Practice Spray Fresh paint Art

Get permission before you practice spray paint art skills.

Spray paint art, like other forms of painting, takes a lot of practice. Artists who paint with this medium have to learn hand control in order to put the paint in the intended spots. They must practice using different tools to create texture. An ideal situation in which to practice spray paint art includes large amounts of time and space in which to work.

Instructions

1. Choose a well-ventilated space in which to practice your spray paint art. A driveway or a garage with the door left open are both good areas in which to paint.

2. Spread out newspaper or a drop cloth over the area where you will be practicing your art. Remove any items that you do not want ruined by paint.

3. Tape the edges of your posterboard or piece of wood to the protected surface. Use painter's or masking tape that will be easy to remove when you are finished painting.

4. Put on protective gear before you start to practice your techniques. Use a face mask to avoid inhaling dangerous paint fumes. Protect your hands with disposable latex gloves.

5. Practice using the spray paint cans if you are a first-time painter. Adjust the rate of paint flow by using more or less pressure from your fingers on the nozzle. See what the effect is on the shading and texture of the paint.

6. Create layers and texture on your painting surface with glossy pages from magazines. Coat the posterboard with paint, then put a page on top. Peel the magazine page back off the spray paint to reveal a different texture.

7. Collect household items to make uniform shapes. Use the bottoms of paper cups or tops of bottles for circles. Be creative and see what shapes exist in your everyday life.

8. Lay a stencil on the paper and spray paint over it. Carefully lift up the stencil and the shape will be revealed on the page.

9. Use clay modeling tools to provide more texture and straight lines for spray paint art. Many artists use metal or wood scrapers to make buildings in their paintings. Practice using these tools with several layers of paint.

What Exactly Are Propaganda Posters Like

Propaganda is a highly biased form of persuasion and can be channeled through various communication media such as films, leaflets, radio broadcasts and posters.

Propaganda is a highly biased form of persuasion, often political in nature, that can be channeled through various communication media such as films, leaflets, radio broadcasts and posters. The main aim of propaganda is to manipulate perceptions through appeals to the viewer's emotions, rather than his rationality, for the benefit of the message's creators.

Enlistment

Ever since the First World War, countries around the world have used propaganda posters as a way to entice new men into joining the military. In countries such as Britain and the United States where enlisting in the military was optional at the start of WWI, propaganda posters evoked patriotism, duty and bravery. The character "Uncle Sam," a literal representation of American justice and freedom with a star-spangled hat, pointed straight at the viewer of the poster and declared, "I want YOU for the U.S. Army."

Dehumanizing the Enemy

Another element of propaganda posters is the portrayal of the enemy as an inhuman creature. By dehumanizing the opposition, early propaganda posters encouraged men to join the military as a way to defeat an evil creature, as opposed to a human being. American posters in WWII showed the Japanese as primates with sharp fangs and rats. Nazis were portrayed by the Allies as snakes, buzzards, gorillas or other deadly, undesirable creatures.

Trimming Down and Efficiency

Posters during World War II with slogans such as "Save a loaf of bread, help end the war" and "Waste helps the enemy, conserve materials" were common in the United States. Many of these propaganda posters were targeted at women and children -- people who were forced to stay in America while soldiers fought overseas. Another famous poster depicts a man driving alone in a car with a ghostly image of Hitler in the passenger seat with the message written below, "When you ride alone, you ride with Hitler." These posters brought the war home to people in the United States, and encouraged a collective "tightening of the belt" in cutting down on food, oil, and material consumption as a way to contribute to the cause.

War Bonds

War bonds, or sometimes called "victory bonds," were often promoted by propaganda posters. In the same way that "trimming down" posters brought the war home, so did war bonds posters. One poster depicts two hands full of silver dollars being dumped into a pile, where they are transformed into bullets with the slogan "turn your silver into bullets" written below. Buying war bonds was shown as a direct way to win the war and (as one poster put it) "hasten the homecoming" of Americans fighting abroad.

Identify Laurel Burch Bird And Heart Ear-rings

Laurel Burch was a folk artist whose work features bright, vivid colors and evocative, non-realistic depictions of animals, women and elements of nature. As with any commercially successful artist, Burch's work, including her bird and heart earrings, have been reproduced by copycats. Key details can help you distinguish the real thing from the rip-offs.

Instructions

1. Look for the Laurel Burch signature. When you buy earrings, they should be attached to a cardboard paper backing. This paper should bear the Laurel Burch signature. Her signature is in cursive, and you can find comparisons to it on the official Laurel Burch website (see references). The signature should be just above the phrase "Authentic Design."

2. Compare the earrings you want to buy with pictures, prices and descriptions of the same pair on the Laurel Burch official merchandise page (see references) if you are buying from an online vendor. Browse the profiles of some of the Laurel Burch jewelry designs, and see how the pair you want to buy matches up. Knock-offs usually take liberties with the size, weight and materials. Real Laurel Burch "Open Hearts" earrings, for instance, will be made of pewter and antique brass plating with surgical steel posts.

3. Look at the shaping and symmetry. Laurel Burch jewelry designs are often asymmetrical, but the edges of her shapes are smooth. On earrings, the pairs usually face different directions. For instance, one bird will be left-facing and one bird will be right-facing. If you find a pair of two right-facing birds, they are probably not Laurel Burch bird earrings. If you are buying the "Open Hearts" earrings, you'll want to identify a misshapen heart that is large, leaning and overbalanced at the top, with swirls on opposite sides of each earring. If you see earrings that are perfectly-shaped hearts or have swirls on the upper right side of each heart, those are not real Laurel Burch earrings.

Walk Just Like A Male Model

Take control of your confidence to appear like a model.

Modeling women sashay down the catwalk. Modeling men command it. You can use that same level of command when you walk like a male model through a crowded room or down a city street. Even if you are not wearing the latest Gucci suit, you can get the same kind of coos the Gucci guys get. You'll need to call up a lot of confidence and follow a few specific steps.

Instructions

1. Stand tall. Here’s where Mom yelling at you about your posture really pays off. Practice by standing with your legs shoulder-width apart. Roll your shoulders up and around in a loop, opening your chest. Imagine a string through the top of your skull, pulling your spine into a straight line.

2. Take long strides. Male models never piddle about with baby steps. Practice taking the longest strides you can, lunging into the distance. Refine that by taking strides a little longer than you would in your normal walking.

3. Swing your arms slightly with your steps. You want to look natural, and people naturally swing their arms when they walk. Don’t pump them back and forth like a power walker or soccer player, but let them cascade by your sides in rhythm with your steps.

4. Adjust your eyes. You need to look straight ahead or slightly upward, which is where you want to go. You can stealthily glance in front of you to make sure you don’t step in dog doo, but don’t walk around staring at the ground.

5. Pump yourself with confidence. These posture tips will help exude physical confidence, but you need to be a mental giant as well. Stand tall in front of a mirror, gaze into your eyes and repeat the phrase: "I am cooler than a sports bar," or something to that effect.

Look Into The Dpi Of The Image

DPI--From Camera to Printer

Has your printer ever changed the size of your picture from what it was on your computer screen? Have you noticed that your printed pictures tend to look choppy? This may depend on the dots per inch, or DPI, of your digital pictures. DPI refers to how many tiny blots of color will appear in every inch of the printed image, and relates to the resolution (commonly in megapixels) of the original picture. There are two ways to find an image's DPI--with Windows Explorer, and with the free image viewer IrfanView.

Instructions

Quick & Simple: Windows Explorer

1. Right-click the image file. Select "Properties" from the context menu.

2. Click on the "Summary" tab in the top of the pop-up. If "Title," "Subject" or "Author" fields are displayed, click the button "Advanced >>" at the bottom.

