HAPPY CANADA DAY all you Canadians! If you’re not Canadian, than sorry mate, but you’re missing out.
Also, I was kidnapped by some Romanians and a fellow from Isreal at the park today, and wasn’t allowed to leave their picnic untill I had finished all the wine / meat they kept serving me. They didn’t speak much English and wanted to celebrate Canada day with a real Canadian I think. Also, they were actually holding on to me.
Everyone likes journal polls right? I mean I sure do. So because I love all of the following terms, I thought I’d incorporate one of them in a drawing. I’d do all of them but I don’t have the time. So dear reader please pick one of the following words, and I’ll sketch a character with whatever design element you choose. This should be fun.
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Time to learn some new words. All the following are design related words and are pretty good to know for internet searches if you like this sort of imagery. There are some great images out there, and I find browsing through them pretty inspiring sometimes.
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The first is: ‘Damask‘.
Shameless copy pasta from wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damask
Damask (Arabic: دمسق) is a figured fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Made with one warp and one weft in which, generally, warp-satin and weft sateen weaves interchange. Twill or other binding weaves may sometimes be introduced[citation needed]. The term originally referred to ornamental silk fabrics, which were elaborately woven in colours, sometimes with the addition of gold and other metallic threads. Damask weaves are commonly produced today in silk, linen or linen-type fabrics which feature woven patterns featuring flowers, fruit, forms of animal life, and other types of ornament.
Damask was first produced in China, India, Persia, and Syria, then the Byzantine Empire followed. In the West, it was first known as diaspron or diaper, the term used in Constantinople. In the 12th century however, the city of Damascus, famous for its textiles, so far outstripped all other places for beauty of design that it gave the cloth its modern name.
I never knew the word for this type of pattern, but think it’s great to know. Resource wise, I now have a key word to search for when I want to incorporate damask patterns in the fabric I’m drawing. I also think this stuff would make for great textures. The thing about damask is that it is often so pretty. It makes for more visually interesting fabric which I quite like in a room.
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The next word is much more common knowledge, but is : ‘Filigree‘
Another dish of copy pasta from wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filigree
Filigree (formerly written filigrann or filigrane; also known as telkari, the name given in Anatolia, meaning “wire work”, and cift-isi, pronounced chift-ishi, meaning “tweezers work”) is a jewel work of a delicate kind made with twisted threads usually of gold and silver or stitching of the same curvy motif. It often suggests lace, and is most popular in French fashion decoration from 1660 to the present. It is now exceedingly common for ajoure jewellery work to be mislabelled as filigree. While both have many open areas, filigree involves threads being soldered together to form an object and ajoure involves holes being punched, drilled, or cut through an existing piece of metal.
The word, which is usually derived from the Latin filum, thread, and granum, grain, is not found in Ducange, and is indeed of modern origin. According to Prof. Skeat it is derived from the Spanish filigrana, from “filar”, to spin, and grano, the grain or principal fibre of the material.
While the word is derived from the metal work, it is very commonly used when referencing those gorgeous, spirally, ornate organic curves you often see used in graphic design nowadays. I’m a big fan of the stuff.
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Next word: Cloisonné
Again from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloisonn%C3%A9 
Cloisonné, an ancient metalworking technique, is a multi-step enamel process used to produce jewelry, vases, and other decorative items. (The resulting objects can also be called cloisonné.)
Cloisonné first developed in the Near East. It spread to the Byzantine Empire and from there along the Silk Road to China. Chinese cloisonné is arguably the most well known of all the varieties of cloisonne and enamel making. Russian cloisonné from the Tsarist era is also highly prized by collectors. Chinese cloisonné is sometimes confused with Canton enamel, a similar type of enamel work that is painted on freehand and does not utilize partitions to hold the colors separate.
Ever since I was a little girl my Dad’s been teaching me about antiques. Cloisonné was probably the first decorative metal term I remember learning. Whenever I hear this word I think of my old man and the little trinkets he would get me.
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Forth word is Paisley.
Wikipedia says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paisley_(design)
Resembling a large comma or twisted teardrop, the kidney-shaped paisley is Indian and Persian in origin, but its western name derives from the town of Paisley, in central Scotland.[citation needed]
Some design scholars call the distinct shape boteh and believe it is the convergence of a stylized floral spray and a cypress tree: a Zoroastrian symbol of life and eternity.[citation needed] A floral motif called buta, which originated in the Safavid Dynasty of Persia (from 1501 to 1736), was a major textile pattern in Iran also during the Qajar Dynasty. In these periods, the pattern was used to decorate royal regalia, crowns, and court garments, as well as textiles used by the general population.
The pattern is still popular in Iran and South and Central Asian countries. It is woven using gold or silver threads on silk or other high quality textiles for gifts, for weddings and special occasions. In Iran and Uzbekistan its use goes beyond clothing – paintings, jewelry, frescoes, curtains, tablecloths, quilts, carpets, garden landscaping, and pottery also sport the buta design. In Uzbekistan the most frequent item that can be found featuring the design is the traditional headdress doppi.[citation needed]
The modern French words for paisley are boteh and palme, the latter being a reference to the palm tree, which, along with the pine and the cypress, is one of the traditional botanical motifs thought to have influenced the shape of the paisley element as we now know it.[4][not in citation given]
In Pakistan, pais
ley designs are widely termed the carrey design. Carrey in Urdu means mango seed.[citation needed]
One last theory on the shape consistent with the time frame of its origin is that the design is a representation of the leech (Hirudinea): the Paisley design often incorporates pregnant Glossiphoniidae leeches, and a body cavity containing baby Glossiphoniidae leeches.
