs about 40wt. Like any sewing machine, the embroidery machine has a bobbin and a spool placed inside the hook to form the stitches. Other non-woven textiles, like the backing and stabilizer, are added to provide support and stability to the material during stitching, which lead to a more enhanced outcome. Embroidery machines also perform different stitches such as the fill, running, satin and underlay stitches.
With these high-tech machines, you can choose your own design and add lettering or dates to an event. Once the design is entered into the machine, you can adjust its size to fit into the garment. Then the computer transfers the design to the machine for stitching.
If you’re new to embroidery, you can take classes where you will learn the proper hooping caps, placement techniques, selecting of the appropriate needle for the material, correct adjustment and threading of the machine, operating the control panel and software and other related tasks. You will also learn that the material and thread type, quantity, design quality and size are the factors that affect the cost and time of the embroidery work.
Embroidery Machines provides detailed information on Embroidery Machines, Commercial Embroidery Machines, Used Embroidery Machines, Machine Embroidery Designs and more. Embroidery Machines is affiliated with Custom Embroidery.
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February 29, 2008
A professional art exhibition gives both the artist and the gallery credibility. Artworks will appear more valuable and interesting if the event is professionally managed and displayed, and may even increase sales.
A professional art exhibition can be achieved easily and economically with a little careful thought and planning. Here are five steps to having a professional art exhibition.
1. Promotion
Many people believe everything they see in the media. Having adequate promotion is not only essential for exposure but will give your art exhibition importance and value.
Sending out press releases is an excellent, free way of doing this. Fax your press releases to local papers, radio and television stations and on-line media sites. Having an interesting hook or angle will help your press release get noticed so give careful consideration to this.
2. Hanging
How your artwork looks during the exhibition is extremely important. If the artwork is hung crooked, or they are cramped into the space, it can distract buyers and give your event an amateurish feel.
Plan your exhibition area to ensure the best use of the space. Professional exhibitions have plenty of empty space around each artwork so do not have too many artworks on display. The adage of "less is more" is certainly correct here.
Hanging the artworks straight and in the correct position is also essential. For consistency put the centre of each artwork at the same height on the wall by using a tape measure and string line. A spirit level with help you to hang all the hooks even, and blue tack at the corners of the artworks will help prevent them being knocked off balance.
3. Signs
Your art exhibition will look super special with professional signs. One of the most attractive signs is vinyl-cut lettering. Each letter is cut from adhesive plastic vinyl and stuck directly onto the exhibition wall. It is relatively inexpensive and come in a variety of styles, sizes and colors.
Placing the sign opposite the main door is an excellent location, particularly if it is above an artwork a great impact. Once this painting has been chosen you can match the sign color to complement it.
4. Price cards
Many art exhibitions use little cardboard numbers alongside each artwork to identify them. A price list is then distributed around the buyers. Although this looks professional the price-lists can start looking dog-eared if they aren’t continually replaced.
A cost effective alternative is purchasing professional price cards for your exhibition. Use a good quality pen, such as a calligraphy marker, to carefully write the artwork details onto the card. Blue tack can be used to adhere the price cards to the bottom right-hand corner of each artwork.
5. Opening function
A successful opening function can be achieved with little effort and minimum cost without sacrificing professionalism. A short five minute welcome speech and some light refreshments is all that is needed to set the mood and style.
Having a buffet style ‘feast’ is not advisable. Instead, a couple of cheese platters and plain cracker biscuits is more than adequate and is usually all that is expected. Complement these with a selection of moderately priced wine and a good quality orange juice, served in long stemmed glasses.
A simple, yet professional art exhibition is relatively easy and economical to achieve with a little thought and planning. Small details such as free media promotion, professional artwork display and a well organized opening function can make your exhibition professional, successful and make it stand out from the crowd.
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January 22, 2008
Whether you’re a rubber stamp rookie, dabbler, or seasoned veteran, you’ve undoubtedly wondered how to make your own rubber stamp. When creating a custom rubber stamp, there are many methods that can be used; in this three-part series, you’ll learn the pros and cons of several different stamp-producing methods.
No matter the method, if you are looking to become a rubber stamp vendor, good luck. It would be easier to find Osama bin Laden’s cave than to find a wholesale vendor for stamp mounts and cases. Besides their clandestine status, wholesale vendors may also have a minimum purchase requirement or different price breaks for quantity. When starting out as a small business, it may be best to buy cases and mounts from a local arts and crafts store.
