Category Archives: Arts & Entertainment

Arts & Entertainment, bringing you the latest Books & Film reviews as well as best music. Featuring Art & Architecture, Theatre, Music and all artistic

How to Do Fabric Postcards

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How to Do Fabric Postcards

It’s fun and easy to make fabric postcards that you can stick a stamp on and mail to family and friends. The most difficult aspect of making s fabric postcard might be deciding which techniques to use.

Let’s get a few basic fabric postcard guidelines out of the way before we talk about designs.

Making fabric postcards is enjoying a revival. In the past cards and fabric postcards were printed on silk and embroidered. These have since become collectors items.

Today however there is a new twist as people are making fabric postcards and mailing them to each other. Swapping them like you would Artists Trading Cards. They can be made of any fibre technique using a multitude of fabrics embellished with items such as beads and found objects.

They are a lot of fun and this lens points to information on how to make, swap and enjoy fabric postcards

The directions for how to make a fabric postcard follow, and keep in mind; quilters have methods to their own quilting madness. There are no hard and fast rules other than the dimensions and thickness restraints required for legal mailing. The most important thing is to be creative and have fun!!!

What you’ll need:

* Sheet of Friendly Felt (see note below)
* Scrap of print fabric
* Scrap of acrylic felt
* Fusible web
* Scissors
* Iron
* Sewing machine
* Coordinating thread
* Fray Check
* Craft glue
* Cardstock (or postcard)

Cut one piece of Friendly Felt and one piece of woven fabric in postcard size. Then cut one piece of regular acrylic felt that’s 1/4-inch smaller on all sides (so for my sample here, that’s 3-3/4 inches x 5-1/2 inches). This acrylic felt will be completely hidden in the finished postcard—it will provide the padding for the quilting. So you can use up leftover colors in your stash.

Next, cut two pieces of fusible web in the same size as the acrylic felt. (If you’re unfamiliar with this wonder material, it’s a kind of glue mesh that you heat with an iron to bond fabrics together.)

Stack all those layers up in the order you see here: Friendly Felt on the bottom, then a piece of fusible web, then the acrylic felt, then the other piece of fusible web, and the woven fabric on top. (Be sure to remove the backing papers from the fusible web first.) Match all the edges and make sure that acrylic felt is centered between the other layers.

Follow the package directions to fuse all the layers together. Be sure to place a pressing cloth over the postcard when you iron it—the Friendly Felt shouldn’t touch your hot iron.


Your cardstock should measure 1/4 inch less on all sides than your fabric postcard—so for my sample, it measures 3-3/4 inches x 5-1/2 inches. Press the layers together, centering the cardstock on the fabric. Place a heavy book over the postcard for about 20 minutes while the glue cures.

Resources :

http://quilting.aboutodqui.com

http://needledmom.blogsp.com

http://www.gift-it-forward.com

How to Do Palestine Calligraphy

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How to Do Palestine Calligraphy

Palestinian art is a term used to refer to paintings, posters, installation art and other visual media produced by Palestinian artists.

While the term has also been used to refer to ancient art produced in the geographical region of Palestine, in its modern usage it generally refers to work of contemporary Palestinian artists.

Similar to the structure of Palestinian society, the Palestinian art field extends over four main geographic centers: the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Israel; the Palestinian diaspora in the Arab world; and the Palestinian diaspora in Europe and the United States.

Contemporary Palestinian art finds its roots in folk art and traditional Christian and Islamic painting popular in Palestine over the ages. After the Nakba of 1948, nationalistic themes have predominated as Palestinian artists use diverse media to express and explore their connection to identity and land.

Palestine calligraphy, art and oriental fonts are easy to find with our Palestine, TX calligraphers directory. We feature designs, custom writing and schools all from the Palestine area. Find discount experts, teachers and wedding calligraphers. Check out our software vendors and quality supplies, invitation calligraphy and deals on scrolls. Recreate your Palestine Texas wedding with Chinese calligraphers, signs and ink.

