Art has been an important part of the human experience for time out of mind, the first records of the world are not written in books, but are captured in paintings, sculptures, and music that helps to paint a picture of world lost to the past. Whether it’s revealing a style of dress worn in a period by the clothing worn in the painting, or the slight heresy’s hidden in some of the worlds most religious works, art can reveal a hidden or lost side of us to the present.
International Artists Day honors those creative souls that will leave a record of today for the future that can’t be captured in history books. The anguish and joy of the human soul is portrayed through the haunting tones of a melody, the violence and fury caught in a photograph, or the serene gaze of a statue staring off into eternity.
International Artist Day was founded by Chris MacClure, a Canadian artist who specializes in the style known as ‘Romantic Realism’. His paintings were a way to bring out his own “Romantic Realist” views on life, and have served to make him one of Canada’s most important artists. He created this day to bring recognition to the world of art, and to celebrate all the ways that artists bring their own special view to life.
The best way to celebrate International Artist Day is to support your local artists, most communities have a local art community that encompass the unique personality of both the community they live in, and the personality of that artist. If you’ve been looking for something to spruce up your living room or bedroom, then head out and find a unique piece that will bring life and personality to your home.
Maybe you’ve had your eye on a painting or sculpture, or feel that your garden could use sprucing up with a one of a kind wind-chime. Whatever the case, International Artist Day is the time to get out and bring a little beauty into your home. If you’re the creative sort, IAD can be an excuse to finally get back to your craft and bring something personal into your life through artistic expression.
Museums and Art Galleries can be another way to celebrate this day, and many of these offer classes in the creative arts. So visit your local artistic establishments, and maybe enroll in something to add a new skill of self-expression to your life. IAD is a great time to celebrate existing artists, and the artist that exists within all of us.
Word of the Day
| |||
| Definition: | (noun) A long-stemmed sacred or ceremonial tobacco pipe used by certain Native American peoples. | ||
| Synonyms: | peace pipe | ||
| Usage: | Among the Blackfeet warriors who advanced with the calumet of peace she recognized a brother. | ||
Idiom of the Day
History
George III Becomes King of Great Britain and Ireland (1760)
George III ascended the throne at the age of 22, during the Seven Years' War. The war had put England in financial distress, and George supported raising funds through taxation of the American colonies. This policy proved disastrous for him, as it provoked the American Revolution and led him to be blamed in part for losing the colonies. Later in life, George's mental health declined, and his son acted as regent after 1811. |
Minnie Pearl (1912)
Pearl was an American country comedienne, born Sarah Colley in Centerville, Tennessee. One of the Grand Ole Opry's most iconic performers, she appeared on the show for more than 50 years, performing routines that gently poked fun at rural Southern culture. Outfitted in styleless "down home" dresses and a hat with a price tag that dangled over its brim, she also appeared regularly on the television showHee Haw from 1969 to 1991.
Enormous Dinosaur May Be Least Scary Thing to Hail from Australia
Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum founder David Elliott was herding sheep when he came across a pile of bones in Western Queensland, Australia, in 2005. The discovery turned out to be huge – literally.READ MORE:
Enormous dinosaur may be least scary thing to hail from Australia
1825 - Composer Johann II Strauss was born.
1838 - Composer Georges Alexandre-Cesar-Leopold Bizet was born. He is best remembered for his opera "Carmen."
1870 - The first U.S. trademark was given. The recipient was the Averill Chemical Paint Company of New York City.
1881 - The founder of "Cubism," Pablo Picasso, was born in Malaga, Spain.
1954 - A U.S. cabinet meeting was televised for the first time.
1955 - The microwave oven, for home use, was introduced by The Tappan Company.
1962 - American author John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.
2001 - It was announced that scientists had unearthed the remains of an ancient crocodile which lived 110 million years ago. The animal, found in Gadoufaoua, Niger, grew as long as 40 feet and weighed as much as eight metric tons.
DAILY SQU-EEK
READER'S BLOG
ellen's blog with everyday recipes and hints that you will want to know about!