If you’re serious about creating high quality rubber stamps, the best technology to use is a laser engraver. Though they may cost thousands of dollars, many high-end engravers can create a stamp as precise as 1000 dpi. Laser engravers are optimal for high productivity and quality rubber stamps, and items like graphics or small text are easily achieved. Laser engravers are less messy than other rubber stamp-making methods, and advanced alignment technology creates little waste.
Laser engravers are not labor intensive; hundreds of stamps can be programmed to engrave at once. The speed of engraving for one square inch of rubber stamp is approximately 60 seconds. While this may seem slow, a laser engraver will make deeply engraved “cut lines” while it is etching. A cut line engraves so deeply that no actual cutting or special scissors are necessary for the rubber; simply push on the etched item when the engraving is complete. These cut lines will save a large amount of time that would be otherwise allocated to tedious cutting and hand customization.
Once the rubber stamps are finished etching, simply remove them from the laser engraver and soak them in water for 5-10 minutes. This allows the rubber dust and resin to be easily cleaned off with an item such as a toothbrush. The washing of the rubber is imperative; without cleaning the rubber, residual dust from the engraving process may impede the quality of the impression. After the rubber is clean, wipe it dry with a paper towel or hand towel. At this point, you may leave it unmounted or adhere it to a wood block, pre-inked, or self-inking device.
Now that you have learned one of the many stamp-making methods, stay tuned! Exciting information about making stamps at home is yet to come!
Gwendolyn Lee is a statistician and analyst of Internet-related metrics for custom rubber stamps at http://www.rubberstamps.net. She has researched and implemented business models to maximize profitability, efficiency and advertising tracking.
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December 17, 2007
n the most awesome thing on the net, musical instruments classed as collectables - now thats a good progression! Its been years where I have been collecting musical instruments of all sorts, trying to get some recognition for beautiful ornate pianos and masterfully crafted guitars and drumkits. I personally love collectable pianos and often find myself seeking a really stunning grand piano out in shops locally. It’s not the sort of thing you come across very often I have to say.
My other passion is collecting unique guitars, rare’s - one of a kinds - I love it! I have 5 custom guitars and 2 standards, combined I believe them to be worth high up in the 10k marks. But I would never sell them - I collect for the love of the musical instrument and so my children can understand the joy of playing wonderful music on an antique old instrument used by many a hand.
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June 16, 2007
Have you heard the phrase The Wreck of the Hesperus? How about Ivan Skivinsky Skivar?
The first, The Wreck of the Hesperus is from a poem by Longfellow. Longfellow was a New Englander born in 1807 and died in 1882. He was a Mayflower descendent. (I am too. So are a zillion other Americans.)
The poem describes a sea captain that took his young daughter to sea. They died in the wreck during a hurricane. Read about Longfellow and his poem at: http://eclecticesoterica.com/longfellow.html. You should read The Song of Hiawatha and The Village Blacksmith too.
Americans love Longfellow because his poems are easy to understand and many like his simple Solomon-Seesaw cadence.
The second, Ivan Skivinsky Skivar, is from the song Abdul Abulbul Ameer. It was written by the Englishman Percy French (1854-1920). Read the lyrics to this humorous song at: http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/3243.html.
Percy was an engineer but considered himself to be an artist. He never received one dime for his songs and they were often published without even a name credit.
If you like Abdul Abulbul Ameer, you will also enjoy Robert Service, the Canadian poet that wrote about the Yukon. My favourite is The Cremation of Sam McGee. Read it at: http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/1841.html.
Have fun!
The End
John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine, Jones is Executive Representative of International Wealth Success. He calls himself “Taylor Jones, the hack writer.”
More info: http://www.tjbooks.com
Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (IWS wealth-success books and kits and business newsletters / TopFlight flagpoles)
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June 12, 2007
If you are serious about seeing your work published by reputable publishers, there are a few points you should consider. Firstly and most obviously, you need to determine if you have poetry worth publishing. This assessment can be done by doing something that will not only help you gauge the competitiveness of your poetry, but will give you some viable options for publishing it. Subscribe to literary journals and buy books of poetry. If you do this, what you are doing is searching out the market place. Read the types of poetry that many publishers are publishing and see if the quality of these poems surpasses or is on par with the quality of your own poems.
