March 7, 2010
Wall Painting Designs
Do your walls seem dull and uninviting? Are a person who always desires about a posh living room? Consider interesting wall painting techniques, like sponging, ragging, stenciling or stamping? While you don’t have experience, you can still make your rooms nice and colorful with one of these easy decorative wall painting methods.
Before painting your room, pick out a color scheme for your walls. Have in mind, most of the painting methods use two shades of the same color for their designs. If you are using one of the techniques that does use two shades of color, you can pick a darker color than you normally would chose for your base color, since the lighter top color will make the final result much lighter.
To sponge or rag a wall, paint the base color first and let it dry fully. Then, dip your sponge or rag into the lighter paint color and sponge or drag the lighter color over the base coat until you are satisfied with the effect. Repeat the same thing for the entire wall.
If you are chewing over a more define design decorative painting technique such as stenciling or stamping, you could probably give a wall paper effect bystamping or stenciling a simple design over your base coat. However, you may want to go a step further with your project and use stencils or stamps to create a faux brick or stone wall do the following. First, paint the walls with the color your choice for the mortar between the bricks or stones. Once the base coat is dry, stamp or stencil your bricks or stones over the base coat. Once the brick or stonework is dry, spatter a bit of the darker color over your faux art to give it depth and make it appear more realistic.Doing faux effects like giving the look to your wall like they are made of plaster or suede can also really make your room stand out. Paint bases that automatically give a suede or textured effect to the walls are a shortcut that even artists use to create fun finishes.
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November 22, 2009
Beijing Tour Guides Take You To Discover Amazing Chinese Ivory Carvings Offered In The Local Shops
White as milk, touch as rock, and delicate as jade, ivory carving is considered one of the most exquisite art forms of ancient China. Items with excellent quality and exquisite, marvelous craftsmanship have been one of art fans’ favorites for many thousand years. In the pre-historic period, over 7,000 years ago, when elephants still roamed the regions around Yellow River, ancient Chinese started to practice this art, and made a large number of gorgeous, imaginative artworks. As the supply of the raw material for ivory - elephant tusks - decreased as a result of the ban on ivory trading placed by Chinese government in early 1990s, ivory carvings quickly rose in value and prices, and for art collectors, buying such works became a lucrative investment. In Beijing, take a Beijing day tour with a Beijing tour guide to discover exquisite ivory carvings in the local shops.
It is very difficult to underestimate the value of a great ivory carving: the beautiful, milky white color immediately catches your eyes, the bright, smooth surface appear more delicate and elegant the longer you look at it, and the marvelous craftsmanship shown by every one of its tiny, exquisitely made detail convinces you completely that few artwork ever made by men could achieve this level of exquisiteness and delicacy.
Archaeological find from the Hemudu culture site in Zhejiang province suggests as early as 7,000 years ago ancient Chinese already started making and using ivory items with both practical and ornamental functions. A mysterious item called “Two Birds Flying Towards The Sun” became famous for its incredibly exquisite craftsmanship and beautiful, fascinating design.
Throughout China’s history, ivory works enjoyed a high status among officials and wealthy people. Beginning from the Zhou dynasty, ivory ornament became a fashionable item among imperial court officials, and wearing them symbolized having a high rank in the government. Such works became even rarer after the main source of ivory - elephants - disappeared from central China, and this cemented their status as a sign of privilege. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the art of ivory carving developed to a climax.
Traditionally, Guangzhou, Suzhou, and Beijing were the centers of the production of ivory carvings. Products made in these regions had their unique local characteristics and were cherished by art fans all over the world.
Guangzhou Ivory Carving: The warm, humid climate of Guangzhou favored the production of complex ivory works that required a long time to complete. For this and other reasons, over the years Guangzhou produced some of the most famous, exquisite ivory carvings highly prized by art collectors. A good example was the multi-layer ivory balls famous for their mysterious, exquisite designs.
Suzhou Ivory Carving: Suzhou was historically a region with an influential literati culture. Ivory works produced here showed culture, depth, and good taste, a trend obviously influenced by the demand of the local scholar class. The designs of the works included famous figures, animals, trees, and flowers.
Beijing Ivory Carving: As the capital of China for the last hundreds of years, Beijing had a sophisticated art culture built upon the contribution of some of the best artists from across China. The art of ivory carving flourished here during the early Qing dynasty, and the works made were famous for sophisticated craftsmanship and exquisite, lifelike figures with vivid expressions.
There are many amazing local shops in Beijing that offer unique, beautiful ivory carvings from different periods in China’s history. Find a personal shopping assistant to help you discover these spectacular products.
