Word Count:
471

Summary:
Ever since I was little I have loved going to different cities and countries to learn from people and places that were different than what I was familiar with. My love for travel and for learning about different cultures only grew as I got older and eventually I went to university to study Urban and International Development. I chose this major simply because it would teach me about two of my favorite things: cities and other countries. I will never forget entering my first u…

Keywords:
graffiti art

Article Body:
Ever since I was little I have loved going to different cities and countries to learn from people and places that were different than what I was familiar with. My love for travel and for learning about different cultures only grew as I got older and eventually I went to university to study Urban and International Development. I chose this major simply because it would teach me about two of my favorite things: cities and other countries. I will never forget entering my first urban studies class and looking at the chalk board that said “Don’t Look Past Graffiti Art.” on it.

I rolled my eyes and wondered what kind of crazy situation I had gotten myself into with this class. I was intrigued that any real professor whose expertise is in urban studies would encourage let alone mandate that his students pay attention to the graffiti art that practically ruined the look and feel of many major cities in our country and around the world.

After a brief introduction of himself, the professor of that class began the semester by showing us a slide show of graffiti art from around the world. He played the entire show without saying a word of explanation. When it was finished he simply walked over to the chalk board and wrote another line underneath what he had already written about paying attention to graffiti art. He wrote: “Because it reveals the major issues of that culture’s youth.”

I got out my notebook for the first time that semester and wrote those two phrases onto the top of the first page. I was still hesitant about where the professor could possibly be taking an introduction like this, but I was more intrigued than before after watching the slide show of graffiti art and realizing just how artistic it truly was.

Our first assignment for that urban studies class was to find a photograph of graffiti art that was from a major U.S. city and to write a two page reflection on what we thought the graffiti art revealed about that particular city’s youth. I had no idea when I chose a picture from Chicago and wrote about it just what I was doing to shape the rest of my life.

To make a long story short, that urban studies class and specifically our discussion of graffiti art revolutionized my thinking about the peoples of the world. I learned that a culture is revealed by small things like graffiti art that we usually take as annoying when we visit somewhere. All that to say, the next time you travel don’t discount a city’s graffiti art as something ugly or offensive. Instead, see what you can learn about the youth of that city through the graffiti art because I guarentee there is much to be learned.

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414

Summary:
I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. In fact, I remember my kindergarden teacher sending home notes to my parents telling them how much I excelled in all areas connected with art. She told them that I had great potential to be a wonderful artist. So it was only natural when I decided to attend university to study art and when I was hired by a magazine to run their art department. One of the most fascinating assignments I have had so far is to visit various tat…

Keywords:
tattoo art, tattoo, art

Article Body:
I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. In fact, I remember my kindergarden teacher sending home notes to my parents telling them how much I excelled in all areas connected with art. She told them that I had great potential to be a wonderful artist. So it was only natural when I decided to attend university to study art and when I was hired by a magazine to run their art department. One of the most fascinating assignments I have had so far is to visit various tattoo shops in order to write a piece about tattoo art for our magazine.

I was a little bit hesitant to work on this project because my goal was to get a well rounded picture of what kinds of tattoo art are popular right now and to figure out the main reasons why people are rushing to get tattoo art on various places of their bodies. My main problem was that I had never really considered tattoos art. So I struggled over how I was supposed to write a piece about “tattoo art” when I didn’t agree that it was true art.

During the project my photographer and I spent time in ten different tattoo art shops. We interviewed each owner, several tattoo artists at each shop, and various customers at each place we went. My photographer did several formal and informal photo shoots to get enough photos of tattoo art for our piece. I was honestly amazed at what I discovered as I worked on this piece. I learned that tattoo art really is an art. I learned that it is much more detailed, intricate and sometimes beautiful than I ever expected it to be.

I changed my mind about tattoo art primarily as I discussed the profession with the tattoo artist themselves. They had the most fascinating stories of how hey learned to do tattoo art and of why they desired to do it in the first place. They shared about lifelong dreams of getting to make the human body more beautiful and of their years struggling through various art and drawing classes to perfect their abilities to design tattoo art.