Read Literary Journals and Poetry Books
Not all literary journals are going to publish the same type of poetry. Some journals will only publish poetry that rhymes, most will not publish poetry that rhymes, and some journals will focus on specific themes such as humanity, nature, or locality. After having perused your bookstores and the many available literary journals, you will more than likely find a publisher who publishes poetry that your very own poetry would compliment. You can find reputable literary publishers by doing a search online, by reading the biographies of respected poets, and by checking out your local universities and colleges. When you find these publishers, write down the name, the address and keep a log, because these are going to be your potential publishers.
Improve Your Chances
The next vital aspect of publishing that you will need to consider is the actual process of getting your works accepted by the publishers. Each publisher will have very specific guidelines for submissions. Read these guidelines carefully and be sure to follow them precisely. Some online publishers will accept submissions via attachments while others frown upon attachments. Following the guidelines is crucial because whether your poetry is Pulitzer Prize quality or not, if you do not follow these guidelines, there is a good chance that your submissions will never even get read.
Be Savvy
Also, do a little research before submitting your work to a publisher. Invest in resource materials for poets such as The Poet’s Market. The better educated you are with regard to the publishing industry, the better your chances of avoiding the hassle of fighting scams and vanity presses. Because poetry is a hard market to sell, most publishers are struggling to stay afoot. Since there is such a small market for those seeking to buy poetry, vanity presses capitalize on the overwhelming desire of the public to become published.
Cover Letters
Aside from researching the market, you should sharpen your skills at writing cover letters with the same intensity that you sharpen your skills at writing poetry. You can search online workshops and information sites about poetry, or you can refer to The Poet’s Market for more information on writing cover letters. Not all publishers will necessitate cover letters, but a good cover letter will improve the chances of the editors actually reading your poetry.
Expect Rejections
Finally, expect a few rejections. As I previously mentioned, there is an overwhelming imbalance between the number of people who are looking to buy literary journals and books as compared to those who wish to publish it. Do not be discouraged if your work is rejected. Try revising it and sending it out to another publisher. Also, despite the fact that a rejection can make you want to send out your piece to several different publishers at once, you should never send your work to multiple publishers.
When a publisher accepts your work, enjoy the pride that comes along with such esteem. You will be on your way to building a portfolio. Getting your poetry published by various publishers is sometimes a slow and arduous adventure, but it is well worth the time and work.
Devrie Paradowski has been published by several literary journals such as Adagio Verse Quarterly, Eclips e-zine and Meeting of the Minds Journal. She has also published articles with Poetry Renewal Magazine. She is the editor of LE Quarterly: http://www.literaryescape.com/journal/
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June 7, 2007
My daughter and I recently had the opportunity to spend a week at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. We were totally overwhelmed with all the things there were to do, and I had no idea how we would ever be able to remember it all.
We decided to put together a scrapbook of our Disney World memories. We wanted this to be as inexpensive as possible, while at the same time creative. Before we left on our trip my husband’s mom gave us some scrapbook pages she got from our local craft store that already had Disney World characters and themes throughout them. So we knew we wanted to put together a scrapbook of some kind.
While visiting the Animal Kingdom in Disney World, we were browsing through one of many gift shops, gawking at the incredibly high prices. While looking through the photo albums I happened upon some discontinued scrapbooks that were marked down 50% to only $8! I couldn’t believe our luck. It was spiral-bound with animal designs imprinted on every page. Perfect.
So we brought home the album, photos we had taken, and we already had scrapbooking pages to liven it up a bit, but it needed something else.
I had also saved whatever memorabilia I could think of, like plane tickets, the credit cards you get to open your hotel door, the meal vouchers we had received, our luggage tags, post cards, and our theme park passes. All of these items combined (with a little imagination and some glue!) make up a very inexpensive memory (less than $20 total) that will last a lifetime.
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For scrapbooking, card making, gift-giving ideas, and more family memory-making activities, visit http://www.crafty-moms.com
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May 31, 2007
The Potato Patch
One day—oh, I suppose I was, say ten,
I asked my mother to ask my grandfather
For a garden plot—, somewhere in our
Backyard:
And somehow, she got him to agree—;
Twisted his knees, perhaps—I don’t
Know—but the Old Russian Bear
Was hard to please…!