3. In the Advanced properties view, the fields "Horizontal Resolution" and "Vertical Resolution" indicate the respective DPIs.

More Powerful: IrfanView

4. Install the EXIF plugin for IrfanView, or the following steps will not work. (See "Additional Resources," below, for free EXIF plugin.)

5. Go to "Image/Information," or press the shortcut key "I."

6. DPI appears in boxes next to "Resolution" (the fifth line of the pop-up window). If the resolution boxes are blank, click the "EXIF info*" button at the bottom of the properties window.

7. In the new, more detailed pop-up, the camera's horizontal and vertical DPI are next to the items "XResolution" and "YResolution."

8. To bypass checking the EXIF resolution, view the DPI in the "Resize/Resample" dialog by going to the menu "Image" and choosing "Resize/Resample," or pressing the shortcut "CTRL" and "R." The DPI will be at the bottom left.

About Deco Fresh paint Markers

All-purpose paint markers can be handy when you have many projects to complete and don't want to spend an outrageous amount of money. Deco Paint markers are these types of all-purpose art supplies. They can draw on almost any surface, come in several sizes of tip size for broad coloring jobs and fancy calligraphy jobs, and come in a variety of colors to suit any palette needs.

Function

Deco Paint markers are specifically designed to handle many artistic projects, such as craftwork, sketching and coloring over large surfaces.

Types

Deco Paint markers come in many palette options, including metallic colors, primary colors and glitter paint colors. They are also available in a variety of tip sizes such as fine point, broad point, extra fine point and a calligraphy-style tip. You can also find them in many different packaging sizes, including packs of three, six or sold individually.

Features

These paint markers are built with a pump action valve for control over ink flow. They come in a variety of 30 colors, including brown, copper, dark brown, rosemary, rosewood, cream yellow, blush pink, blue, black, crimson lake, gold, yellow gold, green, pink, plum, red, and white. They are made with solvent-based paint so they dry very quickly, and they are also weatherproof and lightfast (fade resistant, especially to ultraviolet light). Deco Paint markers are intended for multiple uses and are therefore also able to be blended with other colors for a full opaqueness.

Identification

Deco Paint markers are manufactured by the Marvy Uchida company. All of the markers in the series have a DecoColor label, as well as the Marvy logo.

Effects

Deco Paint markers work on multiple surfaces including signs, posters, treated fabrics such as backpack material, shoes, skateboards, glass, metal, porcelain, stone, wood and even leather. On some surfaces they are permanent, such as on fabric, but on others (such as glass) they can be removed with a turpentine solution.

Warning

These markers contain Xylene, a solvent that can cause headaches, dizziness and confusion from prolonged exposure and inhalation. This prolonged exposure can also cause irritation of the skin, eyes and throat. The markers should not be used by children and should only be used in well-ventilated areas. Some surfaces, such as plastics and fabrics, can have a negative reaction to the paint chemicals from the markers, so you should read the label on the marker packaging carefully before use to make sure you can use them on your intended surface.

Train Children To Come To A Decision

Teach Children to Make a Decision

Everyone must make a responsible decision throughout their daily routine. Some decisions are easy while others are more difficult. With that in mind many children find decision making even for simple decisions to be difficult because they do not follow through the whole decision making process. You should teach children to make a decision and give them opportunities to make decisions for themselves. Below are the steps children should go through when they make a decision.

Instructions

1. 1. Aware:

Children need to be aware that they are about to make a decision. Sometimes kids don't even realize they have made a decision or that there is a decision to be made. Make sure you point out that there is a decision and that they are on step one of making a decision.

2. Possibilities:

When teaching children to make a decision it is important for them to think about all the possibilities. Some decisions will only have two possibilities while others will have several. You should teach your children to look at every possible option when making a decision.

3. Consequences:

When teaching children to make decisions it is important for them to take into consideration of each of the consequences for every possible option. Your child should think through the complete decision including the consequences. Every decision will have a consequence either good or bad and they all must be taken into consideration when make a decision.

4. Consider Values:

You should teach your child to weigh the possibilities and consequences against your families beliefs and values. If there are possible solutions to a decision that is not something your family would normally take part in than that may not be a valid possibility. Any possible decision should focus on the family standards that have been established and those should always be taken into consideration.

5. Recognize:

While you teach children to make a decision you should also take the time to recognize them when they make a good decision. This is very important so children will know they are on the right track. If you child makes a bad decision you should let the consequences play out and then discuss the consequences and what they could of done differently.

Draw Naruto Manga

Naruto Uzumaki is the main character in the anime show and manga comic book "Naruto," created by Japanese cartoonist Masashi Kishimoto. With your favorite pictures of Naruto and a few basic drawing tools, you can make Naruto art in a few steps, breaking the figure down into basic shapes and then adding detail and color.

Instructions

1. Put your reference image of Naruto Uzumaki by your drawing area to check as you work. Pencil sketch the shapes of the Naruto figure, starting with a circle for the head. Draw a halo over the upper part of the head; this will become the hair. A rectangle can represent the torso and waist, while the forearms, upper arms, thighs and lower legs can be a series of oblong ovals. Hands and feet can start as small ovals, with details to come later. Draw, erase, and redraw until your shapes come together for a sharp-looking Naruto figure.

2. Add the shape of Naruto's spiky hair and his bandanna. Draw the large eyes and the shape of the jaw, coming to a rounded point for the chin. Add the details of his jacket, pants, and sleeves sketching in lines to represent creases and wrinkles.

3. Detail the eyes: Draw circles for the iris and dots for the pupils. Angle the corners of Naruto's eyes upward, pointing slightly to the outside edges to capture the character's almond-shaped eyes. Create a rectangle with rounded corners to the front of his bandanna and add the symbol inside it. Finish his face with detail lines and shadowing for the nose and mouth.

4. Draw the details of Naruto's hands inside their small, oval shapes, using lines for fingers and thumbs. Sketch in Naruto's open-toe shoes and add arched, banded details. Add toenails if you can fit them in.

5. Sketch the top dark area of Naruto's jacket, the patch on his left shoulder and the strap on his right thigh. Copy the details of Naruto's sleeves and pants and sketch them in, keeping your drawing hand and wrist loose for finer line strokes. Draw details in the face, such as the lines on his cheeks that look like whiskers.

6. Finish your drawing by tracing over the pencil lines in ink. Draw over the main lines of the figure with a medium-point marker, and the smaller details with a fine-line marker. When the ink is dry, erase remaining pencil marks.

7. Add color to your Naruto Uzumaki drawing with colored pencils or watercolor paint.

Write A Literary Journal

Literary journals, or literary magazines, include a combination of essays, short literary fiction, poetry, literary reviews, literary criticism and interviews with writers. Literary journals are often published by colleges and are considered small-press publications. The purpose of most literary journals is not to make a profit, but to promote the appreciation of literature in all its forms. Learn how you can write a literary journal of your own.

Instructions

1. Plan your literary journal before you begin writing it. Decide if you'll write all of the material or if you'll use freelance writers. If you plan to use freelance writers, you'll want a Web site for the magazine where you can post submission guidelines. Be sure the submission guidelines include how you will pay writers. Literary journals typically pay only a token fee or provide copies of the issue in which the writer's work appears.

2. Write an editorial introduction to the first issue stating the magazine's purpose. It seems that the purpose of the magazine might be obvious, but literary magazines can take on a particular slant based on editorial opinion and preference, more so than mainstream publications.

