Sunday, July 26, 2009

Enjoy Your Favorite Book on an MP3 Player By Pat Lowe

If you're one of those people who are always on the go, you probably don't have a lot of time to spare for reading a book. But maybe you wish you could stay current with the latest bestsellers or simply spend some time savoring the classics. Well, you're in luck, because there's a perfect solution. An MP3 audio book gives you an opportunity to listen to your favorite author or get yourself up to date on an important subject at just about any time during your busy day.

Instead of the traditional method of reading a book, why not make use of the latest technology. It's easy to listen to that recent best seller while you go about your day. In fact, your MP3 player might just prove to be one of the best ways to enjoy a good book. It's a convenient way to take your "reading" with you everywhere you go and listen to it whenever you have some down time.

These days, the audio book is replacing the more traditional forms of reading material such as books and magazines and even reference materials. Of course, books on tape have been around for a while, first on tape and then on CD. But with the increasing popularity of iPods and other portable electronic devices, it was inevitable that recordings would become available in this format as well. In fact, they're more popular than ever because of these gadgets.

MP3 audio books are widely available on the internet, and they're easy to download first to your computer and then to your music player. Once it's on your player, you can listen to it anywhere, at any time. It's perfect for long drives, long walks or workouts. Of course, you can also listen to your book from your laptop, PDA or cell phone. Or any other device that can play this file format, like a gaming system or a DVD player.

Digital books aren't just entertaining, they can also be educational. For example, studies have shown that children often forget the lessons they are taught in a classroom. However, by regularly listening to the same information on a portable audio device, they will greatly improve their ability to recall what they have learned.

So why not try out an MP3 audio book. Not only is it a convenient way to catch up on your reading, it's also more portable than a book. And you might even remember more of what you read!

Ice cream and trumpets? Don't ask, just read. Visit our site for all kinds of useful information on a wide variety of topics, including, or course, audio books.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Find Out If Your Baby is Ready For Modeling By Kelly Keenan

There are many reasons to consider getting your baby into modeling. It's fun, it can help start your child's college fund or another special savings account, and it helps create wonderful memories.

However, modeling isn't for all babies - or their parents. Before you determine whether you want to introduce your baby to the world of child modeling, consider the following factors that go into it.

Consider Your Baby's Physical Appearance

All babies are cute - they're babies, after all! Some babies seem to have a universal look, suited for various kinds of photos and commercials, but remember that it's often the case not every baby's look is the right for every baby modeling assignment.

A certain print advertisement might call for small babies, or a particular commercial might want babies of various ethnicities. You might run into casting calls for babies with dark hair, or you might meet an art director who needs babies with blue eyes. Keep in mind that this isn't something you should take personally, nor is it something that should stop you from keeping your eyes open for future casting calls.

Understand Your Baby's Personality, Disposition, and Behavior

Babies are babies, and can't be held responsible for controlling their developing personalities, often ever-changing dispositions, and unpredictable behavior; yet, if your baby seems to love attention, feel happy, and smiles more often than not, he might be well suited for baby modeling.

Of course, you have to keep your baby's usual disposition and behavior in mind when it comes to other people and child models on the set. It's easier for others to perform and get work done in a peaceful, relaxing environment. Fussy babies don't lend themselves to creating that kind of environment, and you might need to wait a bit longer before trying to introduce your baby to modeling.

Consider Your Baby's Talent

If your baby is very young, it's generally more a question of whether his personality, disposition, and behavior are suited for baby modeling than it is whether your baby has talent. Young babies who are just learning to sit up and stand on their own don't have much more room left for thinking about developing "talent," right?

However, if your baby is old enough to take lightweight direction, it becomes a question of whether he is able to - or wants to - take that direction. Can your baby listen and respond to a wrangler's, art director's, or photographer's direction? If he can, does it seem like he wants to?

Think About Your Baby's Availability

Aside from time spent eating, sleeping, playing, and overall just being a loveable baby, your baby's availability depends largely on your availability.