Resources :

http://www.designzzz.com

http://www.my-wedding-b.com

How to Do Left Handed

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How to Do Left Handed

Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. A variety of studies suggest that 11% of world population are left-handed.

Like scissors and baseball gloves, guitars are largely built for right-handed players. Lefties interested in playing the guitar are often urged to learn how to play right-handed. That can be difficult, however, since certain chords will be extremely hard to play. Not to worry, though: Some of the greatest guitar players in history–including Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney and Iggy Pop–were left-handed. If you want to play guitar left-handed, you basically have two choices: purchase a guitar specifically built for southpaws, or turn a right-handed guitar upside down.

Many left-handed writers have trouble with several kinds of writing tips.  Points may catch on a corner or on an edge, digging into the paper. The worst of these are the extra-fine, needlepoint, flexible, and italic nibs; however poorly-designed mediums and stubs can also be nasty for lefties. While broad and broad-oblique tips usually present no problem, any of them can be problematic if they are poorly-adjusted or even just a little bit sharp in the direction of writing.

1 Michael McCarthy is an underwriter. His writing line slopes downward at about 20 degrees. He is holding his pen at a right angle to the writing line.

2 Rick Propas is an overwriter, sometimes called a “hooker”.  His line rises at about 15 degrees.

3 Jimmy Yu is an overwriter, holding the point of his pen toward himself and the writing line rising at about 40 degrees.

4 Linda Avanzino is an overwriter. She writes vertically, away from herself at about 90 degrees.

5 Pat Ackor is an underwriter. Her writing line slopes downward at about 45 degrees.

6 Jose Suro keeps his paper vertically in front of him and writes from the side, pushing almost directly across the page.

7 Steve Barnett gives a slightly different twist to his side-writer/pusher style. Look closely and you can see that he rotates his pen so that the imprint of the nib is facing the top right corner of the page.

8 Emily Eldredge is an underwriter. She is a pusher with her line falling at about 25 degrees.

Resources :

http://www.nibs.Left-han.com

http://en.wikipedia.wikiL.com

http://www.lefthandersda.com

How to Do Images of Calligraphy

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How to Do Images of Calligraphy

How to draw calligraphy pictures – quite an odd title because calligraphy itself can be pictorial so you can make something out of calligraphy called a calligram where you take the structure of the lettering. Now, let’s say your talking about a cat where it’s a poem about a cat, you can do the whole outline of the cat in the lettering and so that’s essentially a calligraphy picture, pictures or pictorial decorations, that is generally associated with calligraphy.

Lombardic letter and outline and inline the letter and once that’s done, then going to start playing with the letter itself. So using one of Manuscript Pen Company’s nibs because we need a really fine nib for outlining and then going to do an internal order.

Using a sort of typical paisley pattern from the middle ages and just by creating this sort of little bit of indentation, these are called invected lines, you get a really nice delicate sort of decoration. The other thing we can do is we can actually block an area in, so let’s take this C, block the C in. This would usually be done in raised gold and that would be an outline.

Block this in some more by basically making a series of internal borders. Once the borders overlap, then start working alongside basic geometric shapes. So we’re going to work in this corner up here and were going to make something called a trefoil because it’s a flower with three lobes.

Most people think this type of decoration is very difficult. What you must remember about this kind of decoration is do not look at the decoration and be confounded by its complexity. Look at its absolute simplicity underneath the complexity so you might want to get a piece of tracing paper and put it over a letter, don’t press too hard with your pencil, you can damage the book.

So how do you make a trefoil out of a triangle? First thing you do is you make three little triangles, right? Then you make a pollen ball and you can see it starting to take shape and then very carefully make a gentle little swooping curve. You find this kind of thing quite a lot in ornamentation from the Gothic period as well as ornamentation from the Gothic revival. So this is quite an important aspect to flourishing which is where you turn the page because if you keep the page studded, you’re going to have to turn yourself.

Again, we go back to the little triangles and you can see quatrafoil. Now fortunately, this Manuscript Pen Company is also slightly flexible so it allows you to really play with the shape and add weight to the thing which makes it just a little bit more alive.

