How To Mount Chinese Embroidered Painting
March 31, 2008
How To Mount Chinese Embroidered Painting
by: Susan Yip
Chinese embroidered paintings are entirely hand embroidered with silk threads by embroidery craftswomen in Suzhou, China. The embroidered paintings are comaprable oil paintings in colors and are as realistic as photographs.
Mounting an embroidery painting is an art in itself. There are two ways of mounting a Chinese hand embroidered painting: hard mounting and soft mounting.
1. Hard Mounting
Glue a finished embroidery piece on a piece of wood veneer and make it smooth and solid on the panel. Make frames according to the panel size. The frame materials can be wood or imitation wood as to your preference. Cut a piece of glass cover according to the frame size. (optional) Assemble all pieces together and that is a framed Su embroidery painting. The hard mounting technique is really easy to master.
2. Soft Mounting
Mounting a finished embroidery piece on paper with a silk border. It is suitable for large pieces - making them easy to carry. The soft mounting technique is relatively difficult to master. A piece with soft mounting is more valuable due to the nature of the mounting technique.
Note
Through the Eyes of an Artist
March 31, 2008
As writers, we initially tend to be either more cerebral or emotional than perceptive. Its occurs to me that writers are driven to express what they actually haven’t figured out how to say verbally, but long to say somehow. Then, we at least have the struggle down on paper where we can move it around, erase it, start over and add to it. Seeing the words will perhaps give us a better chance of revising to something close to what we want to say.
Written expression is a bittersweet struggle, according to most writers who’ve written about writing. The need to write seems to come from a deep need, as I expect does most art. When the words work, we are elated, and when they don’t and especially after a long struggle, we’re often dismayed or despondent.
We learn when our writing says what we want that it has begun with what we see, touch, smell, hear, and only then with what we make of it by way of our minds and emotions. Surprisingly to both the new writer and the new visual artist, our art, when it is art, comes directly and spontaneously from our senses. It feels almost instinctual and sometimes spiritual when it’s right and maybe that tricks us into thinking that art comes from a mystical place. We see the painting or we read the words that make our hearts sing and we almost assume some magical origin.
Housebreaking Your Dog-Potty Training Canine Style
March 31, 2008
Puppies are a bundle of newfound joy. You’ve prepared the house, and even bought him a new rubber chew toy. However, with all the joy your new pet brings, he also brings along with him his natural behaviors and instincts. It’s now your job to begin training and molding him into the furry companion you’ve always wanted. It’s not quite time for adventure or obedience school. It’s time for potty training!
Just for starters, let’s reiterate what pet experts back 100% of the time: never hit or abuse your puppy in any way. It will have a detrimental affect on his future behavior, his trust in you, and his ability to socialize with other dogs and humans.
With that said, you should not expect your new dog to be fully housetrained until he’s about six months old, especially if you’re not home to oversee his training every hour of every day.
There are a couple of different tried and true options to choose from when house training a puppy. One is commonly referred to as the "passive" option, or the newspaper option. The other option is considered the "active" approach, where you attempt to teach your new puppy when and where to control his bowel movements from the confines of a puppy crate.
Creative Writing
March 31, 2008
Do you consider yourself a storyteller? Do you consider yourself a writer? Were you always the student in school that the teacher chose to read your creative writing out loud to the rest of the class? Believe it or not these skills can land you a very good job in Washington D.C. with a regulatory agency. Perhaps you can get a job at the FTC, i.e. The Federal Trade Commission, because many of their cases are pure hokum and creative writing projects.
Here is how it works. A company, which is giving good benefits to the consumer, such as great service and good pricing accelerates in the market place providing jobs and tax base. The competitors, who are lazy, weak and have disenchanted their customers, go to the agency to complain about unfair competition. The Agency then, puts the good company on their target list and starts doing investigations. But the Agency has to try to find something that they can make stick otherwise they look bad. So they promise advancement to junior newbie regulators if they make a good case and that is exactly what they do; make or create a case, generally out of thin air. They use their creative writing skills to attack the company and make up supporting documents for their lawsuit. Then the agency files the BS in court under secret seal, while simultaneously embellishing the story and more creative writing in their press releases. Eventually the case is settled and the company, which has been defamed is free and no penalty is given out. (companies know not to ever expect an apology for government regulator lies, that is a well known fact, ask any D.C. lawyer). Meanwhile the creative writing regulators advance to the next level having done well in their first big case.
Spaying or Nuetering Your Dog-Get The Facts… Be Responsible
March 30, 2008
Bringing a new puppy or dog home is a huge commitment and a three-fold responsibility. You now have a commitment to your dog, yourself, and to your community. Spaying or neutering your pet is just another responsibility that you must think about when bringing a puppy or dog into your home. And, if you’ve already brought one home, the time to start thinking about you and your pet’s future together is now.
Unless you are a professional breeder, there is no reason not to have your dog spayed or neutered. Let’s take a look, quickly, at the differences of each.
