miossi arts

Fear is part of the fundamental core of human existence, as connected to the basic functions of survival and the psyche as the survival instinct or the need to mate. Fear and anxiety, therefore, are among the staples of any genre that deems itself fit to entertain the masses, an art form to be mastered in the hands of a true artiste. Fear, dread, and anxiety are all integral components of any successful horror story, for example, but not everyone who writes horror manages to get the mix of the important elements — pacing, plot, and characterization — all of which must be just right to create a classic that will frighten generations long after the first copy was printed. There are a few that manage to accomplish the difficult feat of being eternal in their horror and long-lasting in their ability to turn anxiety into outright terror.

Edgar Allan Poe, author of “Annabel Lee” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”, is easily recognized as one of the foremost masters of horror and the macabre. His works have inspired terror and anxiety in many individuals, primarily through the use of heavy psychological tones, as opposed to the gore and blood themes used and abused by writers of his time. Poe’s collected works easily counts as some of the most frightening material ever written, especially now, in an age where horror movies are relegated to two hours of bloodshed and senseless violence, lacking any true horror and relying solely on shock value to appear “scary.” Poe also stands out as being among the few who can make even the most mundane things seem utterly terrifying, a feat emulated by Stephen King and several Japanese horror authors, but never truly duplicated.

In a completely different vein of horror from his predecessors, and arguably creating a sub-genre of horror through his works, H. P. Lovecraft also stands out. His works, while lacking in humanity, are difficult to see as anything but terrifying, particularly because of the apparent lack of humanity in them. In contrast to writers of previous generations, Lovecraft focused more on the truly monstrous, ignoring the human element that most horror writers tended to insert into their works since the days of the Gothic era. His stories were littered with monsters that knew neither morality nor mercy, seeing humanity as insignificant insects and, in Lovecraft’s malignant world of ancient races and Elder Gods, humanity was insignificant. He also brought back something from the Gothic horror era, showing his readers that knowledge, even just a little knowledge, can lead to the most terrifying of discoveries. This is perhaps best exemplified by the so-called “Cthulhu Mythos,” a collection of stories that centered around Lovecraft’s anti-mythological beings.

Among the most enduring horror classics in the world is that of Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” which combines the elements of horror with the intrinsic questions that plagued morality and philosophy at the time. In some ways, the story is one that puts a new spin on the old ghost story, in that the “ghost” is inevitably caused by the actions of mortal men who meddled in things they were not meant to. The story, aside from being a genuine tale of terror, also took on the role of a lesson in morality and the limits to just how far medical science could go. Prolonging life is one thing, but bringing back the dead is another thing entirely, which is  one of the subtle messages of the novel. The underlying question of whether or not Frankenstein’s creature is the monster, or if it is Frankenstein himself, also contributes to making the story a memorable, chilling tale.

However, very few stories can truly stand up against the pure terror and the subtle anxiety and dread caused by Bram Stoker’s infamous novel, “Dracula.” The novel is a hallmark of the Gothic horror era, presenting a villain of potentially epic scope in the guise of a remarkable gentleman and nobleman. It deviated from other vampire stories of the time in that the vampire, Dracula, was not monstrous in appearance. He looked every inch a master and nobleman, establishing the “lord of the night” archetype that would be a stock image of vampire characters in literature for centuries to come. It also had all the elements necessary to both frighten readers and keep them coming back for more, marking it as the most enduring horror novel in history.

You’ve been given the job of getting t-shirts for your family reunion. The first thing that comes to mind for a design is a tree that incorporates various family members’ names. Unfortunately, this is the first thing that comes to most people’s minds and so you see that design everywhere. The following are some t-shirt design ideas that might get you out of the family reunion forest.

If you do opt for a tree, you have options to make the design distinctive. A summer or beach-themed family reunion could use a palm tree with coconuts representing names. On a more traditional tree, text can be incorporated in various places, not only the leaves but also branches and even underground in the roots.

A different motif for your shirts could be items that come in groups, especially if the item can be related to the family in some fashion. For example a pizza with names in the slices, a box of crayons for a particularly artistic family, or a carton of eggs (with at least one cracked). If music is prominent in your family, names set into various notes could be a theme.

