Global Arts

I just wanted to mention that tonight my husband and son watched Herbie: Fully Unloaded on DVD. This is the first time we all saw the latest release. We have seen the older versions before.

It is a cute movie we enjoyed. I think it is a great movie to watch with friends.

Goals for 2008, I will list 8 goals related to the Arts:

1. Continue to blog here 5 or more days per week.
2. Read at least six new literature books
3. Introduce the arts to my son, so that he appreciates it when he gets older.
4. Interview some of the greatest artists I can find.
5. Continue to work on my own writing goals.
6. Strengthen my copywriting business.
7. Introduce my readers to the Arab and Islamic Arts throughout the year.
8. Revisit old classic movies and compare them with modern day updates.

Here is to a healthy and prosperous new year! Remember, we CAN make a difference!

This week's picks is Freelance Writing Jobs, http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com. Here founding author, Deborah Ng, posts daily about being a freelance writer and issues related to it.

She often has guest bloggers on her Blog as well.

What makes this Blog more unique is the fact that she and her co-writer Jodee posts all kinds of writing jobs on their site daily. This is useful for freelance writers looking for leads.

Go ahead and visit FreelanceWritingGigs.com . You will find it very useful!

Wednesday's Word is off this week again due to the holidays, and I was late sending questions to the artist of the week. I will post more about her next week!

Happy Holidays!

When holidays are approaching, try to work ahead if possible, so that you may keep work to a minimum during the holidays, and use that time to spend with your loved ones instead!

That takes careful planning of course!

After getting recommendations off line, it seems that Catch Me If You Can is the movie I will watch.

I will give you my impression next week!

*POSSIBLE SPOILER*

Taking place in Cairo, Egypt, in 1917, Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad runs a tight and strict home, and he has some of the toughest rules for his family. His family is expected to be religious and obedient. They cannot question their father's behavior and actions even when Yasin had seen him with another woman, for example.

Main Characters include:

• Al Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad
• Amina, the wife
• Yasin, son from Abd al-Jawad's first marriage
• Fahmy, son from Abd al-Jawad and Amina's marriage
• Kamal, son
• Khadijah, daughter
• Aisha, daughter

Amina is a submissive role. She does not have any type of real conversation with her husband. She also acts as a personal servant to her husband. She pretends not to know about her husband's affairs with other women.

Yasin has more things in common with his father than he previously thought. They both love women and have unlawful relationships with them. They both like to drink, listen and play music. Yasin also looks like his father. Eventually, his father marries him off.

Fahmy is a serious law student. He is involved with the nationalist movement against Britain. He is more of an idealist. He becomes aware of his father's actions.

Kamal is the youngest child. He befriends British soldiers. He is also close to his mom and sisters. He becomes disappointed when his sisters marry.

Khadijah is the elder daughter. She is known to have a sharp tongue and be sarcastic on many things. She is also less beautiful than Aisha, her younger sister. Khadijah has this fear that her sister will marry before her.

Aisha does get married before Khadijah. She always tries to be on good terms with Khadijah.

I will be resuming Wednesday's Word next week, December 26, 2007 due to being this a religious holiday for me today.

It is Eid al Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice.

I will be celebrating with family and friends today! For Muslims around the world: Eid Mubarek!

I want to leave this up to my readers. What movies do you think I should watch this week?

1. The Princess Bride
2. Catch Me If You Can
3. (Your Recommendation)


I will leave the voting open all week! Be sure to leave YOUR recommendations!

If you are looking for some awesome posters, art and photo prints, and framed art, visit http://www.art.com. There you can find hundreds of different types of works of art by a variety of artists to choose.

It is amazing to see different types of creations. Art is truly a beauty. It is easy to become inspired by some of the works. Prices for many prints seem reasonable.

Artists and photographers have an option to sell their works at Art.com. I am not sure on the exact details. You would get some kind of percentage, while Art.com takes a percentage. If you are interested in selling your works, be sure to contact the staff at Art.com to find out details.

I love Art, especially when it is left to the imagination.

I have just begun reading The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk (Part One). I will post an update tomorrow in this section.