Spaying vs. neutering
A female dog is spayed and a male is neutered. The operation is a removal of the animal’s reproductive organs. The operation tends to be a little more expensive for female dogs as the veterinarian has to make an incision and sew up the animal’s lower abdomen. In a male dog, however, the scrotum is opened and the reproductive organs are removed. The operation is also a little quicker for male dogs. The age and health of your dog will cause recovery time to vary.
An Algorithm to Remove ?Hurt? from Pain
March 30, 2008
The behavior of pain was enigmatic. Its responses were strange. It was only a pin prick, but the surrounding skin reddened and the child cried out in pain. Yet, the caress of a gentle finger around the injury subdued that pain. A person suffering from the agony of chronic pain reported no pain at all, while focused on painting a canvas. Again, hypnosis caused a patient to report that his pain did not hurt. How could just a touch, or a change in the focus of attention reduce or remove pain? How could there be a pain, which did not hurt? Could such phenomena be explained as clear algorithmic behaviors of the brain? Could such knowledge be used to subdue the distress of pain?
An algorithm was a repetitive procedure, which yielded a trusted result. Recently, a new view of the mind suggested that it was an algorithm, which enabled the mind to race, like a lightning streak, through neural regions. It saw, recognized, interpreted and acted. In the blink of eye. From input to output, it took just 20 milliseconds. Myriad processes converted light, sound, touch and smell instantly into your nerve impulses. A special region recognized those impulses as objects and events. Another region, the limbic system, interpreted those events to generate emotions. A fourth region responded to those emotions with actions. The mind perceived, identified, evaluated and acted. So, the scream followed the injury, as swiftly as a flash of lightning. All of this was powered by intuition, a pattern recognition algorithm.
Must Haves for Any At-Home Chef
March 30, 2008
With the holidays on their way soon, many people will be beefing up kitchens to handle the increased demand for ‘fit for a king’ meals. Not being a professional Chef shouldn’t stop you from being able to cook like one. But, you’ll need the right tools to create those tantalizing dishes. Read on and find out the five tools that no kitchen cook should be without.
Mixing Bowls
Make sure that you have a good, quality set of mixing bowls on hand ? the bigger the better! Many dishes need to be beaten, blended or mixed. You’ll be glad you didn’t skimp on the mixing bowls when you need to perform any of those tasks. Most professional chefs prefer to use stainless steel mixing bowls. However, there are many quality plastic sets available, like the ones made by OXO. But be aware that plastic bowls can become hard to clean over time, especially if used for heavy duty sauces, and may need to be replaced.
Pre-Seasoned Cookware
It?s Gardening Season!
March 30, 2008
It’s gardening season again! Are you ready? Whether you are a seasoned gardener, or are looking to start gardening, you will likely need supplies and plants. If you shop smart, and use the tips below, you can get that garden running with very little money. And you can save a lot of money on your grocery bill as well.
There are many different types of gardening, but it is important to learn the basics of the activity. Below you will find a list of my tips to planting a garden on a budget.
Learn as much as you can about gardening. Don’t pay for gardening books, use your local library. It is free, and you can get a wide assortment of books to get you started. If you find something useful like a planting schedule, photocopy that particular page to keep it in your files. There are many hobby gardening sites online as well, so try to do a Google search for "gardening."
How the Internet Helps Musicians
March 29, 2008
Everyone talks about the negative impact of the Internet on the music business. Illegal file sharing and copyright violations have decimated the profits in the industry. Record labels are less willing to take risks with new artists because the profits have dried up. Sales have steadily declined over the past several years due in large part to the proliferation of illegal downloads. All of that is true, but there are two sides to this coin. Sure, things are tougher today for the new musician than ever before, but there are also new opportunities thanks to the Internet.
The Internet has reduced the barriers to entry into the music business. Today thanks to the rapid evolution in technology, a musician can record a song and share it with listeners around the world. In the past, distribution was controlled by the record labels. Unless you had a record deal it was almost impossible to reach listeners outside of your immediate area.
How to Create A Music Box, Part III
March 29, 2008
How to Create A Music Box, Part III
by: Monique Hawkins
Creating wooden keepsake boxes, children’s jewelry boxes, inlaid music boxes, and other types of musical movements can be a joy, especially when one is doing it himself or herself. However, there is an important step to consider when putting the music box together; it is choosing the movement accessories. These accessories include shafts/extenders, animation, turntables, winding keys, accessory shaft washers, cranks, rocking action, and musical mobile holder cases.
Shaft and Extenders
Left-handed shafts typically are placed into a special accessory hole on the side of an 18-note key-wind musical movement. When used, it becomes permanent. The key extenders extend the length of the winding key.
Animation
The 18-note key-wind musical movement can be fitted with several animation accessories. For example, the waggie shaft, covered with an accordion sleeve, allows it to rotate inside the sleeve instead of inside the figure, while the circular motion rod can be easily bent to create a neat orbital flying motion. There is a flat pad on the rod’s tip where figurines can be glued.
Turntables