Time is also a popular theme for reunion shirts. A clock face with names at the various numbers is a possibility, but don’t forget other time keeping devices like wristwatches, sundials, even hourglasses.

Your family name itself could be an inspiration. Chef’s hats for the Baker family, a waterwheel with names around it for the Miller’s. An anvil with hammers or horseshoes for the Smith family. Of course if your last name is Johnson, you might want to forgo this option.

While a tree motif can make an excellent design, don’t be afraid to expand your horizons and incorporate other ideas into the mix when coming up with your family reunion t-shirt design.

Because you can blog about anything the precise explanation of blogging and what it is, is something that can entirely depend upon who you are talking too. Each day as new web technologies are created, so are new blogs and each one with its own purpose.

Today blogs are used for hundreds of reasons so it is can be hard to explain to a computer illiterate person just what one is. In the world of blogs the writer is known as a blogger. For a lot of years blogs were simply used as a web log, mostly with text based entries a website owner would use to keep a track of a websites progress. They can be used in a similar fashion to the captain’s log on a ship set sail for adventure.

However as the internet grew and more and more people started using the internet the range of bloggers diversified. Some bloggers started using the blog to write about every day events like a diary while others wrote stories or poems as a form of expression. New blogs started appearing using the latest scripts and a whole new use for the simple web log was born.  Webmasters started adding blog plug-ins and a whole range of features and technology to see just how far blogging could be pushed. First came photo blogs where users could post their pictures for friends and family to see, and then came video blogs. Video blogs seem to be the latest craze for those who are not camera shy and most video blogs are very amusing or educational, you can find hundreds of them online.

The interconnectivity between mobile devices and the internet is also leading to a change in blogging as bloggers can blog at anytime. At some of the blogging websites you can even upload video from your phone to your blog for your friends to see.

Many large companies also use blogs as part of their business, blogs can be used to let customers know the latest company news and information or to promote the latest product.

Thanks to the wide range of scripts and free blogging sites such as blogger.com and wordpress.com anyone can get a blog and they are very easy to use, some people also use blogs as a means of generating income. Blogging really is a phenomenon and with the constant changing shape of the future it is hard to say just what the next use for a blog will be.

“…Meet this solemn question with a strong, simple ‘I must,’ then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse.” – Rilke

We are, all of us, meant to create. We are creat-ures, thus it is evident in the world around us that as a spider spins a web, a bird builds a nest, humans are possessed of a spiritual and biological mandate to spin and build a world of beauty and function. The human distinction is the ability to make symbols. Symbolism is the art of investing the world around us with meaning by expressing the invisible or intangible through visible or sensuous representation. This is the simplest, the least unsettling definition of art and creativity. From this definition, we have come to believe and to thoroughly accept without question that art belongs to those who paint the paintings, write the words, and mold the clay, into those representations of the intangible and the invisible. Art has therefore been divided into those who do and those who don’t.

The reinstatement of art into every one of our lives, both in our ability to receive and to recreate it, is to return to living with meaning. Creativity is, like evolution, like all growth and change, an irrepressible force in nature. Thus far, only humans have attempted to turn away from this call, and a case can be made that it is this turning away that is the cause of so much of our pain, suffering, and longing. This suffering, however, is the result of confusion and misdirection, not hapless circumstance.

Art, like science, philosophy, and civility, is our best defense against the insupportable weight of all that we don’t know. If we could disperse the weight among us citizen artists, come up with a more inclusive outlook, we could lighten the formidable load of ignorance. In the broadest sense, art is a response in whatever form it takes–an expression of the love and beauty and terror as it is given to us through the visible bounty of Nature—that pulls us further out of the mire. Creativity is anything that fosters that indwelling spirit, any creation or activity that advances the progression of the unimpedable energy of growth that is life. The replication of that love and beauty, the balm that soothes the terror, or the release provided by the recognition of that terror, is our task, is the way of art and creativity, a whole-some response to existence.

