Artists Like Odd Future

I've been a fan of Miss Piggy for as long as I can remember. Recently, she came up in some odd conversation and I came to the conclusion that she is a great role model for artists. She has many traits that will serve artists well in building their business. The best way to understand my point is to consider Kermit as the art business and not as a frog. Miss Piggy LOVED Kermit. She would do anything for him. Anyone or anything that seemed to be a threat to her froggy and it was "watch out for the pig!" time. She wasn't afraid to go head to head for the one she loved.

When Miss Piggy was with Kermit, she sure could turn on the charm. She basked him in her love, affection, complete focus and attention. She also believed unequivocally that Kermit loved her, too. She had unwavering faith in their destiny to be very happy together. Now consider "Kermit" as your art business. Hopefully, your business will return the love in the form of creative projects, rewarding experiences and don't forget - income. On days when inspiration isn't flowing, it might feel like your business doesn't love you and is actually trying to avoid you as Kermit so often did to Miss Piggy.

On those days, ask yourself these three very important questions:
1. Are you as laser-focused and attentive to your business as Miss Piggy is to Kermit?
2. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to keep it safe and make it prosper? Can you channel Miss Piggy's 'karate chop / no holds barred' attitude when things get tough?
3. Do you have the passion in your soul for your art business, that Miss Piggy has for Kermit? If you can say an unequivocal YES to all three questions, you are on your way to a bright, creative future. If you ever feel down or unsure of what to do, just say to yourself, "What would Miss Piggy do?" I promise, she won't fail you!

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Traditional Art Prints

Centuries ago when traditional art was being practiced at its peak, art was considered as a prime source of life to the cultural practices of the people in the community/society. In a traditional Tiv society, for instance, every family house or grown-up person (adult) used to have Itimbe-gbenda strategically installed at the entrance way to the compound. Itimbe-gbenda is an artistically carved object in human form with traditional motifs on the surface. At the top of the object, is usually covered with woven thatched grass which, if viewed from far, makes the object looks like a cap hanged on a stick. Two shiny black stones are placed at the bottom of the carved wood. The Tiv people traditionally believed that Itimbe-gbenda brings luck to the family or the person that owns it. The object was usually renewed once in every year through incantations and libations. The vicinity where the object is installed (dug and fixed in the ground) is usually made clean by constantly sweeping at specified intervals as prescribed by Or-soren-kwagh (The traditional medicine man).

The Itimbe-gbenda is usually carved using a strong wood such that it can withstand termites, rain and other natural factors which act upon the durability of the wood. Other un-durable materials like thatched-grass (Ihila) and rope (Kor) used in tying round the object are usually weak and worn out after raining season. Hence, there is need to renew them annually. The belief behind installing "Itimbe-gbenda" is that, the person or family whom the object is installed in his/their name will record success in farming, hunting, and other human engagements (activities) in the community.

The practice of traditional religion, in those days, made such art more relevant especially in establishing certain religious beliefs in the lives of the people. The unique thing in Itimbe-gbenda is that, those who install it must not look at the success of others with jealousy. Doing so will make one's luck not to shine. In this way, people celebrated with others' successes, not necessarily because they really want to identify with them but probably because they want their own luck to also shine.

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Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago is located in Downtown Chicago at the intersection of Adam Street and Michigan Avenue. The main entrance to the museum is located on Michigan Avenue in a beautiful Beau Arts stone structure. The main building of the Art Institute was built in 1892 for the 1993 Worlds Columbian Exposition. In that capacity it served as the Hall of Congress for the exposition. The Art Institute was formerly in a Norman-Gothic structure on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Van Buren, just two blocks south of it's current location. That space is now occupied by the Chicago Club which made arrangements with the Art Institute to purchase the building for its growing membership. The Chicago Club is Chicago's leading private club and many of the Art Institutes's Board of Trustees are members of this club which include Stanley Field, Potter Palmer, and Marshall Field.

The original design for the main building was a large red-stone Romanesque building that was later rejected for the current design. The building had galleries on two floors with a staircase at that time near the rear of the building. It was intended as funds increased to build a larger grand staircase in the center of the building which they indeed do years later after World War I. The first floor galleries were intended to show-case sculpture and the second floor was intended for drawings and paintings. At the entry there was an opening to the gallery above with railing around to provide fresh air and light, since that time and the advent of modern climate control systems that opening has been covered and ceiling lights take it's space.

As you ascend the stairs you will note that there is something strange in the design of the ceiling above for the entire ceiling above the grand staircase is all glass and quite modern looking, not at all in line with the Beau Arts design of the building. Further, you will notice as you look around the mezzanine of the staircase that there are two rows of classical pillars on the east and west sides of the upper gallery and the east side even has arches. What this show is the unfinished plans for the building. It was intended at the time for there to be colonnades all around the second floor rotunda topped off with a Roman dome! However, due to restricted funds these plans were never completed and the "temporary" class ceiling over the grand staircase has become permanent.

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Art Entertainment and Media Management

In the last article I talked about the most important thing about your social media profile. I also talked about the actions your visitors will take once they land on your profile. If you missed it, make sure you read it here: Small Business Brand Management on the Social Media Landscape Part 2. So far, your image is nice and inviting. Someone sees your inviting image and decides to check you out further. They click and land on your profile page. This is where they're going to get their first impression. They'll see what you've said, some of the things you've done, your friends, but most importantly... they'll read your bio.