The whole process of someone receiving tattoo art on their body is much more complicated than I ever imagined. In fact, by the time I finished my piece I had nothing but respect and admiration for everything involved in the process of making tattoo art a reality for people.

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533

Summary:
Learn how you can get started in acrylic painting with these quick tips….

Keywords:
decorative acrylic painting, one stroke, donna dewberry, priscilla hauser, trompe l’oeil, wall mural

Article Body:
Acrylic painting offers many benefits such as quick drying time and the fact that it’s allergen- and odor-free. Acrylic paint is versatile and gives a lasting finish. If you’re just learning the art of decorative acrylic painting, use the tips below for a great start.

Acrylic Painting Supplies

You should have a variety of brush sizes so you can be flexible in your painting. Also, a palette or tray for painting will be useful. Other supplies include a palette knife, fan brushes, and toothbrushes. Be sure to include plenty of practice materials and papers for sketching.

Drying Time

Acrylics dry very fast, usually within only minutes, so it’s wise to keep the paint in the tube and only use a little at a time. If you prefer to use a palette, there are now palettes that will stay wet during use so your paint won’t dry out. Or, you can use a regular palette and keep it wet by spraying it with a small amount of water occasionally. This keeps your acrylic paint in a ready-to-use form.

Blending Acrylic Colors

With fast-drying acrylics, blending colors can be a trying task in itself. You can blend colors several ways. Colors can be mixed and stored in tubes or containers and then blended using a web palette. Also, you can use very small dots of different shades and overlap the colors to blend them. You can also layer shades instead of trying to blend them while wet.

Beware of Cheap Acrylic Paints

Avoid buying cheap acrylic paints unless you’re using them for practice only. These will often fade after exposure to the sunlight for a period of time, especially particular light shades such as pink and violet. Invest in artist-grade acrylics for lasting beauty in your art works.

Use Sketches as a Starting Point

It’s wise to use pre-drawn sketches as the starting point of your acrylic drawings. Trace or copy the sketch onto canvas or board. Then, use a thin layer of acrylic paint to prime the sketch. Be sure your sketch-work can still be seen through the thin layer. You can also prime the canvas or board first with white color and then copy your sketch onto the primed surface.

Masking Fluid for Layering

Watercolor masking fluid works well for layering colors or saving areas of your painting to paint later. The masking fluid can be applied to keep an area of the painting clear. You must remove the masking fluid only after it has completely dried. It can be removed by rolling it with clean fingers. Also, be sure to use a brush specifically for masking fluid. Don’t use your regular painting brushes.

Learn from the Pros

Study after a few acrylic painting pros to get pointers and learn new techniques. Artists such as Donna Dewberry (One Stroke technique) and Priscilla Hauser (First Lady of Decorative Painting) offer many great tips. You can learn creative techniques such as Trompe L’oeil or create beautiful wall murals and other great works.

Acrylic painting can be both fun and rewarding. Use your imagination along with these tips to create decorative acrylic works of art that you and your friends can enjoy for years to come!

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435

Summary:
As an interior designer, it is only natural that I love to give people counsel as they attempt to make decorating decisions for their homes and offices. I love nothing more than to spend an afternoon over tea discussing color options, themes and good fabrics for my friends. I recently met with a client and together we came up with the idea for her to decorate her home office entirely with black and white art.

I must tell you that usually I am not a huge fan of black and wh…

Keywords:
black and white art

Article Body:
As an interior designer, it is only natural that I love to give people counsel as they attempt to make decorating decisions for their homes and offices. I love nothing more than to spend an afternoon over tea discussing color options, themes and good fabrics for my friends. I recently met with a client and together we came up with the idea for her to decorate her home office entirely with black and white art.

I must tell you that usually I am not a huge fan of black and white art. In fact, I have never suggested that a client decorate with it until this particular meeting. Sometimes I find that black and white art is quite boring. As I met with this client, however, and we talked about her tastes and her decorating hopes for her home office, we both determined that black and white art was the best choice for her.

I’ve now been on the hunt for great pieces of black and white art. I share this to encourage anyone who is looking for great black and white art that there are great uses for it and that there are places to find it. One of my favorite sources of black and white art has become antique stores. I have found the most lovely pieces of black and white art at various antique stores lately.