“This new mode was not a matter of script metamorphosing into living forms which are also readable letters, but of using script to delineate such forms. Seldom had the flexibility of the Arabic alphabet been so tested.

This practice established itself only relatively late in Islamic art, when the taboos outlawing religious iconography had lost some of their power.


The history of calligraphy dates back to the Stone Age. Around 2,500BC the first real writing known as cuneiform, was invented in Mesopotamia. Using a wedge shaped tool, marks were etched into clay making the marks, which represented the sounds of the words. In 1,500BC the Chinese developed a script consisting of more than 1,500 characters representing an idea rather than a sound or letter. In 1,000BC the Phoenicians created an alphabet of 22 letters. In about 500BC the Greeks adapted this calligraphy alphabet also adding a,e,i,o. During the 1st Century AD the Ancient Romans adapted the Greek alphabet to produce their own 23 capital letters. This was the beginning of the calligraphy alphabet as we know it today. Between the 1st and 10th century AD the J, U and W were added making the 26 letter alphabet.

Today, you can find calligraphy alphabet stamps in most craft stores. But even though calligraphy takes alot of practice, everyone can learn the true art of calligraphy. This is a great way to create inexpensive handwritten wedding invitations, wedding announcements, birth announcement and baby shower announcements. The list goes on and on you can also use the calligraphy to personalize your scrapbooks.

Resources :

http://www.videojug.com

http://bibliodyssey.b.com

http://hubpages.com

How to Make Fabric Headbands with Flowers

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How to Make Fabric Headbands with Flowers

Headbands come in a variety of colors, materials and fabrics, and they aren’t only for grownups. One of the most adorable uses of headbands is for baby girls. Because many infants don’t have much hair, and girls sometimes look like boys at that age, a headband with a fabric flower is a good accessory for showing people that your baby is a girl.

Fabric flowers can be an attractive addition to your flower vases, dresses, headbands, handbags, etc. Making fabric flowers can be really easy, if you have a basic idea about how to use the raw materials. Simple fabric flowers can be made with plain cotton, silk or calicos cloth, or even scraps. Simple methods of making fabric flowers do not involve complex stitching techniques too. The following are some of the easy methods regarding how to make fabric flowers for dresses, headbands, etc.

Stack your circles from largest to smallest. With your needle and thread, stitch an x in the center.

Fold your stack in half and make a stitch (or two). Fold your stack in half the other way and make another stitch (or two).

Baste stitch through the bottom layers around the center of your circle.

Pull thread tight to scrunch up flower to your liking. Sew bead(s) in the center.

Take your felt and sew onto the back of your flower with the headband sandwiched between. If you are worried about the flower moving around you can also hot glue the flower to the headband. And you are done! Enjoy!

Fabric Flowers From Cloth Petals

In this method, you need a cloth of your choice to make petals. The other materials you need are needle, thread, scissors and colorful buttons. Cut six pieces of 3×3 squares from the fabric. Now, take each piece and fold it in such a fashion, so that the cloth piece forms a triangle. This can be done by bringing two of the opposite corners (of the square) together. Press these triangles firmly. The next step is to make a running stitch through the open edges of the triangle. That means the open edges must be sewn together. Once, you reach the other end, gently pull the thread and the fabric piece will look like a petal. Now, repeat the process to make petals out of the remaining triangles. Join them in a circle, so as to form a flower. You can form a single layer of petals or add more layers. Once you finish joining the petals, you can attach a button in the center. Your fabric flower is ready.

Resources :

http://floralshowers.com

http://www.makeit-loveit.com

http://www.buzzle.com

How to Do Performing Arts

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How to Do Performing Arts

Internships are a great way to make a name for yourself, especially in the arts. The experience you gain in internships is invaluable to beginning a career or simply getting your foot in the door to the job of your dreams. However, landing the perfect internship can be a bit elusive. Follow some simple steps and get performing arts internships and launch your career dreams, whatever they may be.

The world of performing arts is a place where exposure is necessary to make it big eventually. Performing artists like dancers, musicians, opera players or play actors usually land big projects after they have become part of successful
projects beforehand.