Now that they have read your bio, you want them to take an action to get to know you better. Some will just follow you and keep an eye on you to see if they can trust you. Others will click the link you have in your profile to find out more. It is that link and where it takes them that is golden. The URL you have in your profile is what will make or break this social interaction. They are looking to trust you here. Don't give them a reason not to like you. Remember, they are looking for a person here. Where I recommend you take them is to a website where they can get more information about you. Let's take a look at Rick again. His only website is his online store for his fishing reels. Sending someone to a sales page is a big "no-no" and most people look at it as you're just trying to make money and don't really "get" what social networking is all about.

If your site is an online store, you should have an "About" page, right? I'd suggest you create a specific page to send people from your social profiles. The page should be about the person they're getting to know better. It should give them a reason to "friend" you. If this won't work for you, then make sure you at least send them to the "about" page. Once they see your site and they decide to "friend" you, they may take a look around your site to see what it's all about. It may be of interest to them and you may have just gained a customer. The difference between this customer and a customer from the search engines is that some from a social environment is more inclined to buy, recommend, and may even become an evangelist.

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Traditional Painting Techniques

Faux painting techniques are strategies to decorate your wall that imitates materials and is produced utilizing non-traditional painting devices. In the first instance, faux painting strategies can mimic the particular complexities of a marble surface or wooden beam. Equipment regularly utilized to create these effects comprise of sponge, tissue papers and rags. Faux painting is generally created on a standard painted background while either still damp or following a period of drying, depending on the method required.

Like with many words and phrases in the English language, "faux" comes from a French word which means bogus or fake. In Interior Design, the word can be used to illustrate a thing that is an imitation of another thing, in most cases some other material. The final results of the imitations can result in the truly awful to the wonderfully effective, where the latter is usually an understated recreation of marble or maybe stone that's near impossible to ascertain from the real deal. The way you go about utilizing these painting methods in your own home design arena will certainly principally be based upon knowledge, competency and application.

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Art Traditional Thai Massage Asokananda

Traditional Thai massage is in and she and healing modality that is more than 2500 years old. It was a personal friend of the Buddha who invented this unique form of bodywork. It's a funny fact that I massage actually originated in India. Not that was the first generation of Buddhist monks who learned this very special healing art and spread it through out what is now known to be Thailand. These moments practiced the art of traditional Thai massage not just for relaxation and well-being. They used a massage to treat people with medical conditions, alleviate the sufferings of your bodies and cure them from diseases. But they also use Thai massage to deepen the meditative practice. If you have ever received a real traditional Thai massage you know about the meditative effects massage has on your mind.

I can still vividly recall my first experience with traditional Thai massage. It was on a very quiet beach and the massage therapist could not speak English. But, a friend of mine urged me to try it. I wasn't even that interested in massage. I thought massage is something for, well, people who are much older than me. I gave it a try and enjoyed it very much from the first minute on.

However, it wasn't until later that I realized the profound effects of this massage. You know that little voice that is inside your head? The one that is chattering all the time? This constant stream of thoughts and words and comments that is in the back of your mind? Well, he just disappeared. I just was in a very pleasant and relaxed and natural state of well-being. I was at ease with everything. I'm not a writer, so I can't really do this experience justice by re-presenting with words only. But you know that are these certain kinds of experiences in life that are very rare and unique. It's when we realize how big the universe really is and how we are a part of it all. Realize that not just on an intellectual level, but on the physical level with our kinesthetic experience.

But I don't want to sound too esoteric here. Because a part of what the massage it for my mind and emotions, it also helped my knee. Since many years I had some problems with my left knee. Nothing serious, but it was painful at times and I couldn't really bent it to the full extent. Often just a first Thai massage session I noticed that this got better. Later when I came back for more massage sessions in the course of less than two weeks it completely disappeared, and I never had problems with my left knee ever since. I went to Thailand many times since then and learned a lot more about traditional Thai massage and how it's used for specially medical purposes and of course general relaxation and well-being. And today, more than ever I appreciate receiving a skillfully performed Thai massage.

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Traditional Art Definition

The world needs a comprehensive, working definition for the realm of the "ARTS". This definition succinctly satisfies that need. "Art" means different things to various people. It's been an enigma! Since the age of twelve I wanted to be an "artist". Over the years I had become involved with numerous "art" endeavors: drawings, sculptures, paintings in various media, architectural design, photography, writing, and ceramics. I've even been fortunate to have "art" jobs: art and photography teacher, freelance artist, supervisor of a graphic art department, museum exhibits designer and builder, and art director. In all those experiences and even through educational training beyond the master's degree I could not find a comprehensive definition of..."art". After all, I was an "artist"; but, how could I make claim to this intriguing group with out really knowing what "art" was?

In the early 1990's, I participated in the Improving Visual Art Education Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was sponsored by the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Getty Center for the Arts. The conference basically centered around the concept of "Discipline Based Art Education". In this realm arts education is believed to have four basic tenants that should be covered in pedagogy and help give credence to spending constrained budgets on having "arts" in the public school curriculum. These four areas are: history, theory/criticism, aesthetics, and production. It was from this conference that I came up with the design for the MIA PATCH Lesson Plan for the Arts since there was no lesson plan format that I new of that really fit the "arts" education arena. One of the speakers, and I forget her name, was an aesthetics professor from the University of Minnesota. She came the closest to a definition of art that I could agree with, except, for her, art had to have a concrete artifact, an art "object", something tangible to be reviewed through time. But, as many "artists" know, sometimes an artistic creation is designed to be fugitive, non-tangible through time, it must disappear to fulfill its aesthetic intent.

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