3. Include at least two pieces of short fiction per issue. Focus on fiction that isn't obvious genre fiction. There are plenty of magazines that cater to genre fiction. The fiction in your literary journal should blur the lines between genres. Experimental fiction is a good idea.

4. Include at least two essays in your literary journal that focus on writing techniques or examine the writing process.

5. Plan on three to five poems per issue and consider poems that fall into a common theme. This doesn't mean every issue should contain only themed poetry, but keeping a common thread among the poems per issue of your journal presents a more unified structure.

6. Write one piece of literary criticism per issue that focuses on a classic novel or short story. The piece should be about 1,000 to 1,500 words long and present an analysis of form, structure, style and content of the chosen literary work.

Make Homemade Stencils

Used to decorate walls, floors, boxes and fabric, stencils are the best way to transfer accurately repeated designs to any surface that can be painted. Some of the first stencils made can be traced back to cave paintings in 30,000 B.C. Some of the earliest methods of stenciling included pushing vegetable dyes through cut leaves to decorate bark cloth. Craftsmen, designers and artists use stencils to beautify rooms, create heirlooms and quickly paint repeated patterns onto canvases or wood panels.

Instructions

1. Photocopy your chosen design to the size you desire if you need it to be larger.

2. Color the entire backside of your design using the side of the colored chalk.

3. Place your design face up on the card stock, or heavy paper, and trace the design with a pencil.

4. Cut the design out with the cutting blade, leaving a blank area which is now your stencil.

5. Tape or hold the stencil in place on the surface you wish to paint so it does not move as you paint in the image using a brush.

Which Colors Should Kids Use For Fresh paint Mixing

Learning about color mixing is often a hands-on activity.

Color mixing can be fascinating to children, and there are many practical ways to explore the results of mixing two or more colors together. Start simply by enabling children to discover for themselves what happens when primary colors are mixed together before moving on to more complicated color concepts such as complementary colors. Prepare paints and materials in advance, cover work surfaces with newspaper and provide aprons because painting activities are often messy.

Primary and Secondary Colors

Start by teaching the three primary colors -- red, yellow and blue. Explain that these colors cannot be made by mixing any other colors together. Next, explore what happens when you mix two of these colors together: red and yellow make orange; red and blue make purple; blue and yellow make green. Give the child a paint palette and cups containing tempera paint in the three primary colors. Offer a separate brush for each color and clean water for washing the brushes. Have the child mix two of the colors together on the paint palette before applying them to paper.

Make a Color Wheel

Use a paper plate to make a color wheel to demonstrate how the primary and secondary colors relate to each other. Divide the plate into six sections. Have the child paint a red, yellow and blue section, leaving a space in between each one. Now have her mix the two primary colors each side of a space to make the secondary color that she needs to fill it.

Shades of Color

Shades of color are made by mixing colors in different quantities; if a little red paint is added to yellow, it makes light orange; if a lot of red paint is added, it makes dark orange. Mixing all of the colors together makes black. Adding white paint makes a color lighter. Colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel are called complementary colors. Mixing them together creates grays or browns.

Hands-on Color Mixing

For a hands-on approach, paint the child's hands with two different primary colors and let her make handprints on a large piece of paper. Then have her rub her hands together to mix the colors and make prints with the secondary color she has created. You could make a giant color wheel in this way with a handprint of the correct color in each section. Let her experiment with mixing complementary colors to make grays and browns or mixing colors that are next to each other on the color wheel to create different shades.

Use Feminist Literary Critique

Use Feminist Literary Criticism

Feminist literary criticism is a stock favorite of students forming literary critiques to assess pieces of literature. The idea of feminist literary criticism is to apply ideas that have a basis in feminism, to look at the book or poem through the eyes of a feminist in order to evaluate how that literature "treats" issues related to feminism. As the issue of women's rights grows in our society, feminism is being used to measure many aspects of modern life. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

1. Consider the roles and situations of female characters. Make lists of different aspects of the female character's place in the overall story. Include anecdotal scenarios that will back up a holistic thesis.

2. Look at the relationship of female characters to each other. Examine any discrepancies that might shed light on the overall role of females in the book.

3. Review the role of female characters in relation to their male counterparts. Literary criticism has its famous set of contrasts, for example, man vs. nature, nature vs. society, that set up points of inquiry. In this case, your fundamental contrast would be woman vs. man.

4. Look at the vocational roles of women in the literature. Much of literary criticism can be applied to the workplace. Studying the work that each character does provides a great starting point for analyzing the whole of the work.

5. Consider the attitudes of characters and how their world-views contribute to the eventual outcomes in the story. The goals of characters may or may not cause outcomes. Evaluate how "powerful" each character becomes.

What's Latin American Music

The music of Latin America is as diverse as the countries that make up the region. Although descriptions differ, the territories generally include those in which a romance language is spoken primarily, such as Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico and Puerto Rico. French is a romance language, but Latin American music is most often identified with Spanish and Portuguese, as well as the creoles and other auxiliary communication systems derived from them.

History

Due to the lack of archival documentation, it's impossible to know exactly when or how music emerged in the countries that currently comprise Latin America. Discovered texts, murals and artifacts indicate that the indigenous cultures living in the region when Christopher Columbus appeared in 1492 had been using musical instruments from as early as the 8th century, largely for ritual purposes. The influence of religion on early Latin American music continued after the arrival of the Spanish and Portuguese, which commenced European colonization in the 15th century, and the subsequent slave trade introduced African elements, too.

Features

Latin American music can be vocal, instrumental, or both. It typically incorporates a large number of instruments native to the country that defines the style. The music is also immediately recognizable for its distinctive rhythmic pattern based on syncopation, which stresses weak or unaccented beats instead of the more common strong or accented beats. Accordingly, there is a related emphasis on using percussion instruments to generate the beat patterns. Another major characteristic of Latin American music is the frequent incorporation of call-and-response segments, an import from African music, that contain interaction between two elements.

Structure

A prominent aspect of much Latin American music is the rhythmic structure called clave, which originated in Afro-Cuban music. The term is Spanish for "key" (of the musical type), and the pattern consists of a 3-2--or less often 2-3--note arrangement that forms the foundation of a composition. Each song usually follows a systematic arrangement, as well, that begins with a lengthy opening verse, followed by an increasingly intense chord progression (vamp) that eventually returns to the verse, before the song closes with a brief ending known as a coda.

Instruments

The musical instruments in pre-colonial Latin America were primarily of the percussion and wind variety, such as flutes, trumpets, and ornately carved drums that were used in rituals. When they arrived, Europeans introduced string instruments, including the guitar and violin, and the indigenous cultures tended to adapt them to suit their preferences. This practice gave rise to new creations, ranging from the guitar-related charango in the Andes to the berimbau bow of Brazil.

The African slave trade further widened the inventory of percussion instruments with numerous drums and striking devices, such as rattles and wood blocks, from the continent. Currently, there are more percussion instruments of African heritage than any other origin in Latin American music.

Styles

Despite the considerable variation within Latin American music, there are certain styles of songs that are more commonly and widely found. The most prominent genres include the ballad format called the Spanish Romance, which dates bag to the medieval era, and the basic son, a mixture of the melodic Spanish canción and percussive African rhythms that combined to help form Cuban-derived salsa. In addition, Latin American music is filled with many song styles that correspond with a dance, such as Brazil's samba, the Dominican Republic's merengue, Ecuador's pasillo and Venezuela's joropo.