If you are a current performing arts student, here are some steps on how you can get an internship that may make you big in the future.

The Arts Council

Founded in October 1962, The Arts Council, Inc. (TAC) is a private, non-profit arts organization. TAC produces, promotes, coordinates, and advances the arts to enrich the quality of life, economic development, and education of the greater Huntsville/Madison County community.

* Concerts in the Park – ten weeks of FREE summer concerts in Big International Spring Park (other locations as announced), beginning in June and co-produced with the City of Huntsville.  Enjoy jazz, rock, classical, big band, country, and everything in between at these “serenades under the stars!”

*  Panoply Arts Festival – an annual, family-friendly three-day outdoor festival held the last full weekend of April and featuring performances, exhibits, arts demos, FREE hands-on activities, the Global Village, the Official Alabama State Fiddling Championship, and competitions in choreography, photography, “Homegrown Talent,” and play writing. Consistently ranked as one of the Southeast’s “Top Twenty” events, Panoply is The South’s Most All-Embracing ARTStravaganza!.

* Ask your schools scholarship or internship office for help in locating an internship. Inquire with professors about various internship opportunities within the department you are interested in.

* Check at community theaters, orchestras, ballet companies and dance studios to see if any internship opportunities are available. Check online at various job boards to see if any performing arts internships are posted.

* Locate a Variety magazine to see any postings that have been made by major studios or check major movie studio websites for opportunities for student interns. Know that these short term internships are typically unpaid summer positions, so plan accordingly.

* Apply for as many internships as possible, paid or unpaid. Network to working professionals in the field you are interested in and be willing to do any job to get experience. Usually you can build up to actual performances, either in a chorus or as an extra.

* Find internships through scholarship programs, since as these opportunities are often available during the summer months. Check overseas opportunities and study abroad internship programs, since these options are often offered to performing students.

Resources :

http://www.howtodothings.com

http://www.huntsvillealabamausa.com

http://www.ehow.com

How to Do Fabric Art of Singapore

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How to Do Fabric Art of Singapore

Besides all the sporting action that will be taking place over the 12 days of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, a variety of Culture and Education Programme (CEP) activities will also be held during Games Time, one of which is the Singapore 2010 Friendship Fabric Exhibition.

When you buy a garment don’t look at who made it, but rather examine how it is made. This is the advice of Giovanni Bonotto, who understands fabrics and, in particular, their method of manufacture, like few other people in Italy. He is Art Director of the firm Bonotto Spa, based in Molvena, in Veneto. The company is made up of 200 “master-craftsmen” (it would be demeaning to call them “workers”), who manage to produce truly miraculous results day after day. Their task involves delicate and highly complex operations on the loom and beautiful hem-stitching, the only job where the machine is no replacement for work done by hand.

The concept of “slow manufacture” originates here, with all production done on site. The company becomes your world and time can be enjoyed as a luxury. In this organisation, the idea of “quality” in fabric-making has been rediscovered. The company specialises in the production of woollen fabrics, although it also manufactures other types of cloth. These products are sold to the most demanding of clients: those people who are not satisfied with mass-produced materials. As a result the firm’s client list includes top names such as Armani, Chanel, Versace and Saint Laurent, and the company turnover amounts to about 30 million Euros annually.

Held at the Galleria Foyer on Level 1 of Suntec City Mall, the exhibition will showcase 205 individual fabric art pieces created by Singaporean students as part of the Friends at YOG programme. Part of CEP, this programme paired schools in Singapore with National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to promote cultural exchanges and learning between the students and their international counterparts.

The school twinning initiative has culminated in many ways, one of which is the fabric art pieces that Singaporean students have created. The art pieces depict cultural aspects of their twinned NOC that the students have learned about, and are accompanied by short write-ups from the artists themselves, explaining their design concept and sharing their experiences. Many of the brightly-coloured art pieces incorporate three-dimensional elements such as beading, scraps of cloth and feathers. The exhibition of all the complete art works aims to highlight cultural diversity and international solidarity of the Youth Olympic Games to the public.