Whether you are a fireman, a pathologist, a babysitter, or a banker, you must be an artist. Must be means, first of all, the recognition of this as your identity, as in, “Oh, you must be an artist…” Secondly, must be makes it imperative. You must respond to the dignity evolving out of creaturehood toward a greater man, toward God, and remain fearless as well as awe-struck by the vast implications. In the meeting of this challenge, you will be recognized by a light in the eye of those you encounter, as extraordinary.

The commitment to creativity, like any other commitment, will become an integral, necessary, part of our life once we realize that not only does our art spring from and define the core of, yes, our own identities, but more importantly, that it is an expression of that which is greater than ourselves. Thus who we are becomes linked with the world, and it is given meaning and purpose by what we do with this link. Creativity is the purveyor of meaning.

We begin with a sense that there is something within us that must act and express. We begin by going beyond the sadness we have experienced at having this something repressed, discouraged, buried. We begin with the thin person with the fat body, the sober, healthy being underneath the addict’s skin, the lover inside our neglected hearts. We begin with the hope and the longing of the creative force within ourselves.

Winter Park, CO June 7, 2006 — The annual Winter Park Music Festivals kick off July 1st with a month long series of outdoor sonorous sessions from jazz to rock, blues, folk and the headliners:  Wide Spread Panic and Shawn Colvin.

The town of Winter Park provides authentic Colorado Rocky Mountain getaways for visitors worldwide.  The breathtaking panoramic mountain views, easy access to the Colorado River, and endless surplus of activities and attractions make it a popular vacation destination year round.

Lodging is available for the duration of the concert series at Vacations Inc.  This premier Winter Park lodging company offers exquisite condos, private and town homes for any size group.  A leader in the industry, Vacations Inc. has been providing Rocky Mountain vacations for over 35 years and is proud to offer its finest accommodations to the public for the Winter Park Music Festivals.

The concert series embarks with the 4th Annual Grand County Blues Festival on July 1 and continues with weekly shows:  3rd Annual Winter Park Folk Festival July 9-10 including Shawn Colvin, Widespread Panic Concert at Winter Park Resort July 22-23, and The Winter Park Jazz Festival July 29-39.

To learn more about Vacations Inc. and the Winter Park Music Festivals please visit the website at www.vacationsinc.com or to book accommodation, please call toll free 800-215-6535.

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Tag für Tag arbeite ich an meine Computer. Zu meistens arbeite ich an meinem Buch oder schreibe Artikeln und Berichte, so wie dieser hier. Wenn man den ganzen Tag in einem Büro sitzt, hat man gerne eine kleine Ablenkung, die die Fadheit des Arbeitstages in den Hintergrund setzt. Ich persönlich liebe Musik. Egal ob traurig, oder fröhlich, egal ob träumerisch oder verloren, Musik macht mich munter und lässt mit den Stress vergessen.

Besonders mag ich neue (oder alte, die ich nicht kenne) Künstler mir anzuhören! Meine Kollegen kennen mich und mein Geschmack, und so kam es, dass vor eine Woche meine Kollegin eine Cd übergab mit den Worten “Das wirst du lieben!”. Auf der Cd gab sich der Name Yael Naim zu lesen, ein Name, nicht wieder jeder andere, kurz und sympathisch, ohne aber irgendwie erkennbaren Stil zu verdeutlichen. Ohne große Erwartungen lege ich die Cd in meinem Cd Spieler und setzt mich zurück an die Arbeit. Arbeit zur Arbeit kam ich leider nicht wirklich, denn die Töne die meinem Ohr erreichten waren einfach unfassbar.

Eine heitere und zu gleich traurige sanfte Stimme sang zu teil auf Englisch, zu auf Französisch und zu teil in einer Sprache, die mir fremd war und zugleich angenehm im Ohr. Anstatt die Musik laufen zulassen und mich an meiner arbeit zu setzten, hörte ich mir ein Lied nach dem anderen an, fasziniert von der musikalischen Zusammensetzung der Töne, der Melodie und der Stimme.