Does your job allow you time to take your baby to casting calls and photo shoots? Do you have a spouse, family member, or trusted friend who can help out when you're unable to get away? How far away from the sets do you live, and if it's a significant distance are you able to travel with your baby to get there? These are the kinds of things you must think about when considering how available your child is for baby modeling.

Visit http://www.mykidshouldbefamous.com to learn more about what goes into child modeling and how you can get your copy of My Kid Should Be Famous, complete with insider tips and contact information for reputable modeling agencies throughout America and Canada.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Art Prints - Claude Monet By Seth Luca

Claude Monet was a French painter considered to be the initiator and foremost supporter of the Impressionist Movement in painting in 19th century France. The artist's style is best known for capturing pigmented "impressions" of nature and everyday middle class life known painted in "plein-air" or painting outdoors. Monet's works garnered much negative criticism from the classically realist and romantic school of painters of the French Ecole de Beaux Arts. Moving to Argenteuil, on the Seine river near Paris, Monet together with other French painters; Edouard Manet, Gustave Courbet and Camille Pizzaro established the height of the Impressionist movement by organizing an independent exhibition of the Impressionists. His painting, "Impression":Sunrise, 1872 gave the group their name.

His work and influence reached a very wide scale and was instrumental in spreading modernism in Europe and in the United States. His artistry influenced the work of post-impressionists and avant garde artists including Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh; Fauvist painter, Henri Matisse; and French painter Paul Cezanne. His radical departure from the classical tradition resurfaced in the United States to be manifested in the abstract expressionist paintings of Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.

Mone't best works leave much to be argued but some of his works are better known than others due to their reproductions as poster prints. Some of his most popular prints include:

• Le Pont Japonais a Giverny, The Japanese FootBridge, 1922- is a painting of Monet's famous Japanese footbridge. The bridge is located in the garden he constructed at his Giverny home towards the latter part of his life. Online versions of this painting can be found at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Poster prints onlinecan be ordered at 24x36" or at custom sizes.

• Impression, Sunrise, 1872- is the iconic painting that gained the Impressionist movement its exposure and popularity in France. Online poster printing offer to print this in 24x36" or custom sizes.

Visit DigitalRoom.com for more information on online poster printing and poster prints online

Friday, June 26, 2009

Art Prints - Gustav Klimt By Seth Luca

Gustav Klimt is an Austrian painter considered to be the founding member of the Viennese Sezession School of Painting in 1897. This school of painting broke from the academic traditions of 19th century European mural painting in favor of the more highly-decorative, Art Nouveau style. The Art Nouveau style is characterized with long, sinuous and organic lines, patterns and forms. Klimt expressed this style in his paintings using bold, flat, precisely linear and highly decorative patterns of color and gold leaf.

His revolutionary school and his work caused a stir. Three of his allegorical murals painted for the ceiling of the University of Vienna were vehemently disliked for their erotic and sensuous figures. The artist also painted landscapes such as Forest of Beech Trees, 1903 and Poppy Field in 1907. The artist's influence and technique has also been associated with the history and development of graphic design.

The artist though, is best known for his sensuous paintings of women and fashionable matrons of Viennese society during his time. His artistic technique of surrounding the human forms in his paintings with brilliant gold leaf and highly-ornamental patterns is admired as it enhances the skin's sensuousness.

Some of the artist's works are better known than others and have become popular as poster prints. Some of the most famous poster prints of his work include:

• The Kiss, 1907-an iconic print of the artist's work, this oil and gold on canvas painting is characterized by a man and a woman in a melting kiss, engulfed in a golden swirl of brilliant color. This painting can be found at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and poster prints online come in 24 x 36" prints.

• Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,1907-This painting is one of the artist's most famous paintings of Viennese matrons. It features a sitting portrait of the matron Adele Bloch- Bauer. Online poster printing services offer to print this poster in sizes such as 11x17", 16x20", and 18x24".