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Filed under Classical and Instrumental by musicnews
October 25, 2009
Spectacular Beijing Artwork: Take A Beijing Day Tour To Find Chinese Silk Figurines
With a mysterious history that goes back thousands of years, silk figurine is a popular Beijing art form that has won the hearts of art fans around the world. An art form developed from the ancient practice of making silk products, silk figurines are believed to show the essence of silk - grace, elegance, and a unique sense of high class.
Most works are designed based on characters from popular Chinese legends and famous plays, with an emphasis on bringing out their unique personalities and spiritual qualities by depicting one of their fleeting expressions and dressing them with appropriate clothing. An almost lost art 80 years ago, it quickly re-gained popularity after its revival in 1950s, and is now one of the staple products in Beijing’s gift shops. Unless you’re a Beijing tour guide, you need to go on a Beijing day tour to discover the exquisite silk figurines in the city’s spectacular local shops.
In a sense, Chinese silk figurines represent a highest form of feminine beauty highly appreciated in eastern Asian cultural sphere. Slender body, soft skin, gorgeous hair, and beautiful countenance are only physical features made possible by the delicate nature of silk itself. Elegant movements of hands and body, cute expressions that seem to have more than one meaning, and alluring eyes that are at times indifferent and distracted, and at times attractive and engaging, are a wonderful demonstration of how an ideal form of feminine beauty is perceived by eastern Asian people, a form of beauty that has been personified by a large number of famous female characters from ancient Chinese plays and novels.
Not surprisingly, silk figurine, though not as famous as other major Chinese art forms like painting or porcelain, nonetheless became one of collectors’ favorite items, who considered it as an excellent presentation of ancient Chinese culture, art, and aesthetic ideas.
Though the evidence of silk figurines existing before the Tang dynasty is sparse, it is generally believed this art form has a history almost as long as the production of silk. According to some historians, some of the earliest embroidered works must have been silk figurines used as a type of home decoration. The earliest works discovered are from a Tang dynasty tomb found in Xinjiang province, which include figurines of imperial court dancers and eunuchs. The dancers are known for their exquisite clothes and hair ornaments, and the eunuchs for their incredibly vivid expressions.
During the Song dynasty, Chinese people began to widely use multi-color, elaborately-made silk figurines in important ceremonies, a tradition that would continue into the late Qing dynasty. In the early 20th century, this art was completely lost in the Sino-Japanese war. Fortunately, it was re-invented by some great Beijing artists in the 1950s.
Beautiful silk figurines are offered in many amazing local shops in Beijing. When you are in the city, remember to find a Personal Shopper in Beijing to take you to the best shops with the best products.
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October 19, 2009
Shop For Exquisite Beijing Opera Masks In Beijing
Worn by the Beijing Opera performers to represents characters with unique traits, Beijing Opera masks provide a kaleidoscopic views of the anicent Chinese psyche. Beautiful, unique patterns on a mask are filled with brilliant, complex colors to symbolize personality, emotion, and virtue of a character as interpreted by the designer. While Beijing Opera itself is only 200 years old, the traditon of wearing elaborately-designed masks in plays has a history of at least 4,000 years. It’s a great idea to go on a Beijing China tour with a personal shopper in Beijing to buy some exquisite Beijing Opera masks in the amazing local shops.
The countless famous figures from China’s long history are often grouped by Chinese into several broad, contrasting categories: good vs. evil, uprightness vs. foxy, loyal vs. unloyal, impulsive vs. cool-headed, and naive vs. sophisticated. These dispositions are all represented in the designs of facial makeups for Beijing Opera, with only small variations. Watching a play, one can judge the personality and role of a specific character from the mask he/she wears, without knowing anything about the story being told.
The colors of a Beijing Opera mask is the main clue that gives away the character. Patterns may vary among facial makeup designers, but there is a universal rule that governs the use of colors. Below is a short list with the major colors used for Beijing Opera masks and the characters they represent.
Red – uprightness, courage, loyalty
Green – impulsiveness, violence, lack of self-control
Black – boldness, fierceness, impartialness
White – evil, craftiness, treacherousness
Yellow – ambition, cool-headedness, fierceness
Blue – wildness, stauchness, shrewdness
Purple – sophistication, nobleness, uprightness
Gold/Silver – representing gods, spirits, and fairies.