Produce A Blackboard With Spray Fresh paint

Create a Chalkboard with Spray Paint

One of the best paints to experiment with is chalkboard paint that is available in a spray can. It is easy and very versatile to use on just about any surface. Chalkboards are not just for children anymore. Chalkboard spray paint can be used on wood, plastic, metal and glass. It is also very durable and washable. Create chalkboards around the home for messages, menus and schedules. Follow these steps on make a chalkboard with spray paint for use in every room of the house or office.

Instructions

1. Decide on what surface the chalkboard is going to be applied to. If applying it to a wall, use painter's tape to mark the outline of the area that will be sprayed. An entire wall can be sprayed with chalkboard spray paint.

2. Place a drop cloth on the floor for protection. Make sure that the surface to be painted is clean and free of dust. Lightly sand the surface with fine sandpaper to make sure that the surface is smooth. Then using a tack cloth, wipe the surface to remove any dirt and dust.

3. If necessary, prime the surface with any type of paint to prepare the surface. This does not necessarily have to be primer. Let this completely dry.

4. In order to avoid drips, hold the can of chalkboard paint 8 inches from the surface. Spray the marked area with a light coat of paint. Allow this to dry. Repeat this process three times for adequate coverage. Remove the painter's tape immediately after spraying has been completed. When it is dry, it is ready to be used as a chalkboard.

5. If this has been done to a section of a wall, install molding surrounding the area that is now a chalkboard.

6. To create a calendar, use the painter's tape to create boxes. Spray the chalkboard paint in between the tape.

Make An Air-soft Gun

Make an Airsoft Gun

The gunsport hobby has been around for ages. Guns ranging from high tech, to even the most primative, have caught the attention of many who have an interest in guns and their various capabilities. Target shooting can be as addictive, as it is fun. Airsoft guns have become popular in areas that do not allow gun ownership, and by those individuals who are not quite ready to own the real thing, but want to give the sport a try. If you want to try a little target practice, but don't have an airsoft gun, you can very easily make one yourself with some common household items. Although not exactly a dead ringer for your traditional BB gun, this homeade airsoft gun can be a fun stand in.

Instructions

1. Remove the writing part of your pen, including the cap that is on the back end. This will leave you with just the tube part of the pen.

2. Cover one end of the pen tube with the balloon.

3. Use your tape to wrap around the end of the balloon, securing it to the pen's tube.

4. Place one of your plastic bb's into the open end of the tube.

5. Pull back on your balloon, and quickly let it go. You want to create a snap effect. This will force the BB out of your airsoft gun.

The Key Artists From The 60s

The artists of the 1960s are generally associated with "Pop Art." Pop Art originated in London in the 1950s and by the 1960s it was the dominant artistic genre in the United States. Pop Art emerged as a reaction to Abstract Expressionism, which had been the dominant artistic model in the 1940s and 1950s. In addition to rejecting most of the premises of Abstract Expressionism, the artists associated with Pop Art were interested in challenging traditional concepts. In particular they rejected the idea of "fine art." Pop Art was motivated by the desire to make art more accessible to the masses, and in fact, one of the characteristics of Pop Art was its embracing of mass consumer culture.

Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) laid much of the groundwork for the Pop Art movement in his earlier work in the 1950s. He experimented with "found objects" and collage techniques and challenged the traditional ideas about artistic materials and themes. Everyday objects and images, which "the man on the street" easily relates to, can be used to create art. Art can be made from any sort of object. An everyday object becomes an "art object" because of the intent of the artist. The artist removes, or alienates, the object from its normal context. The artist's treatment of the object makes us approach it in a different way. Rauschenberg gives preeminence to the "idea" of the artists over the content.

Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol

Lichtenstein (1923-1997) and Warhol (1929-1987) are probably the two artists from the 1960s whose work is most recognizable by the general public. Lichtenstein and Warhol were both influenced by Rauschenberg's earlier work and ideas and expanded the idea of Pop Art in their own unique ways. Lichtenstein's comic book images and Warhol's soup cans and celebrities have become a part of popular culture and are often themselves parodied. Warhol and Lichtenstein were interested in blending the lines that separate fine art, on the one hand, from consumerism and popular culture on the other hand. They both used images that are easily and immediately recognizable. Lichtenstein employed comic book characters, gum wrapper comics and images from magazines and television. Warhol used commercial objects, such as soup cans and soap boxes, and the images of famous celebrities such as Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. Warhol and Lichtenstein's works are both characterized by loud and vibrant colors which are themselves a reflection on the modern advertising and consumer culture.

Jasper Johns

Jasper Johns (born 1930) became involved in the vibrant New York City art world of the 1950s. He was heavily influenced by Rauschenberg as well as by the avant-garde composer John Cage. His most well known painting is the "American Flag" which he produced in 1954-55. Johns adopted popular iconography and images such as flags, maps and numbers in his work. His intent is to create new meanings through arranging conventional symbols in new contexts.

Mark Rothko

Rothko (1903-1970) had a three-decade career as a professional artist. His career began in the 1930s. The 1960s represents the last stage of his career. Rothko presents a direct challenge to pop artists whom he dismissed as charlatans. Rothko sought deeper meanings in art. His artistic ideas were informed by studies of Freud, Jung and Nietzsche and studies in mythology and symbolism. His work in the 1960s focused on large canvases with rectangular shapes. The goal of the works was to motivate spiritual contemplation and meditation in the viewer.

Create Avatars Online

Avatars are pictures that are used to represent individuals in Internet forums as well as social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace. Making these avatars is rather easy if you have the right software program. You also have the option of creating your own avatar on several different websites. These websites allow you to upload any photograph that is on your computer and then edit that picture. Use these websites to create avatars online.

Instructions

1. Go to the Shrink Pictures website (see Resources) and click "Browse" to upload a picture. You can then type in the size of the avatar in the box below. Size is calculated in pixels, and the maximum size is 200 pixels. Click "Resize," and the picture will be converted into three separate avatars that can be downloaded onto your computer. To download any of the avatars, right click over the picture and select "Save As."

2. Log onto the Ava-Ava website (see Resources), and click the "Browse" tab to search for a picture you want to make into an avatar. Click "Upload," and the picture will appear in the box below. Drag the lit-up box that is in the picture to crop the picture to your wishes. Click the "Crop" tab at the top of the page, and your avatar will appear on the next Web page. Right click over the picture to save it to your computer.

3. Visit the MyPictr page (see Resources) and click "Browse" to search for the picture you wish to turn into an avatar. Click the "Upload" tab, and the picture will appear underneath the tab. Change the size of the lit area found in the picture by entering values in the two "Size" boxes found above the picture. Then, drag the lit area to the portion of the picture that you want to make into an avatar. Click the "Pictrit" tab, and the avatar will appear in a box on the screen. Click the "Download" link in that box to download the avatar.

4. Go to the Picator homepage (see Resources). Click the "Browse" tab at the top of the page. Search for the picture on your computer that you want to use for your avatar. Click "Upload" after you have selected the picture, and the picture will appear on a new page. Click on the options underneath the "Avatar size" heading on the left side of the page to change the size of the crop box that is located in the picture. Once you've selected your size, click on the inside of the crop box to move the box until you're happy with your avatar. Click the "Create avatar" tab at the top of your screen, and your avatar will appear in the top left corner of the page. Click on one of the download links above the avatar to download the avatar as a JPEG, BMP, GIF or PNG file.

Learn Fundamental Tap Steps

From the days of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, tap dancing has captivated a wide array of audiences. Anyone can learn it no matter what is your age or ability. There is even something called wheelchair tapdancing. Tap dancing can be done with taking the basic steps and working with them to complete amalgamations. The first and most important thing is mastering the basic steps. As you grow as a tap dancer, you will learn take the basic steps and make them into something more advanced.