Just knowing that you want to decorate with black and white art may not be enough. Realize that you must have a good idea of the specific kind of art that you are hoping to find. I have discovered that there are many varieties of black and white art to choose from. Some pieces are vintage looking, and there is definitely a wide variety of modern pieces of black and white art to choose from.

Get online and do a search for black and white art. You might be surprised how much comes up. This is my favorite way to encourage clients to begin the process of narrowing down their style and preferences. You can often get a pretty good idea of the things you like when you see them first. So take your time and look at as many samples of black and white art as you can. The better idea you have of what you want, the better chance you will have of finding it.

I love nothing more than to help people decorate their homes and offices with style and creativity. The world of black and white art was recently opened up to me and I have fallen in love with its possibilities.

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738

Summary:
Cut glass and glass blowing production came from ancient techniques and were gradually refined over the ages. Cut glass objects were used as commodities, gifts, and jewelry in past millennia. Today exquisite cut crystal is sought after for its heirloom qualities and gifting allure.

Natural glass, like obsidian, is a dense volcanic glass, and has been used by man for millennia. To early man, obsidian glass was an extremely rare and valuable commodity, Because of the way vol…

Keywords:
Cut glass, glass blowing, gifts

Article Body:
Cut glass and glass blowing production came from ancient techniques and were gradually refined over the ages. Cut glass objects were used as commodities, gifts, and jewelry in past millennia. Today exquisite cut crystal is sought after for its heirloom qualities and gifting allure.

Natural glass, like obsidian, is a dense volcanic glass, and has been used by man for millennia. To early man, obsidian glass was an extremely rare and valuable commodity, Because of the way volcanic glass fractures, sharp edges occur. This inherent quality of natural cut glass was put to use and was often made into sharp spear points and blades.

Man-made rudimentary glass was made from silica sand, plant ash and lime. Over time it was discovered that if glass was heated until it became semi-liquid, it may be molded or shaped and left to cool into a solid new piece or vessel. In ancient times glass pieces were valued as a substitute for precious stones, gems, and gifts.

During first century BC, the craft of melting and blowing glass into useable objects was developed. Glass pieces and items gradually became more common after the discovery of glassblowing. Objects such as vases, bottles, and cruets were mouth blown and mold blown during the Roman Empire, usually for ordinary purpose and daily use.

Common glass normally has a greenish hue. The green tint is caused by miniscule amounts of iron impurities in the sand used to make glass. Glass producers learned to make decorative and colored glass by adding metallic compounds and mineral oxides such as cobalt. Colored glass of reds, blues and greens became prevalent. After craftsmen learned to score and cut glass, they found clear glass refracted light in spectacular fashion. Thus, clear cut glass became popular, and demand for colored glass plummeted.

Around 1000 AD, a new development was made in glassmaking. The glass making component of soda-lime, was replaced by potash obtained from wood ashes. From this time on, glass from the northern part of Europe differed greatly from that made in the Mediterranean area, where soda-lime remained in common use. Centuries later in Bohemia, ashes from beech trees were used. The production of Bohemian ?forest glass? was progressively refined over the years.

During the 11th century new ways of making sheet glass came about in Germany. Glass blowers would blow spheres, and then form them into cylinders. They would cut the glass while still hot and then flatten the glass into sheets. Glass makers in Venice, Italy improved this method in 13th century. By the late 1300?s there was as many as 20 glassworks in Bohemia and Moravia. The 12th century saw the arrival of stained glass production. Stained glass, another form of colored glass, was made by adding metal impurities. Church and monastery applications of stained glass can be traced back to examples that remain today, i.e. St. Bartholomew church in Kolin. A glass wall mosaic is preserved there from around 1380.

Venice became the dominant center for glassmaking during the 14th century. Here new glass making methods were developed and export trade such as mirrors, tableware, and decanters flourished. Secrets of glass making were highly guarded in Venice, but eventually glass workers moved to other areas of Europe taking their knowledge and skill with them. As ornate glassworks became more popular, Royalty began ordering decorative glass articles to be made, to give as gifts of distinction for occasions.