Masks used for performance may have originated from masks worn by ancient dancers to expel ghosts and evil spirits in ceremonies. Many people believe that masked used by performers from the Tang dynasty had a great influence on the designs in later periods. The legendary Prince Lanling from the Northern Qi period was a fearsome warrior but with a handsome, feminine face that looked less than frightening. In order to frighten and overwhelm his enemies, Lanling wore a ferocious-looking mask every time he went to the battlefield. This is also believed by some to be a possible origin of performance mask.
The roles of actors in traditonal plays were formalized during the Ming dynasty, and so were the facial designs worn by the actors. Beijing Opera was created and rose to prominence in the late Qing dynasty, and it was during this period that the major facial designs were improved to a high level of sophistication and finalized.
There are 14 basic facial designs for the Jing and Chou roles in Beijing Opera, the only two roles allowed to wear a variety of makeups. They include: “whole face”, “three tile face”, “quartered face”, “six division face”, “tiny flower face”, “lopsided face”, “monk face”, “eunuch face”, “shoe-shaped gold face”, “spirit resonance face”, “deity face”, “clown face”, “elfin face”, and “hero face.”
In recent years, Beijing Opera masks became increasingly popular as a form of gift. Beautiful, unique masks, in different sizes, colors, and designs, are a popular product in almost all local gift shops in Beijing. This makes a sharp contrast to the art of Beijing Opera itself, which, due to a lack of funding and a diminishing audience, is thought to be on a general decline.
When shopping for Beijing Opera masks in Beijing, you need a Beijing guide to help you find shops with products made by the best local artisans.
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October 4, 2009
Shopping In Beijing: Chinese Dough Figurine
People who are not interested in Chinese folk art will completely change their minds when they see the exquisite Chinese dough figurines. Street vendors selling beautiful dough figurines is a common, interesting sight in many Chinese cities. An ancient art with a history of over 1,300 years, dough figurines are now being made by some of the most briliant artists in China. Find a personal shopping assistant to go on a personal tour in Beijing to buy unique, elegant dough figurines in some of the most special local shops.
Usually made of wheat flour or glutinous rice, Chinese dough figurines are characterized by their incredibly small sizes, lifelike features, and beautiful, vivid expressions. Because of the soft, pliable nature of dough, artists can easily manipulate the details on a work into ideal shapes. Compared to figurines made of hard materials like porcelain or metal, figurines made of dough, with their smooth, warm appearances, are especially good at bringing out the “human” aspect of art.
The origin of Chinese dough figurine is unknown. The earliest works found in archaeoligical site date back to the Tang dynasty, about 1,300 years ago. During the Song dynasty, it became a popular tradition for people to make dough figurines during festivals.
Cultural Note: A legend says Chinese dough figurines were invented by Zhuge Kongming, a famous military leader from the Three Kingdoms period. Zhuge’s army once tried to cross the Lu River to defeat the enemies at the other side, but was stopped by the choppy waters caused by strong wind. One of Zhuge’s advisors recommended the sacrifice of 49 human heads to pay tribute to the god who controled the river, but Zhuge, feeling the loss of life unworthy, used 49 heads made of dough instead. This trick succeeded, and later people began to practiced the tradition of making dough heads.
The status of dough figurines being a folk art was elevated to a formal art during the Ming and Qing dynasty, when serious artists from many places in China specialized in making and selling dough figurines. The most well-known artists from this time include Wang Qingyuan and Guo Xiangyun, whose “Heze” style figurines made their hometown in Shangdong province famous, and “Dough Figurine Zhang”, a Tianjin local whose skills were not passed down.
Traditionally, dough figurines are used by Chinese in four different ways: as decoration, as food, as offering to gods or ancestors, and as gifts for famlily and friends on festivals.
Decoration: Dough figurines make for great decoration. An exquisite dough figurine, though small, won’t easily change shape, fade in color, and can resist decay. Fine works made by excellent artists have gorgeous, unique designs that are highly sought-after by art fans.
Food: In some regions of China, especially Shanxi province, people make auspicious dough figurines to celebrate important events and eat them as food.
Offerings: Some people believe the art of dough figurine developed from the ancient tradtion of using figurines as offerings to gods and ancestors. Many archaeological findings from burials seem to support this assumption. Nowadays this tradition lives on.
Gifts: People in many places of China have an old tradition of giving dough figurines to family members and friends on festivals and important events. Tourists in China are often deeply captivated by the exquisite dough figurines they see in the local shops, and like to buy them to bring home.
There are three major styles of dough figurines produced in different places in China: Heze dough figurine, Xinzhou dough figurines, and Xiangzhou dough figurines.
In Beijing, there are many amazing local shops with dough figurines made by some of the best artists in China. When you go shop for these products, go on a Beijing China tour to find out!
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