Instructions

1. Find a good dance instructor. You can do this on your own, but without a teacher you can really hurt yourself or break some bones. There is also some instruction DVDs or video tapes out.

2. Learn 'Walk'. This is the most basic step where you just walk around. Increase or decrease the speed to the rhythm of the music.

3. Learn 'Step-heel'. Take the ball of your foot down first then follow with the heel to make two different sounds.

4. Learn 'Heel-step'. This is the reverse of the 'Step-heel'. Take the heel down first and then follow with the ball of your foot.

5. Learn 'Stamp'. In a rapid motion, stomp the entire foot on the ground.

6. Learn 'Ball-change'. Take a step backwards then a step forward with the same foot.

7. Learn 'Hop'. This move is performed just as it sounds. Hop up on one foot and landing on the same foot.

8. Learn 'Spring'. This is like the 'Hop', but you land on the opposite foot.

9. Learn 'Drop'. This is like the 'Spring, but upon landing, bend your knee and make sure your foot is flat when it strikes the floor.

10. Learn 'Brush'. Swing your leg forwards and backwards. In a sweeping motion, only the ball of your foot strikes the ground.

11. Learn 'Straight Tap'. Strike the ground in front of you with the ball of your foot.

12. Learn 'Toe Tap'. With the ball of your foot, strike the ground behind you. This is the opposite of the 'Straight Tap'.

13. Learn 'Heel'. Using only the heel, strike the floor.

14. Learn 'Shuffle'. Put one foot in front of you. Quickly swing your foot forwards and backwards. Remember to keep the foot stretched out in front of your body. Even though you are performing a sweeping motion, your foot stays in the front of your body.

15. Learn 'Side Shuffle'. This is the same as the 'Shuffle' but you keep your leg on the side of you.

16. Learn 'Back Shuffle'. Just as the name suggest, this is one of the 'Shuffle' moves. This one is performed with the leg behind your body.

17.Practice and repeat. Continue to practice all of the above basic steps to perfect them. Once you are comfortable, you can start to combine them to make your own combinations.

Find Out The Strings On The Harp

Identify the Strings on a Harp

Harps use many types of gauges on strings to get a wide range of notes. How a harp is tuned depends on the type of harp you are using. Most harps are tuned diatonically in a seven note scale. Some harps are tuned chromatically with a twelve note scale including all sharps and flats. Diatonic harps obtain sharps and flats by using levers, pedals or hooks. Full size harps usually have 47 strings while semi-grand harps have 46 strings. Some pedal harps may have 44 strings. It is important to identify which type of harp you have before determining which type of tuning the harp uses and which note the strings are tuned to.

Instructions

Identifying the Notes of the Strings

1. Identify what type of harp you are playing. Pedal harps are the main type of harps. They are also called Concert harps and can vary in their size and the amounts of strings. Changing to sharps and flats on a pedal harp is done by using your feet. Lever harps, in contrast, consist of folk harps, Celtic harps, and Irish harps. They use hand-operated levers to switch to sharps and flats.

2. Identify the C and the F string. These strings are usually easily identifiable because on most harps they are color coded. The C string is red and the F string is black.

3. Use your electronic tuner to confirm the C and the F are the red and black strings (or if they aren't color coded, which strings are the C and F). Because tuning a harp is flexible depending on the player's preferences, identifying the notes of each string is a matter of the tuning you are using. Most harps are generally tuned in C Major.

4. Use the electronic tuner to make sure the other strings of the harp are tuned. The tuner will tell you the correct notes of the C Major scale. Tune the notes in ascending order with the shortest string as the highest pitch note. A C Major scale is easy to identify because it has no sharps or flats.

5. Place pieces of colored tape on the neck by each string to help identify the notes of the strings. This will assist you when you are beginning to learn the layout of the harp. Each piece of colored tape will correspond to a different note within an octave.

Perform A Clean On Collage Pages

The earliest collages date to about 1200 AD.

A collage is a work of art you create by gluing shapes of colored paper or parts of magazine photographs onto a sheet of paper, stretched canvas or other surface. Creating most of their work in the first half of the 20th Century, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso and Henry Matisse were the most famous modern artists to make collages. You can add character and definition to your image, emphasize key areas and enhance the illusion of three-dimensional space in your collage by applying watercolor washes. The technique is simple and requires very little practice.

Instructions

1. Dip your paintbrush in water. Apply enough water to the areas of your collage to wet them, but not to the point at which pasted-on pieces begin to buckle.

2. Load the paintbrush with watercolor paint. Apply the paint to the moistened areas on the collage.

3. Remove any excess paint and water by dabbing it with a paper towel. You can remoisten any parts of your collage as you desire.

Create A Skill Portfolio For School

An artist's portfolio looks professional and will protect your art from damage.

With proper training and education, a skilled artist or designer can achieve a rewarding and satisfying career with a lucrative income. With so many career options in this field, there is bound to be heavy competition. If not prepared, you can easily set yourself up for failure. It is important to present your artwork in a concise, clean and professional way to set yourself apart from your competitors. The best way to showcase your work is with a portfolio.

Instructions

1. Select pieces of your art to be included in your portfolio. A good portfolio contains ten to fifteen art pieces. Cater your selection to the type of programs you are planning to study. For example, if you are planning to study illustration, include pieces that best represent that genre. If your strength is sculpture, include large clear photos in your portfolio. Be sure you are showcasing only your best work.

2. Prepare each piece for insertion. Your portfolio should be clean and crisp, so be sure that each art piece is looking its best. Use a cutting blade and ruler to trim off any rough edges or excess margins. Crop your work and get rid of any bent or torn corners.

3. Mount art to mounting paper or matte board. This step is recommended to give your art that added "wow factor". With your cutting blade and ruler, cut the backing to the right size, leaving about a half inch to one inch border around your artwork. Use double sided tape to adhere your art to the backing. Choose a basic color for your backing so it doesn't take away from your artwork.

4. Choose the order in which to showcase your art. Put your strongest pieces first and last. This will ensure great impact at the beginning, while leaving a lasting impression at the end.

5. Mount your art to pages in your portfolio. Most artist's portfolios have removable vinyl sleeves with a paper insert. Pull the paper out of the sleeve and use your double sided tape to mount your work to the page. Be sure it is centered and level. A clean presentation is extremely important.

6. Assemble your portfolio in the correct order, then review. It is advisable to go through your portfolio a few times to make any last minute edits or changes. Have a friend or someone in your selected field look through it, and take any advice they have to offer.

Free Clay Babies Toning Tutorial

Sculpting the shape of a baby in clay is a special kind of human figure sculpting. While many of the proportions and shapes of a baby's body are similar to those of a child are adult, the differences in features of a young child create challenges and opportunities for a sculptor. Create a successful baby sculpture by

choosing the right clay for your style, observing the anatomical peculiarities in infants and creating realistic sculpted accessories.

Choosing a Clay

Choose the clay for your baby sculpture based on the style of sculpture you want and what you're using your model for. Oil-based modeling clays are a good choice for lifelike detail, but this clay doesn't harden, so it's best for modeling sculptures meant for reference or art purposes, like drawing or casting.

Air-dry earthenware clays will dry into hard, permanent models, but detail is more difficult with these types of clay. Instead, use them for baby sculptures with a stylized look.

For the best combination of detail and lifelike color and texture, use oven-baked polymer clay, especially if you want to create a baby sculpture in miniature and include accessories and clothing.

Bodies

Baby bodies are relatively shapeless when compared with adult torsos, making them an easy place to start your model. Focus on proportion; create a shape that's roughly barrel-like, though slightly flatter on one side (the back). In the front, make the lower two thirds more rounded, extending outward just a little from the rest of the shape.