On July 19th, 2005, Michelle Shepps' 15 year old son ran away from home. He had chosen to live with his biological father. "To make this story short, I started custody proceedings the next day, and my son was back home with me three months later," Shepps said.

During the time, Shepps' son was with his father, she had heard a "For Your I Will" by Monica, a song in Space Jam starrin Michael Jordan, that she's "always liked, but hadn't paid too much to all the words until then." Shepps typed up the lyrics and looked for a picture to go along with them.

"I did an Internet search and found the perfect picture--a sketch of a woman holding her young child in her lap with her arms around him. I doodled around on my print workshop CD, and put the lyrics together with the picture, printed it out on photo paper," Shepps said. She then framed it in a plain black frame.

Shepps then continued to make the same keepsake gift frames as gifts for her coworkers at a day care center, where one of the ladies who had received the gift told her that she should sell these.

This was just the beginning for Shepps' business: Framed Expressions, http://www.framedexpressionsonline.com/ . She was even featured in the Lebanon Daily News.

Faten: After you had been given the idea of selling keepsake gift frames, when did you decide then to go into business?

Michelle: Although, I started this more than two years ago, Framed Expressions became official Septemeber 2006. I stated making business cards and brochures. I began participating in craft shows.

Faten: What is your artist life like?

Michelle: It gets hectic at times--trying to juggle family life and building up my business. Somtimes it seems like I'm getting nowhere, and then all of a sudden, I get two or three orders at a shot.

Faten: How often do you work on your art?

Michelle: Between working outside the home, family life, and trying to promote my business, and then working on orders when they come in, can be frustrating. So, no. I don't do my crafting every day.
Faten: Does your family support your work?

Michelle: My family, especially my husband, supports my passion very much. When I was in one of my slumps, I asked him if he thinks it's worth me trying to continue, and he asked me if I like doing what I do. Of course I love it, and so he said for me to just keep going!

Faten: What do you want people to know about your work?

Michelle: I feel very passionate about what I do. I love to see the smiles when I give one as a gift, or when I give a customer their order. I love the feedback when I ask the customer "did they like their gift?" You can read a lot of the responses on both my myspace and my website. My business was born from a passionate love for my children. When I am working on a frame, I sort of become immersed in it, and I pay attention to every little detail. I check over it quite a few times before I'm satisfied and I seal it closed. I take great pride in what I do.

Faten: What do you hope to accomplish from your work?

Michelle: Personally, I hope to be able to be a SAHM mom, or at least be able to work only a few days a week outside the home. Professionally, I have chosen an agency here in Lebanon, called the Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center of Lebanon County, to donate a certain percentage of my profits to. April is National Child Abuse Awareness month, and so every April I will be donating 10% of my earnings from throughout the previous year to this agency. I would love to, someday, (if I can overcome my fear of speaking in front of people) be a motivational speaker for either this group, or the Domestic Violence Intervention in our county, or both! I hope to accomplish letting other women know that they can overcome their hardships. There is so much you can accomplish when you put your mind to it and not succumb to circumstances.

Faten: What kind of advice can you give to a beginning crafter?

Michelle: Keep your chin up! Network--join groups, be an active member in those groups, participate in shows. SMILE! Enjoy what you do and others will too. "Get your name out there" everywhere you can. Be patient. Listen to other's advice. You don't necessarily have to follow everyone's advice, but listen! You might overlook some very good advice if you don't listen.

Faten: How do you plan to grow as a crafter?

Michelle: I know it's going to take a lot more patience to grow as big as I want to get, but so be it. I will keep working at it, and I WILL make it. Follow my own advice!

Michelle, a member of Moms United In Business, participates in different groups and associations. She is part of Cafe Mom . Locally, she belongs to http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/LebanonCountyPASmallBusiness/ and Community of Lebanon Association. Her myspace is www.myspace.com/framedexpressions feel free to add as a friend!

If you would like to receive news updates and special offers by email, please let me know. Write to Michelle at shelly012670@msn.com

There has been a lot of controversy over the film The Golden Compass because some religious organizations have been saying that this film promotes atheism and turning away from God and moral obligations.