Als ich mir noch mal Lied Nummer 3, das sich “New Soul” nennt, anhörte, merkte ich, dass ich das Lied von einer Werbung kenne… Meine Neugier hatte mich gepackt, ich musste einfach mehr über diese unbekannte (oder einfach nur mir unbekannte) Künstlerin erfahren.

Endlich setzte ich mich an dem Computer und tippte in einer Suchmaschine “Yael Naim” ein. Zu meiner Verwunderung tauchten tausend Ergebnisse auf, darunter auch ihre Webseite (eine englische Version und eine deutsche Version), mehrere Youtube Videos, ein Myspace Adresse und andere Berichte. Spontan “surfte” ich von einer Seite zur anderen und las mich “klug”.

Schon bei der ersten Seite erfuhr ich, dass es sich bei der dritten mir unbekannten Sprache um Hebräisch – oder auch Iwrit genannt – handelt, die Sprache die man im heiligen Land, Israel, spricht. Doch wie kommt es dazu? Wer ist diese Yael Naim, die sanfte wunderschöne Stimme?

Yael Naim wurde 6. Februar 1978 in Paris tunesisch-jüdischer Eltern geboren. Doch als sie vier Jahre alt war, entschlossen sich die Eltern nach Israel zu ziehen, wo sie dort aufwuchs und ihre ganze Kindheit und Jugend erlebte. Schnell merkte Yael ihre Leidenschaft zur Musik und zu den Klavierspielen, schon mit zwölf Jahren fing sie an, eigene Lieder zu komponieren. Später lernte sie auch noch Gitarre.

Yael Naim sollte durch mehrere Hoch und Tiefs in ihre Karriere gehen, sie trat in mehrere Band auf und wurde schon früh von Musikern entdeckt, wobei ihr Erfolg eher im Hintergrund fiel. In Frankreich wurde sie durch verschiedene erfolgreiche Musicals bekannt, doch als Solo Künstlerin hatte sie sich noch nicht durchgeschlagen. Erst ihr neustes Album, das nach ihr benannt ist “Yael Naim” soll ihre den fleißig verdienten Erfolg erbringen. Seit Anfang dieses Jahres wird sogar einer ihrer Lieder “New Soul” als Werbung für ein neues Notebook-Modell von Apple, das Apple MacBook Air, verwendet. (Deswegen kam mir das Lied Nr.3 auch so bekannt vor!)

Yael Naim ist eine leise noch unbekannte und doch schon erfolgreiche Künstlerin, die weltweit Konzerte gibt. Heute wie gestern höre ich ihre Musik und ihre angenehme Musik! Erst neulich habe ich herausgefunden, dass Naim, Yaels Familienname, auf Hebräisch angenehm heißt! Yael Naims Musik ist nur weiter zu empfehlen!

As an artist, I have grown to appreciate all kinds of art. It took me studying art in college to really learn the fact that all people have different ideas of what art is and of what beauty is. I learned that I can value something as beautiful and that the next person might see it as strange or even lacking beauty. This is okay. And that is the true beauty of art. I have always loved cat art, for example, and it took a long time for the people around me to learn to appreciate my taste for cat art.

I have been a lover of all things to do with cats since I was a little girl. My family had a constant flow of at least three or four cats at any given time throughout my growing up years. I began first with just loving cats, but my love of cats quickly grew to loving cat art. I guess because I am also an artist at heart, I found the combination of cats and art to fit me well. So I began searching for cat art and creating my own cat art before I entered junior high school.

Cat art is great because it is such a visual way of representing and enjoying cats. I would enroll in a painting class and find myself choosing cat art anytime I had the choice. I would take an illustration class and find myself illustrating a story using entirely cat art. I couldn’t get enough of cat art, nor was I ever satisfied with my ability to draw the perfect cat. I even signed up for private lessons one summer and had my instructor focus fully on cat art with me.

So if you love cats as much as I do, then consider expanding your love for cats into a love for cat art. If you are an artist, then begin playing around with creating your own cat art. Use all different kinds of mediums. If you own a cat, begin your exploration of cat art by taking photographs of your cat. Don’t worry about a certain skill level at the beginning, just start with the skill you have and move forward.