Sculpt the baby's bottom if you intend to leave it exposed. Unlike developed, muscular adult buttocks, those on a baby don't extend outward from the body, but are on the same mostly level plane as the rest of the torso.

Heads, Arms and Legs

A baby's head is quite large in relation to the rest of its body; especially with younger babies, the head may be as large as half the size of the torso. Babies' heads are also a different shape from those of adults because parts of the skull are still growing together. This gives the head a more elongated look from front to back.

Babies faces also have chubby cheeks and softness under the chin and back of the head. Their necks have the appearance of being thick and short.

To form the round, soft shapes of a baby's arms and legs, start with round, chunky pieces of clay and press them into place with compressing pressure that will squish them into shorter lengths, then refine these shapes into the baby's limbs. Sculpt so that there are slight, supple rolls of fat at every joint.

Make the hands and feet chunky and round. Again, start with round pieces of clay squished and compressed into place, then add the fingers and toes. When

compared with adult hands and feet, the digits will appear small in relation to the rest of the hands or feet.

Clothing

The best way to make realistic-looking clothing in clay is to treat clay as fabric: roll out some clay into large, flat sheets, using a clay rolling pin, then cut sections of this and drape it over the body. This way, the clay will naturally imitate the folds and contours of cloth.

Give clothing texture by gently pressing actual cloth against its surface.

Create An Abstract Painting From The Photo

There are as many styles of abstract art as there are artists, but abstract art be understood as an art form that either simplifies or exaggerates a familiar subject. To create your own abstract painting from a photograph, let your imagination come alive and be flexible about your ideas of structure.

Instructions

Creating a Masterpiece

1. Select an image. Choose an image that is important to you or conveys a message or idea that you appreciate. This is an important part of the painting process. Artwork can be expensive to create, so make sure that the image you select really speaks to you.

2. Examine your chosen photograph. What images stand out? What are the most important elements, and what images do you want to portray in your artwork? Make a mental picture of what direction you want your artwork to take. Will you simplify the photographic images, breaking them down to basic colors, or will you exaggerate them so they are more symbolic than representational?

3. Sketch your painting onto a piece of artist's sketch paper. Use this time to tweak your ideas. Don't be afraid to erase your image and start over. Remember that it is important that you don't follow any set rules of composition. If necessary, create several drawings before you start to work on your canvas.

4. Set up your easel in a well-lit space. Make sure that it is not located in a high-traffic area. Depending on which paints you select for your composition, your painting may need several weeks of drying time.

5. Sketch your underpainting onto the canvas. Only draw the basic image outlines. Add small details after the larger images have been painted.

6. Paint your canvas. Paint the larger background images first. Work your way forward adding smaller images and more detail as the work dries. For an added appearance of depth, use dark colors under lighter colors.

The Best Place To Have An Acting Job

Actors can find work in cities across the country.

The acting profession is very competitive, and it's important to put yourself in a position to audition and be seen by casting agents. This may require you to move to a different city after being educated and trained as an actor. Career opportunities for actors are available in television, films, musical theatre, commercials, instructional videos and stage plays.

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles is home to numerous television and movie production companies, which offer various career opportunities for actors. While actors can receive extensive training at the University of Southern California or University of California, Los Angeles, there are also a number of acting schools and coaches that can prepare individuals for a career in acting. Actors in the Los Angeles can use the publication "Backstage" to find out about upcoming auditions in the area and see what television shows and movies are going into production.

New York, NY

Although film and television work is available in New York City, many of the actors working in the area focus on theatre. In addition to the numerous shows on Broadway, there are a vast number of Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway opportunities for actors. Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows generally have a lower production budget and don't pay actors the same scale as a Broadway show. Professional training is available at New York University, The New School and Julliard; there are also a number of two-year conservatories, including the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

Austin, TX

While acting jobs may be less available outside of New York and Los Angeles, that doesn't mean there aren't cities throughout the country that host movie productions and offer television opportunities. According to ''Movie Maker Magazine," in 2008, Austin was the number one place for actors to live, work and make movies. Because of the city's financial incentives and low-cost facilities, many independent films are being shot in Austin. In order to save money on transportation and lodging, directors and producers look for local talent in the area.

Make Miniature Flowers From Fimo Clay

Use Fimo clay to create a variety of colorful flowers.

Fimo clay is a strong polymer clay that stands up well to handling. Use it to make miniature flowers in your choice of colors, sizes and shapes. When used in jewelry and home decor projects, these miniature clay flowers are delicate, yet sturdy. Create a bouquet or use individual flowers to add to miniature vases for a natural and lifelike addition to any dollhouse, room box or diorama. With a little practice working with clay, you will create beautiful miniature flowers for a variety of uses.

Instructions

1. Cut a block of clay in half and flatten it with your hand to fit into the pasta machine. Wrap the other half in plastic wrap or store in a plastic bag to keep it from drying out.

2. Roll the clay through the widest setting on your pasta machine a few times, then reduce the width setting and continue rolling until the clay is soft and pliable, folding the clay in half and inserting the fold into the machine with each pass. As an alternative to using a pasta machine, roll and knead the clay for several minutes in your hands until it is soft.

3. Create a ball of clay with a diameter half the size of your finished flower.

4. Make individual petals with the clay by rolling small balls of the conditioned clay. Look at images of the flower you want to make and determine the number of petals. As an example, a rose will require seven petals.

5. Roll each petal piece of clay flat with your hands, then form the petal shape. Create rounded or pointed petal tops, depending on the flower, and pointed bottoms where the petals will attach to each other. For a delicate flower appearance, make the top of the petals slightly thinner than the bottoms, which should be thicker for support and attaching.

6. Curve the flattened petal to create the inner petal of the flower. Again, look at your images or real flowers to see how each petal overlaps at the base of the flower.

7. Wrap each additional petal around the previous petal to create the dimensional flower. Overlap the base of the petals, curving the top of each petal slightly outward to create the shape of the flower. When you press the petals together, the clay will stick to itself.

8. Bend the tops of the petals outward or inward, according to the image you are replicating.

9. Squeeze the bottom of the flower where the petals overlap to attach the clay pieces to each other.

10. Cut the base to create a flat bottom on the flower, using a clay blade.

11. Bake according to the manufacturer's directions for the thickness of the clay. Allow to cool.

Cover A Sculpture In Moss

Covering a sculpture with moss will give it an aged, ancient look. This practice has been around in the gardening community for a while and has emerged as new trend in modern art. Sculptures can either be completely covered or partially covered - or you can take a page from the artists and artfully place the moss to highlight certain areas of the sculpture. Gardening can be hard work, and creating moss artwork is a fun change of pace. Even children will love making their own moss masterpieces.

Instructions

1. Choose a sculpture that has some cracks in it. Keep in mind that resin statues are not suitable for covering with moss. Cement, on the other hand, works well.

2. Mix a fist-sized chunk of porcelain clay with three cups water until it turns into a paste. Clay can be found at most local craft stores.

3. Add fish emulsion and one cup of moss to the paste and mix thoroughly. Fish emulsion can be found at most local garden centers. Moss should be as free of dirt as possible.

4. Cover the sculpture in the paste by "painting" it on. For people who don't mind getting messy, spreading the moss on the sculpture by hand is often easier and quicker than painting it on with a brush.