You see these guys on lots of bandannas and men’s ties. I was actually quite late to learn this word. I had always thought it was some sort of vegetable, but now i think i was mixing it up with parsley. I figured out what a paisley was when I was first doing research on henna designs.
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The last word is another textile word: Brocade
Encyclopædia Britannica says : http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Brocade
Brocade, the name usually given to a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and with or without gold and silver threads. Ornamental features in brocade are emphasized and wrought
as additions to the main fabric, sometimes stiffening it, though more frequently producing on its face the effect of low relief. These additions present a distinctive appearance on the back of the stuff where the weft or floating threads of the brocaded or broached parts hang in loose groups or are clipped away.
This word sounds rather pretty I think and I’ve always liked it… not that that stopped me from thinking it meant something else entirely. A few years ago I had thought the word meant a type of jewelery I think. A broach maybe, I can’t remember, it was so long ago.
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Also check out this GORGEOUS Kyo-Satsuma Ceramic Tea Bowl (Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum) from: http://www.khulsey.com/travel/japan_cloisonne.html. It’s just so beautiful! I want to own it so badly hahaha.
Illustrations for paradise lost
Haven’t read much of the poem myself, but I plan to. In any case, the link send you to a gallery that shows different (‘older’) artist’s renditions of parts of paradise lost. They are rather interesting since you can see other artistic depictions of famous scenes. I quite like the engravings as well as Westall’s and Tintoretto’s, though they all are worth looking at.
This may be old news, but for those of you who don’t know, Free Rice is a vocabulary game where you give rice to the needy through the United Nations World Food Program.
For each word you get right, we donate 20 grains of rice go to help the needy. I played the game and it wasn’t bad. There is something rewarding in playing a game thats altruistic, but I wonder if it’s too good to be true. I recognize that there has been lots of good press on this, and rightly so , since its well deserved. But I can’t help wondering if there is another side to this. I’d like to know where the money is so to speak and where they are getting the rice. Somehow I feel there is a hidden downside to all this. I’m not saying its a scam… it just seems too kind.
Recently there’s been a rise in world food prices that is affecting everyone, especially the poor in third world countries. The price of rice has also been raised and it can be seen even in superstores in the Americas and Canada. I wonder what the rise in rice prices means for the Free Rice program.
Reading the FAQ is a great thing to do, because it is very to the point and understandable as well as seeming down to earth. Don’t get me wrong, the program seems indisputable legit and I’m not bashing the site.
It honestly seems like a great idea and a great service. I just wish I knew more about what was going on and other benefits.
So, like any responsible artist person-who-draws-stuff-sometimes, I like to do visual research. I also like to bookmark rather fantastic image galleries.
In an effort to clean up my bookmarks I’m going to post the links here.
Oh Wikipedia, thou art so knowledgeable and all knowing (even when your wrong- but hey, we’re all human).
Here is a link to an interesting game / game theory about altruism and human behavior. I haven’t actually read the article yet, but this entry will serve as a place holder and remind me to.
Unless you know Ester this won’t make much sense. But, I’ve finally picked an ester for the lady. (whom I am very excited to draw)
Its Methyl Pentanoate,commonly known as methyl valerate.
Methyl pentanoate, commonly known as methyl valerate, is the methyl] ester of pentanoic acid (valeric acid) with a fruity odor. It is marketed under the trade name Validol as a sedative. It is also used in the manufacture of plastics and as an insecticide.
Methyl pentanoate is commonly used in fragrances, beauty care, soap, laundry detergents at levels of 0.1 – 1%. In a very pure form (greater than 99.5%) it is used as a plasticizer in plastics.
Validol has a moderate vascular dilatative action and sedative properties and is commonly used as a medication in Eastern Europe as a treatment against nausea, mild heart disorders (cardalgia), motion sickness (including seasickness), nervousness and heartaches.
Methyl pentanoate[1] IUPAC name Methyl pentanoate Other names Methyl valerate Identifiers CAS number [624-24-8] SMILES CCCCC(=O)OC Properties Molecular formula C6H12O2 Molar mass 116.16 g/mol Density 0.89 g/cm3 Melting point <25 °C Boiling point 126 °C
Sometimes I come across something that strikes me as pleasantly amusing. Sometimes, I stumble across the comment again and it’s still funny. My blog was made for convenience, and what’s more convenient than an archive of instances that make me wish i was capable of more wit somewhat funny blurbs ? (Please don’t answer that.)
Like my Tutorials post, I’m just going to update the old post, as opposed to publishing new ones.
While doing research for a ceramic project I hoped to try, I came across some interesting contemporary artists and their work. Obviously the artists make other works beside just lamps, so if anyone is interested in their other artist ventures, you should check out their sites.
Most of these projects while great looking, appear really simple in construction.
So without further Ado, First up :
Amy Cooper
She does ceramic lamps with an interesting organic sea life theme
next:
Meryl Till
pretty much the same idea but less organic and apparently all in cylinders.
Another:
Colin Chetwood
Flower lamps made of tissue paper and wire
Second last:
Hanna Nunn
Paper cut parchment lamps with plant themes
and lastly:
Tord Boontje (I’m happy to have found this artist’s work again finally)
made the very pretty icarus lamp
Like the artist above, uses paper in his lamps with flower themes
Wisterium Blog