A technique called ?the Crown glass process? was used to make glass until the mid part of the 1800s. A glassblower would spin around 9 lbs of molten glass at the end of a rod until it spread out into a flat disk nearly 5 feet across. The glass disk would then be cut into panes. Glass from Venice was highly prized for over four centuries as they managed to keep this technique secret. In 1688, a method for casting glass was invented. This led to glass and glass panes in becoming a much more common material. The glass pressing machine was invented in 1827 and facilitated mass production of relatively inexpensive glass items. The glass pioneer, William J. Blenko, is recognized as first glass producer in America to use the cylinder method of creating flat glass by the 1920s.

The Bohemian countries of Czech and Slovakia are still known today as two of the finest cut glass and cut crystal producers in the world. Cut crystal pieces are prized as elegant anniversary and birthday gifts.

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1101

Summary:
There is a huge market for art. Almost all people from any age or background will buy art and posters from time to time. By purchasing this art online consumers can save a lot of money over retail stores. Knowing all of this puts you in a great position to make a profit by directing consumer to this art without having to make a significant investment or carrying any overhead.

The key to making this possible is to take advantage of art affiliate programs offered by several …

Keywords:
art affiliate, art reseller, creating art website, art, affiliate, website

Article Body:
There is a huge market for art. Almost all people from any age or background will buy art and posters from time to time. By purchasing this art online consumers can save a lot of money over retail stores. Knowing all of this puts you in a great position to make a profit by directing consumer to this art without having to make a significant investment or carrying any overhead.

The key to making this possible is to take advantage of art affiliate programs offered by several websites. It doesn’t matter which program you decide to use the concept and steps to success are the same. In this guide I’ll walk you through every step of the process and demonstrate each step using our sample website, Tropical Art.

For those of you already familiar with how affiliate websites work, you can skip ahead to step one. For the rest of you I’ll briefly explain. By becoming an affiliate of an art website you agree to send customers to them, in exchange for earning a commission off the sale. There are several ways to do this, but the most common is by setting up your own website for your virtual art store. You allow visitors to browse the art selection you offer and when they wish to make a purchase you send them to the website you have affiliated with to check out. When you send the visitor to the affiliate manager’s website, the url includes a tracking id so that you get credit for the sale. You can visit the tropical art website above for an example of how this works. The percentage of commission you collect for this varies based on the program and how many sales you make, but it typically ranges from 10%-25% of the amount purchased. With art purchases it’s not unusual for a single visitor to purchase $100 or more in art so you can see how the sales can add up quickly.

Step 1 – Select an Affiliate Program

The first thing you need to do is select an affiliate program. The reason it is important to do this first is because it can take days or even weeks to receive approval of your acceptance back from these programs. By doing this step first it will not hold you up later on. Some of the affiliate programs require you to list your website before signing up, while with others it’s optional. If it’s required you can skip this step and come back to it.

There are several factors to look when choosing an affiliate program. Some questions you need to ask are: What percentage of commission will you be paid? How wide is the product selection? Will consumers feel safe providing their credit card information to this site?

I highly recommend sticking with the big three art affiliate programs, Art.com, Art International and All Posters. While there are plenty of others to choose from and many are legit, there are always a few scams out there and I simply can not personally vouch for the others. By working with the big players in the industry you also are typically able to offer your visitors a wider selection. For my sample site I will be using the art.com affiliate program

Step 2 – Selecting a Topic

It’s important for you to know that setting up an art website and making money off of it is going to take some work and you’re not going to profit over night. Most websites get the majority of traffic from search engines, but as with any industry you have competition. This guide will show you how to put up a good fight to get your site ranked in the search engines and get traffic to your site. It’s important to begin with the end in mind so the first step is finding what topic you wish to target.

Usually beginners want to set up a massive art store that sells every product available. While this sounds good at first, it’s not practical for a novice or anyone without serious financial backing to compete in this field. You have to find a niche to target and focus all of your energies on that niche. The most important step in doing this is to find the primary keyword you want to target. I recommend the keyword suggestion tool from Digital Point for doing this.