Pictures of the day
A 100-korun banknote from the first issue of the Czechoslovak koruna, the national currency of Czechoslovakia from 1919 to 1939 and from 1945 to 1993. The issue, which consisted of denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1000 korun, used banknotes of the Austro-Hungarian Bank to which adhesive stamps equal to 1/100 the value of the note were affixed.
knit
thanks, shelley
 | |||||||
Workday Scarf pattern by Sue Flanders
This project is every knitter’s dream, simple to knit and beautiful to wear. The best kind of knitting after a long day at work, garter stitch with a hint of lace.
| |||||||
knit
thanks, sheri
 | |||||||
Pink Ribbon Scarf
You can't help but feel a little whimsical when you start working on this simple knit scarf pattern. Created entirely out of the garter stitch, the Pink Ribbon Sca...
| |||||||
knit
knit
thanks, heide
The "Orvis" Poncho
Two skeins Cascade Ecological Wool, (5) chunky, approx 700 yards.... (478 yards per skein). I used a 16" needle to knit the neck and then changed to the longer cords of my interchangeable needle set as the poncho grew.
My gauge is 4 sts. per inch on size 9US needles... Not extremely important as this is not fitted... Use whatever needle gets you relatively close.
My poncho measures 49" wide (folded in half, width wise.. as you would to block) at widest part, right before hem ribbing. I made mine 19" long, which would hit at about the wrist (or to cover hem of average top) when worn.
CO 70 stitches and K2, P2 for 3".
Knit 20 sts., PM, knit 15 sts. PM, Knit 20 sts. PM, Knit 15 sts. PM.
The "beginning of round" marker should be a different color than the other three markers in order to designate where the beginning of the round is.
Increase round... Knit to one stitch before marker, KFB, slip marker, KFB, continue around.
Next row... KNIT
Repeat above two rounds until work measures 12" from beginning of increases. (This should be wide enough to fit around your shoulders... Try it on to make sure, if it is too snug, knit these 2 rounds a few more times until comfortable).
Continue knitting until desired length increasing on every 4th row (instead of every 2nd)
Knit 3" of K2, P2. BO in ribbing. Block and enjoy!
Of course, you could do a rolled neck, fold down neck, cowl neck or simply start at the increases for a crew neck. Substitute any ribbing or edging you prefer rather than K2, P2. Have fun knitting!
Two skeins Cascade Ecological Wool, (5) chunky, approx 700 yards.... (478 yards per skein). I used a 16" needle to knit the neck and then changed to the longer cords of my interchangeable needle set as the poncho grew.
My gauge is 4 sts. per inch on size 9US needles... Not extremely important as this is not fitted... Use whatever needle gets you relatively close.
My poncho measures 49" wide (folded in half, width wise.. as you would to block) at widest part, right before hem ribbing. I made mine 19" long, which would hit at about the wrist (or to cover hem of average top) when worn.
CO 70 stitches and K2, P2 for 3".
Knit 20 sts., PM, knit 15 sts. PM, Knit 20 sts. PM, Knit 15 sts. PM.
The "beginning of round" marker should be a different color than the other three markers in order to designate where the beginning of the round is.
Increase round... Knit to one stitch before marker, KFB, slip marker, KFB, continue around.
Next row... KNIT
Repeat above two rounds until work measures 12" from beginning of increases. (This should be wide enough to fit around your shoulders... Try it on to make sure, if it is too snug, knit these 2 rounds a few more times until comfortable).
Continue knitting until desired length increasing on every 4th row (instead of every 2nd)
Knit 3" of K2, P2. BO in ribbing. Block and enjoy!
Of course, you could do a rolled neck, fold down neck, cowl neck or simply start at the increases for a crew neck. Substitute any ribbing or edging you prefer rather than K2, P2. Have fun knitting!
Of course you can use any chunky (5) weight yarn for this project, but I recommend the Cascade wool as it drapes well after blocking and is very "rustic" looking exactly like the REAL Orvis poncho.
Poncho measures 49" wide folded as shown at widest part... Before hem ribbing. It is 19" long and should end at wearers wrist or personal preference.
Poncho measures 49" wide folded as shown at widest part... Before hem ribbing. It is 19" long and should end at wearers wrist or personal preference.
crochet
crochet
 | |||||||
Autumn Acorns Napkin Rings pattern by Bernat Design S...