5. Place the sculpture in a shady area of the garden, out of direct sunlight.

Count "And" Tempos In Dance And Music

Count "And" Rhythms in Dance and Music

Being able to count music is not just for musicians--dancers, too, require the same ear to be able to fully utilize a piece of music or song to their advantage. Counting rhythm can vary in difficulty because some songs are very syncopated or in strange meters, but in general, if you develop your basic counting skills of whole beats and "and" beats, you will be able to apply your knowledge to any piece of music and perform your dancing at a higher level.

Instructions

Some Theory

1. Understand the basics of rhythm. Music is mathematical and everything can be divided into even values. When you have a regular rhythm of a particular value (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4), the beats in between those beats are the "and" beats and half the value (i.e. 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and). Furthermore, these "and" beats correspond to transitional movements in dance.

While we want to hit our feet and "lines" on the beats, the dancing itself happens in between the beats. An example would be a simple forward walk: if you want to arrive on time, you have to initiate a half a beat or a whole beat ahead of time so that you have sufficient preparation to get there on the beat.

2. Place the metronome on 60 beats per minute (BPM). This is slow enough to allow you to count "and" beats later on.

3. Using your hands, clap for every beat and count to 4 repeatedly until you feel confident in keeping that rhythm.

4. Place your hands between your knees. When you clap, you will hit the whole beats (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4). When your hands release and separate, they should hit the insides of your legs/knees. These are the between beats, or "ands" (i.e. 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and). Do this until the rhythm is consistent and you can reproduce it at will.

Dance The Twostep

Dance the Two-Step

The two-step is a popular dance combination in Country-Western partner dancing and group line dancing. The two-step combination is used in many traditional dances like the foxtrot and polka, while modern twists on the two-step combination have been created for dances like the Lindy Hop and the West Coast swing, made popular by Benji Schwimmer, the winner of season 2 of “So You Think You Can Dance”. The two-step is marked by its simple 6-count step combination of quick, quick, slow, slow. A simple dance once you’ve mastered the basic movement, the two-step can be easily implemented into your everyday dance routines. Here’s dance the two-step.

Instructions

1. Master the count. The two-step is characterized by its combination of quick, quick, slow, slow step movements. Each quick step has 1 count, while each slow step has 2 counts.

2. Get into position. The lead partner places his left hand on the small of the secondary's back, and his left hand is cupped around his partner's right hand, elbow up and bent at a 90-degree angle. The secondary partner's left hand is on her partner's right shoulder, and her right hand is closed in her partner's left hand, elbow up and bent at a 90-degree angle.

3. Start the movement. The lead partner will be stepping forward with his left foot, while the secondary partner will be stepping backwards with her right foot.

4. Continue the steps. Alternating your legs on each step, continue moving backward or forward according to your partner position. The lead moves forward as the secondary moves backwards.

5. The lead partner's step combination is as follows--on count 1, step with you left foot forward, count 2 step with your right foot forward, count 3 and 4 step with your left foot forward and count 5 and 6 step with your right foot forward.

6. The secondary partner's step combination is as follows--on count 1, step with your right foot backwards, count 2 step with your left foot backwards, count 3 and 4 step with your right foot backwards and count 5 and 6 step with your left foot backwards.

Art Project Ideas Produced From Trash

Anything can be given a new life with a little imagination and creativity.

Recycling old things that would normally be thrown into the trash is not only a way to save our environment, but also a form of art. Many objects with seemingly no life left to them can be converted and used for other purposes. With a little creativity and imagination a whole new collection of art can be created from things that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

Vintage Window Topper

An old fashioned country feel can be added to your kitchen window by making a window topper out of old wooden rolling pins and/or similar cooking implements. Attached securely to the window frame by eye hooks, the rolling pins can be hung in varying lengths as-is for a rustic appeal or painted to add a touch of brightness to the kitchen area. A similar effect can be accomplished by painting an old shutter in a color that compliments your kitchen decor and attaching it to the top of your window frame with a power drill. Garlands of silk flowers could then be weaved in and out of the shutter for added effect.

Junk Lovers Bird Bath

A pedestal ashtray can be brought back to life by converting it into a backyard bathing spot for the neighborhood birds. Choosing a pastel color of rust resistant spray paint will bring beauty to this old relic without scaring the birds away. Most of the old ashtrays were made to be taken apart and emptied, so the actual ashtray can be taken out, leaving a saucer for water. Once the ashtray has been painted, there are a number of other things that can be done for decoration. Planting dwarf fruit bearing shrubs and flowering plants around the bird bath, for example, would not only create an eye pleasing effect, but would also add the pleasure of a miniature bird garden in an urban area.

Window Planter

A planter box can be made out of an old window frame by knocking out the panes of glass, and attaching a wooden rectangular box of the same approximate size with a hammer and nails. Treating the wood with a weatherproof stain will protect against water damage. This project can be utilized indoors and out, depending on how it is decorated and what types of plants are utilized. As an inside decorative piece, a smaller plastic planter can be placed inside the wooden box for drainage and filled with Ivy Hedera. The ivy can then be allowed to tumble over the front of the planter, or even trained to grow in and out of the frame. Outdoors, the sky is the limit as far as what types of plants can be utilized for this project. Petunias, impatiens, and portaluca are all good varieties of colorful flowering plants to give this project a final touch.

Five Kinds Of Instruments Utilized In A Symphony

In general, there are four sections to an orchestra.

A symphony is a musical composition played with multiple instruments, usually separated into several movements. Symphonies are played by an orchestra (known as a chamber orchestra, if there are 50 or fewer musicians, or a symphony orchestra, which can employ up to 100) comprised of musicians strategically located around a stage and led by a conductor. The principal sections of an orchestra are the strings section, woodwind section, brass section and percussion section. On rare occasions, vocalists are used as part of a symphony presentation, either as soloists or a full chorus, depending on the piece.

Strings Section

There are usually two sections of violins in a symphony orchestra.

The strings section is made up of violins, violas, double basses, cellos, a harp and, occasionally, guitars. Violinists are divided into two sections, known as first violin and second violin. All of the stringed instruments are forwardly placed in the symphony seating arrangement, closest to the conductor. The violins are placed together on one side and the viola, cellos and double bases placed on the other. The harp is usually placed on the same side as the violins, just behind the first violin section. The guitar, when used, is usually set off to the side for most of the symphonic piece and moved to the front of the stage for any guitar solos.

Woodwind Section

The recorder is a flute-like instrument commonly found in orchestra woodwind sections.

Instruments found in the woodwind section of a symphony orchestra include bassoons, clarinets, flutes, oboes, recorders and saxophones. In general, the woodwind section is placed in the middle of the orchestra, seated directly behind the second violins and the violas. Depending on whether it is a chamber orchestra or a symphony orchestra, there may be only one or two of each type of woodwind instrument being played, although there are usually at least two saxophones present -- a tenor sax and an alto sax.

Brass Section

The tuba is usually the largest handheld instrument found in an orchestra.

The brass section of a symphony orchestra is made up of trombones, trumpets, French horns, cornets and tubas. They can generally be located behind the cellos and double basses, off to one side, next to the woodwind section. Similar to the woodwind section, there may be as few as one of each instrument in the orchestra, depending on its size.

Percussion Section

Although dissimilar to the others found in the section, the piano is considered a percussion instrument.

Percussion instruments include drums, cymbals, the tambourine, the triangle and the piano. The percussion seating area in a symphony orchestra is generally in the back, with the exception of the piano. Depending on the piece being played, the piano can be placed in the center of the orchestra, next to the woodwind section, or off to the side -- next to the harp. On rare occasions, the piano will be wheeled to the front, next to the conductor, for piano-specific pieces of music.

Vocals

Although uncommon, some orchestras will feature a vocalist, such as a mezzo soprano.