Step 1 Using the computer and relevant software, select photos or images and prepare for printing. Check the recommended printer settings on the list enclosed in the pack. Test print on plain paper to check image placement before printing onto fabric. Print on the matte fabric side as the glossy side is the heat-seal backing. Set aside to allow ink to dry completely.

Step 2 When dry trim image to desired dimensions before ironing. With iron on cotton setting (medium high to high heat) preheat for 5 minutes. Do not use steam. Place printed fabric onto fabric (or desired surface) and press for 5 seconds making sure all areas are completely sealed.

Step 3 Cut a piece of background fabric (hand dyed) to desired size and a piece of pellon slightly smaller. Lay background fabric over pellon and arrange printed fabric and other fabrics on top as desired. Stitch layers together and add decorative stitching. Place the stitched quilt onto a piece of backing fabric cut slightly larger than the background fabric and stitch together around all four edges.

Giovanni Bonotto, the origins of your family business go back quite a long way…

Yes, the business was founded in the 1860s, when my great-grandfather began making straw hats. After that he moved on to leather-tanning, supplying the famous Bottega Veneta, amongst other clients. However, when my father took over the business they began to work with wool, the activity for which the company is now famous.

Nowadays, however, you and your brothers are experimenting with new fabrics and new processing techniques…How can you square that with the use of the old techniques, which you still wish to retain?

Bonotto has always tried to combine ancient and modern, both with regard to the fabrics themselves and to the way they are made. We have recently rediscovered a forgotten material called ramie. At the same time, however, while our business used to be 100% about wool, now it involves cotton, viscose and another 15 to 20 fibres and polyesters. In the processing we also we also combine traditional techniques like the shuttle loom with some truly experimental methods, like working specially prepared cotton on machines which are generally reserved just for wool. We are the people who started re-using the “scrap-iron” thrown out of the old textile companies, but we have also introduced innovations to our products. In general, these concern materials destined for the world of women’s fashion, and we have them made more “sporty” and suitable for young tastes.

Resources :

http://www.italtrade.com

http://www.singapore2010.sg

http://www.spotlight.com.sg

How to do an itinerary

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Spontaneous travel is rarely as fun as it sounds. You arrive late and the hotel is booked. You’ve planned a museum visit on Wednesday but it’s closed. Don’t get tripped up: Put a little forethought into your itinerary and get set for smooth sailing.

photoshelter

How to do an itinerary

1. Be Realistic
Sure, you’d like to milk your trip for all it’s worth by booking a red-eye flight and then scheduling a full day’s worth of activities on day one, despite an eight-hour time difference. But by the end of the trip, you’re likely to look and feel as if you’ve spent the week in correctional boot camp. If you really want to squeeze in every tour, meal and excursion you’ve typed into your itinerary, but as it currently stands you’re getting six hours of sleep a night with no room for a time adjustment, you need to add a day — or cut an activity.

2. Get It Right, from Door to Door
Is it me, or are economy parking lots are getting farther and farther away? It’s important to reckon the drive to the airport to account for time spent schlepping from the economy parking lot a few towns over. Allow yourself plenty of time to make it through the security checkpoint’s snaking line.

3. The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
Your itinerary is not a legally binding contract. It’s more like a rough draft … written in sand. Things will go wrong. Restaurants will be closed. Buses will be late. Animals will attack.

Consider scheduling a free day into your itinerary. During your trip, it’s likely you’ll discover some worthwhile attractions you didn’t know about prior to your departure. This will also give you some wiggle room in case you don’t see everything you had originally planned.

4. Resist the impulse to overplant
Some destinations don’t conform to schedules (ask anyone who’s taken a train in India), and you want to stay flexible and be open to spontaneous opportunities. They will arise unexpectedly–a local will take you under his or her wing, or a fellow traveler will suggest a scenic detour.