Released in movie theaters December 7, The Golden Compass was inspired by a series of books written by Phillip Pullman, that promoted "anti-religious themes" according to Snopes.com. This movie may have "subliminal messages", but it may go unnoticed to many viewers who do not know about the controversy or history behind this movie, according to some friends who have watched the movie.

I think the final decision lays within the parents' hands. It is up to them to decide if they as a family or their children may watch the film. This will all depend if parents mind The Golden Compass.

If parents allow their children to watch the film, then they should be ready to discuss any questions, concerns, or ideas their children may have to clear up any confusions. Also, parents should decide if their children can handle this type of movie, maybe it is a little too PG for their seven year old, etc.

My advice to parents is this, read up about the movie. Be sure you are as informed as you can be and YOU decide if you want your children to watch it.

I, personally, won't be watching this film because I am not interested in this kind of genre. I am more into comedies because I believe the world already has too many conflicts and dramas.

Go to http://www.jacksonpollock.org and see why I chose this as Friday's Field Trip. I think it is too cool.

This site is an interactive site. Once you are on that site, you move and click the mouse as you please and different colors in thin and thick lines will appear. It is relaxing, and I should warn you ADDICTIVE.

Not only is this a fun or relaxing activity for you, but also for kids. This is a good opportunity to teach your children about different types of art, definitions and examples.

If you don't have time to check out the site, go to the bottom of this blog and you will see a Jackson Pollock widget. Be sure to put your mouse in that small box and get started!

I was never a reader until I was in third grade. I remember one day my parents met with my third grade teacher, and they both agreed that I had to read more otherwise I would struggle in school.

My teacher and parents came up with a plan where I had to read a couple of books everyday to my parents, then they would ask me questions and then sign a slip saying I read for the day. As we did that everyday, I soon loved reading and it began to show!

The years later, I would read more than 200 books in one year while I completed elementary school. As I went into middle and high school, I did not reach up to 200 books due to being more detailed, homework and other responsibilities.

Unfortunately, I don't read as often I like as an adult, so I when I do read I try to read classics or books my family or I will benefit from.

This is just a little history to know where I am coming from.

Today, I have chosen to read The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz. These are three novellas into one book. This is about a family in colonial Egypt. Mahfouz focuses on the social ills and tribulations of society during Britain's occupation.

You have the option of purchasing each title separately, but I didn't because it is actually cheaper this way.

Naguib Mahfouz is an Egyptian author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988. Born in 1911, Mahfouz died in 2006.

Each Thursday, I will discuss where I am at in reading or will be discussing plays.

Christie Silvers, a mother of three, has more than 170 web-content articles between Associated Content and Ezine.com, one parenting book and one paranormal romance currently available. I had the pleasure of interviewing Christie on her writing career.


Faten: What project are you currently working on now?

Christie: I am currently working on Book 2 Two to the A Midnight Infatuation series. It is titled A Birth at Dawn and centers around the same two main characters as in Book 1. After you finish book 1 you will definitely want to check out book 2!

Faten: What was your favorite project and why?

Christie: My favorite is my paranormal romance, A Midnight Infatuation. This book was definitely a labor of love. It's full of vampires, werewolves, action, thrills and even the hot sensual scenes that make your heart pitter-patter (or at least mine did while I was writing, lol).

Faten: What genre do you write in/about and why?

Christie Most of my web-content articles are family/parenting related topics. I also have one parenting book. But, my passion is the paranormal/supernatural genres. Vampires, werewolves and witches are what I enjoy reading about, so it was no wonder that I would jump into writing about the same.
Faten: How long have you been writing?

Christie: Well, I've been writing on and off since the age of sixteen. But, I didn't start getting serious about it until the summer of 2006.

Faten: How did you get started in writing?

Christie: A friend of mine suggested that I check out a web-content site called Associated Content. It was a good place to make some quick cash and help out the family income a little. It turned out to be the turning point for my writing career. I used Associated Content as a jumping-off point and have just grown from there.

Faten: Do you write everyday, a few times per week, etc.?

Christie: I write everyday in some way, shape or form. It's not always articles or my books, but I am always writing something.

Faten: Does your family support you in writing?