Visit DigitalRoom.com for more information on online poster printing and poster prints online

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The Art Glass Produced by Tiffany Studios - An Overview By Robert Lerch

Louis Comfot Tiffany early in his career became very interested in the production of colored iridescent, innovative art glass. In literature published by Tiffany he stated that research in the development of these glass making techniques began in 1872 in New York. Tiffany had enlisted the help of Italian trained Venetian glass producers who he hired. In 1878 Tiffany established the firm Louis C. Tiffany & Co. which specialized in the creation of elaborated decorated interiors for very wealthy residential clients and commercial institutions. One element which Tiffany incorporated in to the these projects were the use of iridescent glass tiles. They were used as fireplace surrounds , in decorative screens and wall ornamentation. The tiles were molded and made in various sizes with different decorations. The colors of these tiles included translucent opalescent and greens, iridescent blues and golds, as well as solid colors such as blacks, reds and oranges with fabulous swirls of color. Subsequently Tiffany produced additional glass tiles for use in lamps and decorative objects. Some of these tiles included scarobs, turtleback tiles, iridescent glass prisms, and linenfold glass (which resembled folded linen).

Between roughly 1892 and 1924 blown glass made into vases and bowls was produced by the Tiffany Furnaces, in Corona Queens. People often talk about three general periods of glass production. The earliest period which roughly was between 1892 and 1900 was the period where the most experimentation was done both in form (shape), color, and application and special effects incorporated into the glass. The middle period was the period where the bulk of the Art Glass was produced. The late period,which spanned between 1916 and the end of the company in the late twenties was the period where more commercial and less innovative pieces were produced. Many of the pieces produced in the period were made in pastel colors.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was the artistic force and designer for all of glass. It has been stated that Tiffany would make very rough sketches for a piece and his artisans would then use the concept to created a more complex and detailed rendering of the piece, which eventually required Tiffany's approval before production was initiated.

In 1894 Tiffany registered his "Favrile Glass" for trademark and patent purposes. The term he coined actually did not refer to one color or type of glass, but many different colors and textures of glass which he used in the production of his various products including windows, lamps and decorative objects.

Most of the early blown glass vases were not signed. A paper label was applied identifying production by the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company. In the earliest periods of production many pieces were numbered in sequence between 1 and 9999. In about 1894 pieces began to be numbered with a letter prefix, followed by a number. This used letters between A and Y (no Z). For example in 1894 prefix A and B were used, !895 prefix C and D...until about 1905 with prefix W and Y. In this early period roughly 2 letters were used per year. Following this a number followed by a suffix was used (rougly one letter per year from 11906 to 1928). Some special notations including the use of X for experimental, EX for exhibition, o(small) for special order, A-COLL for pieces made for Tiffany's personal collection.

Some of the types of glass that were produced were Decorated Glass, Agate, Cypriote, Lava, Paperweight, and Aquamarine glass.

Decorated Glass was produced throughout the periods. The decoration could vary from several small lines on a solid backgroud to complex "king tut" decoration where almost all of the surface of the piece was decorated with random swirled lines. Some special styles of decoration include peacock feathers with eyes, zipper decoration, floral decoration with various types of stylized leaves and flowers.

Cypriote Glass, which was probably inspired by the appearance of ancient glass which had been unearthed after being buried for hundreds of years, and had taken on a roughened irridized surface. The surface often had crater like irregularities resembling the surface of the moon.

Lava Glass which is a dark bluish black background with applied three dimensional designs in gold which simulated the flow of lava.. These are very rare and valuable

Agate glass, which was made to resemble agate with many banded and shaped layered colors. Often these vases were faceted to created even more unusual effects with color.

Paperweight glass which was essentially transparent glass with floral or geometric colored designs had been created internally to give the appearance that the design element was under water or floating within the glass, like the paperweights we use on our desks

Aquamarine glass which is similar to paperweight glass with internal decorations of often aquatic subject matter like fish, which appear to be swimming in the glass.

Cameo glass, which was a technique where when the glass was made one color layer was applied on top of another. In the finishing process the design was created by cutting into the top color to reveal the underneath color cut in often floral techniques.

In the collecting of Tiffany Glass size and color does matter. The most common color is gold, followed by iridescent blue and green. Rarer colors include red, yellow , orange and black. Rarer colors, more complex decoration and size definitely impact on value.

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dr. robert lerch