If you aren’t the hands on art type, then begin to search for great pieces of cat art to add to your home or office. Look for paintings, illustrations, photographs or any kind of cat art that appeals to you. Be proud that you love cats so much and be proud to show your affection through great pieces of cat art displayed for all to see.

The first steps of a child are always the most joyful! Children think in images. Their consciousness is not socially conditioned yet. Their first drawings, the first signs on paper, make a lot of sense to them. They put all their emotions in the first paintings. They create. They are direct. They are artists. Each of us has a little child – an artist inside. In each and everyone of us is a direct perception of the world around us which speaks to us. We need to express ourselves, express our feelings and thoughts. This is not a desire to become an artist – we are already artists – we create – we draw – we paint- we write…

For children, it is not very important if the painting is an exact copy of the reality. What is important for them is how they perceive the reality and how they express themselves and their feelings on paper. If you have a chance to observe a kid painting, you will be amazed how much joy and happiness he/she can experience just by drawing some simple picture. When they draw or paint, they are the creators; there is no separate painting and painter. It is one whole process of creation.

You can do one simple experiment. Go to a kindergarten class or find a group of children about about 4-5 years old and ask them a question: “Who can paint? Raise your hand.” There will hardly be any child who will not raise his/her hand. Now go and find a group of adults and ask them the very same question. You will be surprised. There will be  few if any of them who will raise their hands. You may wonder: where did those artists go from within us when we grow up.

Unfortunately, when we grow up we become more and more conditioned by the environment. We become more and more self-conscious about our skills. Now, we try to make our paintings and pictures to be an exact copy of the reality, and if it is not so, we get frustrated and give up. We start making excuses like: I am not good enough; I don’t have the necessary skills etc.  But the trick is to hold on to that child-like state within us. That state gives us joy and the highest degree of happiness while we are creating something. It is that inner artist that will guide us through the challenges and adversities of learning the skills to become a great artist. One of the greatest painters in history of humankind, Pablo Picasso, once said, “For all my life I have been learning to paint like a child”. If we stay in touch with our inner child-like artist, then learning any skill will become only a matter of time and practice – nothing more.

What happens if we let the inner guide teach us? During the course of our lives we become more skilled in the ways of transferring our thoughts and feelings on paper. We learn to make a painting more alive and more expressive. We are now able to grasp some laws of expressing ourselves. We look at what others do, we become more and more experienced, we read books, we study. And one day, our skills become excellent. Even other people start calling us artists. We devote all our attention and all our time to the training of acquiring art skills; we continuously think “How to draw… ” And ” What to draw ”

Finally, I would like to give you a some practical advice. If you really want to learn to draw and paint, it is really necessary to paint something that is very interesting, very exciting for you. Something that really speaks to you. You may even feel the necessity to paint it. Only then  will you be able to experience the highest degree of happiness in the process of creation. And only then will your work touch others. Probably it’s worth to look at your memories, look into your subconsciousness in your early sketches and etudes. It is very easy to miss something that lays very deep in you., but those things can really prompt the inner artist to find an important theme for the work. It can be absolutely habitual things, for example a picture of a yard filled by the wonderful light of a sunset or a painting of a hero from an interesting book you have just read. Look into yourself, into the artist living in you and define your work only by your feelings. Unleash the greatest artist that is already in you. I wish you much success in your creations!