Christie: My children think that it's "cool" that mommy is a writer. My husband would prefer that I didn't spend so much time with my fingers flying across the keyboard. My mother tells everyone she knows that they should buy my books. LOL! All in all, my family is very supportive with my chosen lifestyle (being a writer really is a lifestyle).

Faten: What do you hope to accomplish from writing?

Christie: I never really went into this hoping to accomplish anything. Sure, fame would be nice; money would be fabulous, but in the end I just enjoy doing it.

Faten: How do you plan to continue to grow as an author?

Christie: I plan to keep writing. Practice makes perfect... Or though they say. I wouldn't care if I sold another book (well, I might care a little), I just enjoy what I'm doing and will keep at it for as long as I am physically able to do so.

Faten: What do you want people to get from your writing?

Christie: I want them to be entertained, informed and want to read more when they are finished.

Faten: Give advice to an aspiring author.

Christie: My best advice to anyone considering taking on the challenge of writing, is to keep at it. Don't expect to just write something and have an instant fan-base. Writing takes lots of practice, rewrites,advertisement , rewrites and, well, REWRITES. Rejections are a way of life for writers, so don't take them personally. Well, it will sting either way, just try not to take them too personally.

Faten: Any final words of wisdom before we wrap up this interview?

Christie: Writing is contagious. Once you start, it's very difficult to stop. And that's the way it should be with anything that you enjoy in your life. It should become an addiction, of sorts. Something that you look forward to doing -- even when it's not going the way you want it to go.
Don't be afraid of letting your story take off. Some of my best stories ended with me looking at the screen and thinking, "Wow. Did I just write that?" because it felt like the characters just took over and went their own way. I was just taking dictation. That is a great feeling!


You can find some of Christie's other works and projects at http://www.christiesilvers.com;and in her author's forum at CoffeeTimeRomance.com Readers and fans can also join Christie's monthly newsletter at http://www.mailermailer.com/x?oid=1003219z.

Disney Movies.

It is interesting to see that they are targeting young teenagers. It is interesting to see how young kids as young as three, are hooked on those movies, and chances are they don't even understand many of the concepts portrayed in the movies.

My son will ask me questions like "Is that person a good or bad guy?" "Why did he/she did that?" Although kids may not understand, they want to know why.

Some tips to parents: be sure to watch the movies with them and explain what you feel may be sensitive or confusing to them.

Author: vijay

Oil Paintings are the stuffs of a certain time and certain set, and art history of course tries to place these works in their superior setting. Any body learning western art, for instance, would study to be familiar with the styles of the Oil painting reproduction, Baroque, traditional, idealistic and Modern periods, and to know the complex interaction of consideration, support, civilization and monetary issues, which the oil paintings represent. It is to such a sympathetic that art critics refer when they insist that art today has to be comprised with contemporary issues.

The history of oil painting goes back to very old times when man endeavored to detain his world and knowledge in paint. It was profound in the grottos of Southern Europe when man assorted animal fats with earth and stain to form what could be measured as the first oil paints. The paint was then altered onto the walls of the grotto, with the prehistoric images of the hunters and the animals sought after becoming the earliest creative creations of humankind.

The oil painting medium developed when during the time of 15th century, Jan van Eyck the well known Belgian painter found that linseed oil and oil from nuts can be mixed with different colors to generate dazzling oil colors. Though there is proof that some English artists from the 13th Century made use of oils, van Eyck leftovers the discoverer and first advocate of oil painting technique, as we know it these days. In modern times, oil painting color is one of the most in style choices of appearance by artists globally, as it offers enormous variety & methods, strong depth of color vitality and durability that allow paintings to last thousands of years.

It is as well one of the most lenient mediums – the paint could be simply directed on the canvas and if you make a error you could always clean the color off the canvas (only with a cloth dipped in turpentine), due to the length of ventilation time. The amazing flexibility of oil color provides itself completely to the customary painting techniques of joining together and glazing, impasto and scumbling on a huge number of surfaces, giving the artist excellent results. These days oil painting reproduction is gaining more and more popularity.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/visual-art-articles/history-of-oil-paintings-264054.html
About the Author:Vijay is a Copywriter of Art reproductions. He written many articles in various topics. For more information visit: Oil painting contact him at 1artclubpainting@gmail.com