It wasn’t a garden to plow or hoe,
Just a patch, a little plot in the backyard
By the fence: that’s all.
And there I planted my first garden—
Potatoes….
It was kind of neat (so I thought), hidden
From anyone passing by; until I found out
Potatoes grow underground—
(not on top), and yes, it was
A mess, thereafter: digging, weeding,
Watering.
It seemed the season would never end,
But I did stick with it; and then came the
Day, the great day, to pluck those
Potatoes from their abode, and to show
Them to my mother and grandpa:
I was quite proud.
And when I did, when I pulled those
(roots and all) potatoes—from
Under the earth, I was devastated to
To find out: the eyes were bigger
Than the potatoes.
Traumatic I took it at first, I think
I even cursed
Advice? I have none, but I’ll tell you,
I never tried to grow potatoes again.
Note: #1183 1/31/2005; the year this story took place was perhaps l958.
IN SPANISH
Translated by Nancy Penaloza
El campo de papa
Un día-Ah, yo supongo que era, digo diez,
Yo pedí que mi madre pidiera a mi abuelo
Un terreno para jardín- en algún lugar en nuestro
Patio posterior:
Y de alguna modo, ella consiguió que él aceptara;-
Doblando sus rodillas, talvez- yo no
Se-pero el viejo oso ruso
Era duro de complacer…!
No era un jardín para arar o azadonar,
Solo un parche, un solar pequeño en el patio trasero
Por la cerca: eso es todo.
Y allí yo plante mi primer jardín-
De patatas…
Yo era en cierto modo ordenado (entonces pensé), escondido
De cualquiera que pasara cerca; hasta que descubrí
Patatas crecer debajo de la tierra-
(No en la punta), y si, esto era
Un desorden, de allí en adelante: excavando, desyerbando,
Regando.
Esto parecía la estación que jamás terminaría,
Pero yo aguante con esto; y luego vino el
Día, el gran día, para arrancar esas
Patatas desde su raíz, y para mostrarlos
A mi madre y mi abuelo:
Yo estaba casi orgulloso.
Y cuando lo hice, cuando yo jale esas
(Raíces y todo) patatas- desde
Debajo de la tierra, yo estaba muy triste por
Descubrir: los ojos eran más grandes
Que las patatas.
Traumático lo tome al comienzo, yo pienso
Aun lo maldigo
¿Consejo? No tengo ninguno, pero yo te diré,
Yo jamás trate de cultivar patatas nuevamente.
Nota #1183 1/31/2005; el año que la historia tomo lugar fue
Talvez en 1958
See Dennis’ web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com
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May 30, 2007
“I heard what you said, Red.
Yet, I have to disagree.
There’s nothing wrong with my voice,
You’re just filled with jealousy.”
“You just don’t understand, Tan.
Let me alleviate your fears.
It’s not about how well you sing,
But can you inspire listening ears?”
“What do you think, Pink?
Am I right or am I wrong?”
“I’m not really sure, my friend,
I have not heard the song.”
“Well, what about you, Blue?
Are your thoughts the same as mine?”
“To tell the honest truth, dear Red
I must hear it one more time.”
“Anything you want to say, Gray?”
“Yes, I don’t like what you’re discussing.
A hymn should soothe the troubled soul,
Not arouse this senseless fussing.”
“Wait just a minute fellow,” said Yellow.
“You’re going a bit too far.
After all, we’re engaged in tête-à-tête
Which is not so irregular.”
“Don’t think I’m being mean,” said Green.
“But a hymn is a sacred thing.
Though Tan does try his very best,
He really cannot sing.”
“I don’t think you’re right,” said White.
“To me Tan sings quite well.
Just take the time to listen
You’ll hear God’s word prevail.”
“Colors, colors, calm down,” cried Brown.
“Lest we inadvertently enrage
Each other to colorful battle…”
“Which would ruin us,” interrupted Beige.
“Now that is pretty bold,” said Gold
But true I must confess.”
“Anyone for gum?” inquired Plum
Looking pale and colorless.
“Sshhhh, the author is back,” whispered Black.
“Let’s table our concern.
We’ll pick up where we left off
When sunset once more return.”
Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon.
You are welcome to visit AMEN Ministries: Your Soul’s Service Station for spiritual refreshing, soul edification, browse our newly expanded mini shopping mall or review our recommended books you may want to add to your personal library.
Blessings to all!
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