Originally Khokhloma <b>wood tableware</b> were produced in monasteries and for the czar court only.  At that time Khokhloma tableware production was not large scale. It was because of expensive imported tin. In 1720s after the end of the North War tin flow to Russian increased. The price went down and the material came within reach of many masters. The production and the sales of brightly painted hand made <b>art works</b> expanded.
Thus in the XIX century items with khokhloma painting were famous not only in Russia but in Persia, India, Middle East, the USA and Australia as well. The export of khokhloma items grew after the worldwide exhibition in 1889 in Paris.
In 1916 Nizhegorodskoye Zemstvo established the first School for Wood-Working Arts and Crafts in Semyonov. The folk arts and folklore flourished in Volga region near Nizhny Novgorod province. No other territory in Russia could equal it in the number and originality of the folk arts and crafts that had sprang to life and were developed in the local communities. The Khokhloma <b>art painting on wooden tableware</b> is the type of Nizhny Novgorod <b>folk art craft</b> that became most popular in Russia and foreign countries.
The “grass-leaves” decorative ornaments and their peculiar color scheme suggest that the Khokhloma art is rooted in the ancient Russian decorative culture while the imitation of gilt ornaments on wood dates back to the medieval Russian handicraft skills. The painting technique has been somewhat upgraded but remains essentially the same as in the ancient time.
<b>Khokhloma russian painting</b> amazes you with its delicate grass pattern and festive coloring, which is based on combination of scarlet cinnabar and flittering gold against the black lacquer background. This is Khokhloma specific feature. Masters used tin powder and lacquer to obtain such gold color. Now they use aluminum powder.
First, the <b>art tableware</b> are shaped on a lathe from the dried lime wood, which are turned into bowls, vases, mugs, dishes and spoons.
They are dried and covered with red and brown primer, so that they start looking like earthen. The unpainted articles are now coated with drying oil. Next they are polished with powdered aluminium. They become dull shining, like silver, and go to the painting division. Painted articles are then varnished and hardened in ovens at the temperature of 120-130 degrees. The heat turns the varnish yellow, the “silver” into “gold” and mellows the vivid design with an even, golden tone.
The Khokhloma dishes, cups and wooden drink pots were used for serving food at holiday feasts. The wooden tableware using at the Moscow house of an important statesman had to look valuable; accordingly, they were modeled on the rich painted plates decorated with real golden fabricated by the jewelers for the luxurious homes of the Russian nobility. Thanks to the special varnish and high-temperature processing they are quite practical and safe in use. <b>You can drink and eat using these Khokhloma tableware</b>, because such wares not sensitive to cold and hot, salty and sour food.
Apart from Khokhloma <b>wood presents</b> of tableware most visitors to Russia will have at least one set of Matrioshka dolls in their luggage. These dolls within dolls have long been a source of fascination. The undoing of the main doll to reveal others almost ad-in-finitem has always produced wonderment and appreciation for the woodcrafts art.
Examples of beautiful <b>Khokhloma wood art presents</b>, Paleh and Mstera <b>varnished miniatures</b> you can look at <b>art shop</b> online site. It is amazing that what started out as a true folk tradition over 300 years ago is still thriving and remains basically true to it’s roots, albeit on a more organized scale.

Art glass means the modern art glass movement in which individual artists are working to generate works from molten glass in relatively small furnaces of a few hundred pounds of glass. It began in the early 1960s and showed continued growth throughout the end of the century. The glass objects created are not primarily serviceable but are projected to make a sculptural or decorative statement.

Prior to the early 1960s, art glass would have referred to glass made for decorative use, habitually by teams of factory workers, taking glass from furnaces with a thousand or more pounds of glass. This form of art glass, of which Tiffany and Steuben in the U.S.A., Gallé in France and Hoya Crystal in Japan and Kosta Boda in Sweden are perhaps the best known, grew out of the factory system in which all glass objects were cast blown by teams of 4 or more men. In fact, the turn of the 19th Century was the height of the old art glass movement while the factory glass blowers were being replaced by mechanical bottle blowing and incessant window glass. In an art glass studio, “production work” shows more hand worked variation than was allowed in pure factory work environment and every piece shows some of the lead glass worker’s creativity. Most studio glass workers also try to turn out larger individual pieces which might be the corresponding of a master piece in the journeyman system of guild and factory work in addition to smaller production pieces.

Types of Art Glass:

•    Blown Art Glass
•    Cast Art Glass
•    Fused and slumped Art Glass

There’s one way to do it painlessly and easily by annoying some of the hot new paint shades that are available at your local paint store if you’re looking to stride away of your interior design comfort zone. If you’ve already lived in your home for a while, you can revitalize your walls by adding touches of bold colors. You’ll find that paint companies have made it much easier for you to add drama to your interior walls. You’ll be stunned at what a simple thing like varying the color of your walls can do to brighten up your spirits and add a little more relish to your life.