The References

how to do calligraphy islamic

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how to do calligraphy islamic

Islamic calligraphy, colloquially known as Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practice of handwriting, or calligraphy, and by extension, of bookmaking, in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. This art form is based on the Arabic script, which for a long time was used by all Muslims in their respective languages. They used it to represent God because they denied representing God with images. Calligraphy is especially revered among Islamic arts since it was the primary means for the preservation of the Qur’an. Suspicion of figurative art as idolatrous led to calligraphy and abstract depictions becoming a major form of artistic expression in Islamic cultures, especially in religious contexts. The work of calligraphers was collected and appreciated.

Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Turkish calligraphy is associated with abstract arabesque motives on the walls and ceilings of mosques as well as on the page. Contemporary artists in the Islamic world draw on the heritage of calligraphy to use calligraphic inscriptions or abstractions in their work.

Writing basically consists of ordinary writing and calligraphic writing. Ordinary writing is what we normally use, it’s what everybody uses in their daily life. Calligraphic writing is a specialty of writing whereby the writing is made into an art form.

There is ordinary writing. There is what we would call the scribal tradition of writing, which is existing in all these cultures as well, which is the trained production by professionals of texts, whether they be government documents, books, tablets, anything which requires an individual who might be akin a little bit to a modern secretary or a modern printer, in a sense, to produce reading material.

The Chinese and Japanese have a calligraphic tradition. The Hebrew culture has one. The Hebrew traditions often required the writings to be of a very permanent nature for the religious purposes and that meant works on parchment with a degree of penmanship that was consistent with total legibility and authenticity. That really is what we would call the scribal tradition in writing. The Islamic culture has one; the Latin and Greek cultures have one; the Armenian culture has one. It exists in many many forms.

Now in the normal, well not normal, but in the cultures that have alphabets which are discrete, Hebrew, Latin, Armenian, Greek, the letters form little blocks that are not attached to each other.

In the Islamic tradition, the writing is connected and so it has a different aspect to it than the others do involving many connections that are made between the letters.

The writing system really is not a difficult system. It works well with all kinds of languages. It’s a very simple alphabet. It senses that it can be a shorthand. The fact that it’s connected causes people to have problems with it, and also the problem that it is not generally written in a straight line but in a series of diagonals. So that allows a very good hand expression, but a very bad transition to fixed print.

In the Islamic tradition, the calligraphic art usually existed as a part of the religious tradition, whereby religious texts, as well as what some would consider secular texts, but they often had a religious base to them, were produced to a level of art that was not consistent with just scribal work. In other words, they were done by master calligraphers who were thought of in an artistic sense. There were personalities who achieved high levels of the art and were sought after and collected and became famous individuals who were respected and revered throughout history, a little bit like we think of painters. They often produced the elaborate and beautiful Koranic manuscripts which were very important in the Islamic culture, and indeed most of your high calligraphy that developed from that angle from those people who were doing the Korans. Rarely do you see books in the Islamic world that were calligraphed to the degree that the Korans generally are.

The library has got mostly works from what we would call the scribal tradition, all the way from some extremely difficult-to-read pieces that are in no way connected with calligraphy; they are more akin to doctors’ notes.

Resources :

http://www.nlm.nih.gov

http://creativebits.org

http://en.wikipedia.org

How to do an interview bibliography

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A bibliography is a list of materials used in creating a report or paper.  Information  for bibliographies is taken right from the source. The source is the book, magazine, encyclopedia or internet site you used. Look at the title page for the publisher, city, and author. Copyright information is usually found on the back side of the title page.

brokenflask

How to do an interview bibliography

1. Figure out where the interview should go in your bibliography. The entries for your bibliography should be in alphabetical order by last name of the author. In this case, you should use the last name of the person you interviewed.

2. Type out the last name of the person you interviewed followed by a comma. Then type the person’s first name followed by a period. For example, type “Smith, John.”

3. List the type of interview you conducted followed by a period, such as “Smith, John. Personal interview.” Other types include phone or computer-assisted interviews, which may be conducted via email or online chat.

4. Type the date the interview was conducted after the last period. List the day, then the month and year, such as “5 July 2009.” The final bibliography entry for the interview should look something like “Smith, John. Personal interview. 5 July 2009.”

The References