This tool is simple to use. Just enter a keyword that describes the type of site you want to set up such as “art” and click the suggest button. You’ll get a list of related keywords and the number of daily searches each receives. I recommend using the Overture numbers which show the number of searches performed on Yahoo because I feel these are a more accurate example. At the time of writing this the term “art” receives over 29,000 searches a day! As I said before this is way too competetive of a term for most people to target. My suggestion is to scroll down towards the bottom of the list and look at terms for easier targets. The words in each phrase are listed in alphabetical order, not necessirly in the order searched. For example the term I targeted in this example “tropical art” is listed as “art tropical” on this site. It receives about 400 searches a day on Yahoo alone which will be more than enough to earn a decent amount on this site. Once you found one you think you’d be interested in, go to the search engine you use and perform a search for it. Look at the top few sites and ask yourself the question of if you feel you can build a site that is of this quality or higher or hire someone else to. If the answer is no I’d recommend you try other terms until you find the right one.

Step 3 – Make Sure You Have Products to Sell

So far you haven’t spent any money and have invested a minimal amount of time. Before you do either you need to make sure you have a fair number of products to sell related to the topic you have chosen. Doing this is simple. Just browse the site you have chosen to become an affiliate for and make sure they sell products related to your topic.

For the Tropical Art website I’m using as an example I can see Art.com offers a beach and ocean gallery that will be perfect. If you can’t find any products for your topic or a very limited selection I would suggest finding another topic or a different affiliate program.

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376

Summary:
Art glass means the modern art glass movement in which individual artists are working to generate works from molten glass in relatively small furnaces of a few hundred pounds of glass. It began in the early 1960s and showed continued growth throughout the end of the century. The glass objects created are not primarily serviceable but are projected to make a sculptural or decorative statement.

Keywords:
Indoor and outdoor decoration,wind chimes,garden fountains,decorative home accents,scented candles,glass works,christmas decoration,halloweer decor

Article Body:
Art glass means the modern art glass movement in which individual artists are working to generate works from molten glass in relatively small furnaces of a few hundred pounds of glass. It began in the early 1960s and showed continued growth throughout the end of the century. The glass objects created are not primarily serviceable but are projected to make a sculptural or decorative statement.

Prior to the early 1960s, art glass would have referred to glass made for decorative use, habitually by teams of factory workers, taking glass from furnaces with a thousand or more pounds of glass. This form of art glass, of which Tiffany and Steuben in the U.S.A., Gall? in France and Hoya Crystal in Japan and Kosta Boda in Sweden are perhaps the best known, grew out of the factory system in which all glass objects were cast blown by teams of 4 or more men. In fact, the turn of the 19th Century was the height of the old art glass movement while the factory glass blowers were being replaced by mechanical bottle blowing and incessant window glass. In an art glass studio, “production work” shows more hand worked variation than was allowed in pure factory work environment and every piece shows some of the lead glass worker’s creativity. Most studio glass workers also try to turn out larger individual pieces which might be the corresponding of a master piece in the journeyman system of guild and factory work in addition to smaller production pieces.

Types of Art Glass:

? Blown Art Glass
? Cast Art Glass
? Fused and slumped Art Glass

There’s one way to do it painlessly and easily by annoying some of the hot new paint shades that are available at your local paint store if you’re looking to stride away of your interior design comfort zone. If you’ve already lived in your home for a while, you can revitalize your walls by adding touches of bold colors. You’ll find that paint companies have made it much easier for you to add drama to your interior walls. You’ll be stunned at what a simple thing like varying the color of your walls can do to brighten up your spirits and add a little more relish to your life.

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523

Summary:
I love Mexican folk art! Whenever possible, I try to buy it directly from the artisans who create it. The pieces that speak to me, I keep and add to my own collection. The others, I share with family and friends as gifts, or sell to other collectors and home decor aficionados.

Many people collect museum quality artwork by world renowned Mexican artists. Others choose practical items such as talavera dishes, hand-woven textiles or silver jewelry. Some prefer items of a cere…

Keywords:
mexican folk art, collectors, home decor, beaded masks, prayer bowls, Oaxacan wood carvings

Article Body:
I love Mexican folk art! Whenever possible, I try to buy it directly from the artisans who create it. The pieces that speak to me, I keep and add to my own collection. The others, I share with family and friends as gifts, or sell to other collectors and home decor aficionados.