Autumnal acorn napkin holders add a seasonal touch to your place settings. Crocheted in Bernat Handicrafter Holidays, this project is quick & easy to work up.
| |||||||
Preview by Yahoo
| |||||||
crochet
crochet
crochet
RECIPE
CROCKPOT RECIPE
boeuf bourguignon
SWEETS
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter.
- Add the mini marshmallows and stir constantly until the marshmallows have melted. Stir in a few drops of orange coloring and remove the pot from the heat.
- Mix in the cereal, being sure to stir until well coated. Press the treats into a buttered 11x13" baking dish to set.
- Once the treats have set, cut them into triangles and use your hand to gently round the corners for a more realistic look.
- Melt the candy coating according to the package instructions. Set out a silicone baking mat or wax paper.
- Dip the base of your treat triangle into the dark chocolate, shaking off the excess, then dip the top into the white candy coating. Place the treat on your mat to set.
- Once the chocolate has set, store the treats at room temperature in an airtight container up to three days.
ADULT COLORING
%2B(2).jpg)
CRAFTS
Tortured Candles
cfabbridesigns
The kids and I love to decorate the house for Halloween; we can’t start soon enough. I remember one year, we were so excited to get the ball rolling, we made a scarecrow and put paper ghosts in the windows the day after Labor Day!
Today I have a fun and quick Halloween project for you that you can do with the kids in less than five minutes. These tortured candles are made from inexpensive white pillar candles from IKEA, black carpet tacks and dripped red wax…
You can make these tortured candles in less than 5 minutes and the kids can help.
These macabre candles will definitely add a gruesome feel to your Halloween table.
For this project I used #10 black carpet tacks – available at home improvement stores in the same aisle you would find nails and screws.
Stick tacks about half way into your candle.
Light a red candle and let the wax well around the wick.
Drip red wax onto the sides of the white pillar.
If you're going to a Halloween party this year, you could make these as a hostess gift. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
CHILDREN'S CORNER ... embroidery
Dollar Store Shelf Liner Sewing
I spotted a particular type of shelf liner in rolls in the Dollar Tree last week and on closer inspection it was the perfect material for five year olds and up learning to sew with.
I mean REALLY perfect. Here's why...
- It's cheeeeap. You get a nice few feet of it for a dollar.
- It's flexible but not flimsy or easy to tear.
- It's got somewhat irregular holes in it, so it's not limiting in the same way as counted cross stitch material or plastic canvas.
- It's made of an almost spongy plasticy foam type material, so the holes stretch as the big kid friendly needle goes through them.
- The holes are big enough and plentiful enough that the kids can easily see their hands on the other side of the material when they are pushing the needle up from underneath (this is a big deal, because at five years old, my daughter would have become frustrated if the needle wasn't coming up where she wanted it to)
See! It's made for the job! All I had to do was cut a load of lengths of various coloured yarn and find some big beefy blunt needles.
The needles I got were from Jo-Ann craft store and were two in a pack for $1.29. Really chunky, with big eye holes for easy threading and very blunt.
For a first shot at sewing I drew out lines of rainbow colours on a piece of the shelf liner in appropriate coloured sharpie permanent markers.
My older daughter then sat carefully sewing in each colour in a running stitch. She really got into it and obviously felt that she was doing something very grown up. She really surprised me with how neatly she sewed it. I was expecting something much less precise as a first attempt. I just helped my younger daughter to play around with the sewing stuff in a less structured way because she isn't quite dexterous enough to complete something like the rainbow alone yet.
I was quite surprised as to how patient my five year old was with this. Here's her finished embroidery...
She wanted to do more, so I thought I should try her with something a little more complicated. This time I drew out each stitch in sharpie for a bunch of flowers for her. She kept going at that for another half an hour. It's tucked away in the new sewing box for her to take up again when she's ready.
One issue we had with even the big needles was that the yarn would fray and be difficult to thread into the needle. I put together a giant needle threader with a lollypop stick, a pipecleaner and some electrical tape. My daughters had never seen one of these before, so they were really impressed that you could use it to thread the needles in such a quick easy way.