Many people collect museum quality artwork by world renowned Mexican artists. Others choose practical items such as talavera dishes, hand-woven textiles or silver jewelry. Some prefer items of a ceremonial or religious nature such as beaded masks, prayer bowls or retablos. Still others are attracted to the bright colors and whimsical design of Oaxacan wood carvings known as alebrije, painted tin ornaments, and Day of the Dead miniatures. Each of these items, and many more not mentioned, contribute to the diversity and charm of Mexican folk art.

The history of Mexico is depicted in Mexican folk art. Each piece tells a story or provides a symbolic representation of the Mexican people and their culture. Some folk art reflects the indigenous cultures of the past, many lost to the colonization by the Spaniards. Spanish influences are also present in some works, as are Christian, pagan and folkloric themes. A true collector must study Mexican beliefs and cultural values in depth to fully understand Mexican folk art.

As a new collector, you?ll want to know what to look for to be sure your Mexican folk art is authentic. One key element is the use of indigenous materials from each region of Mexico. For example: alebrije are made from the wood of the copal tree. This tree grows only in the Oaxacan valley. Craftsmanship is another telltale clue. Skill and style will vary between artisans and the price and quality will reflect their ability. However, authentic work is always aesthetically pleasing, well made, and is typically labeled in some manner, whether signed by the artist, with his or her village noted, or at least labeled Hecho en Mexico.

If you?re able to visit Mexico, buy folk art directly from the artisans or purchase from local shops in the region where it is made. Do not buy from vendors in tourist areas unless you wish to pay inflated prices for items that may be of an inferior quality. If your purchases are limited to specialty shops, galleries or online stores in the U.S., make sure you are dealing with a reputable seller and always check out their return policies before buying.

For additional help, there are numerous resources available at your local bookstore. The best, though pricey, is Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art by Fernandez De Calderon Candida. Several others are good hands-on guides pertaining to a specific type of folk art or region of Mexico.

One last thing and the most important in my opinion. When you buy and collect Mexican folk art, you are helping artisans earn a living wage through fair trade which enables them to support their families. You?re also supporting the continuation of ancient traditions and generations old craftsmanship, rather than endorsing mass-produced cheaply made copies of the real thing.

Now, let?s go shopping!

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779

Summary:
The beauty of the art collecting lottery is you can hang the ticket on your wall. A win, win situation, your wall decorations are working for you and all your friends can admire your taste.

Keywords:
art,investing,investment,collecting,collectables

Article Body:
The headline reads ?Undiscovered master piece sells for millions at Auction?. The family was overjoyed to discover that a picture that had hung on their grandfather?s wall for years attracted a six figure price at auction. Grandson and heir said ?The whole family knew he collected odds and ends but we never envisaged it would amount to anything.?

Ok the above is fiction, but it?s what?s at the back of the majority of collector?s minds, especially those who collect art. Buy it cheap and sell it for squillions. Just don?t rely on it as your retirement fund. In many respects it is a lottery, your betting your collection decision against that fickle beast, public opinion. The beauty of the art collecting lottery is you can hang the ticket on your wall. A win, win situation, your wall decorations are working for you and all your friends can admire your taste.

Now that can be scary, because 90 out of 100 people know damn all about art. If it isn?t chocolate box pretty it isn?t art, right. Wrong, have a look at the masters of art in your local museum or better still here on the internet and see how many pretty pictures you can find. Look at Picasso, Gauguin, Pollock, Matisse, Cezanne or Van Gogh to mention a few.

It?s Ok, I?ll wait.

Not much prettiness there. What is there is life, both the depiction of it and in the picture itself. There is an energy that radiates from art and if you allow it that energy will take you places you have never been before. But be prepared, it will confront you, it will challenge you, it is opinionated and isn?t afraid to speak its mind, it is prepared to stand up and be counted, it is art.

As such it is in the vanguard of human experience, it is raw, it is fresh and new. It isn?t the tried and true of recipes of yesterday rehashed, it is pushing the boundaries. In the 21st Century it is computer generated art in all of its many and varied forms. Be it fractal art, manipulated photography or cartoon cells, the collectable artists of today are using a keyboard and a mouse. If Michelangelo were to paint the Sistine Chapel today you can bet London to a brick he wouldn?t be using intonaco. Now as then he would be using that latest technology available to him.

For the collector this just adds another level of complexity. Because computer art is so easily reproduced, what does one actually collect? As in the past, collect signatures, preferably from a limited edition. Obviously, the shorter the edition the better. If an open edition with a signature is all you can afford, go for it, it is better than a poster with or with out a digital signature. If your print isn?t signed by the fair hand of the artist, as a collectable, it is worthless and that includes digital signatures. It is a $29.99 commodity and barely worth the paper it?s printed on. Although the frame may attract a bid or two.

If you consequently come across your print on the cover of Vogue or in a TV commercial for whatever, chances are you?re on a winner. That is the paperback of your signed first edition. Assuming of course your print has staying power, for so much of the mass media is based on ephemera. It is the quick hit that attracts attention and while this can be true of art there is a deeper relationship just waiting for your attention in works that can stand the test of time.

For anyone seriously considering collecting art, the pieces to acquire are those you can live with. If you like it from the start that is a bonus though not essential because if you have chosen wisely you will, over time and many conversations, come to love your new found friend. Works of art do become trusted friends and when it comes time to dispose of them it is a gut wrenching experience. This I know for I have been there and done that. When I had to dispose of my collection a few months ago my main concern was that they were going to good home rather than the financial return they could afford me. Consequently the ROI was less than if I had been less sentimental.

Though if ROI is your motivation and you can be hard nosed at the end of the day you will have many hours of enjoyment from your friends upon your walls along the way.

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452

Summary:
This article is a brief description of the evolution of Chinese art and its influences.

Keywords:
Chinese artantiques tang han rare jade

Article Body:
Chinese Art

Different forms of art have been influenced by great philosophers, teachers, religious figures and even political leaders.

Early forms of art in China were made from pottery and jade in the Neolithic period, to which bronze was added in the Shang Dynasty. The Shang are most remembered for their bronze casting, noted for its clarity of detail.

Fragments of pottery vessels dating from around the year 9000 BC found at the Xianrendong (Spirit Cave) site, Wannian County, in the province of Jiangxi represent some of the earliest known Chinese ceramics. The wares were hand-made by coiling and fired in bonfires. Decorations include impressed cord marks, and features produced by stamping and piercing.

The Xianrendong site was occupied from about 9000 BC to about 4000 BC. During this period two types of pottery were made. The first consisted of coarse-bodied wares possibly intended for everyday use. The second being finer, thinner-bodied wares possibly intended for ritual use or special occasions. There is archaeological evidence suggesting that both types of wares were produced at the same time at some point.

Some experts believe the first true porcelain was made in the province of Zhejiang during the Eastern Han period. Chinese experts emphasize the presence of a significant proportion of porcelain-building minerals (china clay, porcelain stone or a combination of both) as an important factor in defining porcelain. Shards recovered from archaeological Eastern Han kiln sites estimated firing temperature ranged from 1260 to 1300?C, as far back as 1000 BC. In early imperial China, porcelain was introduced and was refined to the point that in English the word china has become synonymous with high-quality porcelain.

During the Sui and Tang periods (581 to 906) a wide range of ceramics, low-fired and high-fired, were produced. These included the well-known Tang lead-glazed sancai (three-colour) wares, the high-firing, lime-glazed Yue celadon wares and low-fired wares from Changsha. In northern China, high-fired, translucent porcelains were made at kilns in the provinces of Henan and Hebei. One of the first mentions of porcelain by a foreigner was made by an Arabian traveler during the Tang Dynasty who recorded that:
””They have in China a very fine clay with which they make vases which are as transparent as glass; water is seen through them. The vases are made of clay”

Tang Sancai burial wares have become a very popular for of art. “Sancai” means three-colours. However, the colours of the glazes used to decorate the wares of the Tang dynasty were not limited to three in number. In the West, Tang sancai wares were sometimes referred to as egg-and-spinach by dealers for the use of green, yellow and white. Though the latter of the two colours might be more properly described as amber and off-white / cream.