So here's our updated, bigger kid sewing box ready to be opened up again when they want to sew along with me. I like this set up as a half way between toddler lacing and proper material and sharp needles, because it allows the kids some extra autonomy, as I don't have to supervise as closely as I would with sharp needles. I'm more on call for help trouble shooting than being a guard on duty and they like that as much as I do.
The Dollar Tree also had the shelf liner in blue, black and green, so I'll be picking up more. Next is to explore adding the pony beads as they sew...
As they get older we can explore sewing pieces of the material together and I bet before too long my older daughter will be able to deal with some basic embroidery stitches like chain stitch.
We didn't have an embroidery hoop, but if you do have one, that would make this even easier for the kids to manage.
PUZZLE
QUOTE
CLEVER
Tired of not being able to place the candle in your pumpkin properly and then burning your hand when you try to light it? Instead of trying to make a perfectly round circle only in the top, cut a small rectangular on the side of the pumpkin as well. It makes it easier to empty and carve.
EYE OPENER
13 little-known punctuation marks we should be using
The Week Staff
In 1992 a patent was filed in Canada for the Exclamation Comma and the Question Comma.
1. Interrobang
You probably already know the interrobang, thanks to its excellent moniker and increasing popularity. Though the combination exclamation point and question mark can be replaced by using one of each (You did what!? or You don’t read mental_floss?!), it’s fun to see the single glyph getting a little more love lately.
2. Percontation Point or Rhetorical Question Mark
The backward question mark was proposed by Henry Denham in 1580 as an end to a rhetorical question, and was used until the early 1600s.
3. Irony Mark
It looks a lot like the percontation point, but the irony mark’s location is a bit different, as it is smaller, elevated, and precedes a statement to indicate its intent before it is read. Alcanter de Brahm introduced the idea in the 19th century, and in 1966 French author Hervé Bazin proposed a similar glyph in his book, Plumons l’Oiseau, along with 5 other innovative marks.
4. Love Point
Among Bazin’s proposed new punctuation was the love point, made of two question marks, one mirrored, that share a point. The intended use, of course, was to denote a statement of affection or love, as in “Happy anniversary [love point]” or “I have warm fuzzies [love point]” If it were easier to type, I think this one might really take off.
5. Acclamation Point
Bazin described this mark as “the stylistic representation of those two little flags that float above the tour bus when a president comes to town.” Acclamation is a “demonstration of goodwill or welcome,” so you could use it to say “I’m so happy to see you [acclamationpoint]” or “Viva Las Vegas [acclamationpoint]”
6. Certitude Point
Need to say something with unwavering conviction? End your declaration with the certitude point, another of Bazin’s designs.
7. Doubt Point
This is the opposite of the certitude point, and thus is used to end a sentence with a note of skepticism.
8. Authority Point
Bazin’s authority point “shades your sentence” with a note of expertise, “like a parasol over a sultan.” (Well, I was there and that’s what happened.) Likewise, it’s also used to indicate an order or advice that should be taken seriously, as it comes from a voice of authority.
9. SarcMark
The SarcMark (short for “sarcasm mark”) was invented, copyrighted and trademarked by Paul Sak, and while it hasn’t seen widespread use, Sak markets it as “The official, easy-to-use punctuation mark to emphasize a sarcastic phrase, sentence or message.” Because half the fun of sarcasm is pointing it out [SarcMark].
10. Snark Mark
This, like the copyrighted SarcMark, is used to indicate that a sentence should be understood beyond the literal meaning. Unlike the SarcMark, this one is copyright free and easy to type: it’s just a period followed by a tilde.
11. Asterism
This cool-looking but little-used piece of punctuation used to be the divider between subchapters in books or to indicate minor breaks in a long text. It’s almost obsolete, since books typically now use three asterisks in a row to break within chapters (***) or simply skip an extra line. It seems a shame to waste such a great little mark, though. Maybe we should bring this one back.
12 & 13. Exclamation Comma & Question Comma
Now you can be excited or inquisitive without having to end a sentence! A Canadian patent was filed for these in 1992, but it lapsed in 1995, so use them freely, but not too often.
Thanks to Shelley for that lovely scarf. I had the perfect Knitpicks sock yarn in my stash, a gift from my SiL. I cast on a Workday Scarf last night.
ReplyDelete