Sometimes vocalists are included to sing with the orchestra for a symphony piece. For example, if the orchestra is playing works from an opera, a mezzo soprano or a tenor may accompany the orchestra on some or all of the works played. A vocalist takes center stage, just off to one side of the conductor.

Upload Photos On Facebook From Iphoto

Upload photos to Facebook from iPhoto.

iPhoto is the photo storing and editing program on Apple computers. The application will store and allow you to organize your photos by time, place and event description. Once you download the Facebook exporter, transferring photos from iPhoto to Facebook is simple. There is a button at the bottom of iPhoto that will allow you to upload pictures directly to your Facebook account.

Instructions

1. Go to cnet.com and click on "downloads" in the top menu bar. Type in "Facebook exporter for iPhoto."

Download the software by clicking on the "Download Now" button. The software is free of charge.

2. Double click the downloaded file to unzip it. Double click the installer package to start installation.

Open iPhoto, after installation. You will see a "Facebook" tab in the bottom right hand side of the screen.

3. Click on the Facebook tab. On the screen that pops up you will be given options to choose specific photos or albums within iPhoto to export to Facebook.

4. Add a caption, if you wish in the "caption" field. To tag someone in a photo, click over their face and choose their name from your list of Facebook friends to the left of the photo, you can narrow the names by typing in the name of your friend.

5. Hit the "export" button after you have picked your photos, added captions and tagged the people you choose. The photos will be considered "pending" after you have exported them. You will be able to give them final approval before they are visible on your Facebook page.

Convert Images For Screen Printing

Screen printing is often used as a method of printing T-shirts.

Screen printing is a method of printing images onto various types of materials such as fabric, signage, plastic and metal. Images must first be converted onto a screen, similar to an image plate, before they can be used to print multiple copies. Screen printing can be done using images that are hand-drawn, printed from a computer or taken from other sources. It is a creative way to put images onto surfaces because of the variety of images that can be converted onto screens.

Instructions

1. Use black-and-white images only. Gray colors will not work well in screen printing, but may be added later if desired, as well as other colors. Separate screens must be made for each color that will be used.

2. Print, draw or photocopy the image onto your transparent film. Transparent film can be purchased at office supply or art stores. If hand-drawing the print, use an opaque black marker especially made for screen printing. These markers can be found at art supply stores.

3. Coat the screen with emulsion using your wallpaper smoother. This must be done in a dark room because emulsion hardens when exposed to light. Utilize a dark room light bulb to ensure that the emulsion does not harden prematurely. Coat the screen as evenly as possible. Allow to dry for two hours.

4. Place the transparency on the emulsified screen and put your sheet of glass over it. Expose to light using the 250 watt light bulb for 15 minutes.

5. Remove the glass and transparency and spray the screen with water until your design is washed out from the emulsion. Your converted image should be remaining on the screen, where you can use it to print on a variety of surfaces.

Convert Equine Rankings To Odds

Horse racing often draws large crowds to the track.

A day at the horse track can provide an afternoon of fun, even in a losing effort so long as you play only with money you can afford to lose. As enjoyable as the experience of the thrills of rooting for your horses is, however, a day is even more worthwhile when you leave the track with having made a profit. In a rating betting system, each horse is rated on a ten-point scale, with those ratings used to determine the best bets in the race.

Instructions

1. Rate every horse in the race with a rating for how strong their chances are in the race, with a horse rated 10 having an excellent chance and a horse with a 0 rating being hopeless to win the race.

2. Add up the total points assigned to the horses in the race.

3. Divide each horse's rating by the total rating points assigned to find the percentage of the points each horse provided.

4. Convert the percentages of each horse into the odds format used at your track. For quick percentage conversions, use the calculator located in the resources section, entering the percentage found in the "Implied Probability" section.

5. Compare your odds assigned to each horse with the odds being offered by the track.

6. Identify horses that are paying out more money than your odds say they should. These are horses that represent a good bet based on your ratings, as it means the track is treating them as less likely to win than you believe them to be.

Handle Prank Telephone Calls

You answer your phone and hear, "Is your refrigerator running?" You immediately know you are experiencing a prank phone call. These phone calls may occur once or be a larger pattern of harassment, but you do not have to deal with unwanted phone calls anymore; there are several steps that can be taken to cease these obnoxious phone calls.

Instructions

1. Hang up the phone as soon as you realize you are experiencing a prank phone call. If you simply hang up, prank callers don't get the attention they are typically seeking and will often move on to find someone else who will give the reaction they seek.

2. Call your telephone service provider if the harassment does not stop after this first call experience. If the calls continue, the phone company can put a tracer on the phone line to identify the prank caller and will turn this information over to the police.

3. Call the police and file a formal report if the prank phone calls threaten violence or are obscene.

4. Change your phone number if the harassment will not stop and the calls cannot be traced by the phone company or police.

Convert A Ceramic Kiln To Some Glass Kiln

Learn fuse glass pieces in a ceramic kiln.

Ceramic kilns and glass kilns are made of the same materials. The use for the two kilns, however, is different because of the firing temperatures required for glass versus ceramic. You can convert a ceramic kiln to a glass kiln by taking a couple of different steps. The modifications are temporary so you can still fire ceramic in the ceramic kiln, and with the modifications, you can also fire glass in the kiln.

Instructions

1. Install shelves that can sustain the high temperatures of the kiln. You need to know the measurements of your ceramic kiln, so you can find a shelf or shelves that will fit into the kiln. Sliding or placing these special shelves in the ceramic kiln allow you to place glass pieces on the shelves so that you can fire the glass. Generally, these shelves are made out of a vermiculite material.

2. Install a programmable thermostat to control the temperature. Ceramic kilns reach higher temperatures than glass kilns. To fire glass in a ceramic kiln, you should install a programmable thermostat with a glass temperature setting. This thermostat ensures that when you are firing glass in the ceramic kiln you can set and maintain a lower temperature than that required for firing ceramics.

3. Load the glass pieces evenly on the shelves. Ceramic pieces require much higher temperatures than glass pieces. This also means that the heat distribution in a ceramic kiln is different from that of a glass kiln. You can still fire glass pieces in a ceramic kiln, but you need to place the glass pieces in the kiln so that the heat hits the pieces evenly through the layers of glass.

Convert A Cda For An Mp3

In spite of the growing popularity of programs, such as iTunes, where you can purchase music online, many people still like going to the music store and picking up a CD. Or you may have a collection of CDs that you'd like to put on your MP3 player or iPod. A CDA file is a music file on an actual CD that you would purchase at a store. You don't have to be a technical genius to convert a CDA file to an MP3, but it does take time and a little patience. It's not an impossible task and once you get the hang of it, it's like riding a bike. You won't ever forget do it.

Instructions

convert a CDA to an MP3

1. Before you do anything, make sure you have at least an hour of time available to do this. It might not take that long, but if you are rushing and you are unfamiliar with this process, you could make mistakes. Give yourself time to take in all of the necessary information.

2. Save and close down all of the programs on your computer. This is just to safeguard against anything weird happening and you losing data. Plus, you want to make sure that your computer is free to convert the songs with ease. If you have a lot of programs open and are doing several things at once, it will be a drain on your computer's resources.

3. Find out what audio playing software you have on your computer. If you have a PC, you most likely have Windows Media Player. If you have a Mac, you should have iTunes. Both of these programs are pretty standard. I will address both software programs in these steps because these are the most commonly used programs.

4. If you are on a PC and you have Windows Media Player, open the program. For explanation purposes, I'm using the Windows Media Player for Windows XP, but if you have Vista, it should be easy to follow these steps as well. Older versions may take more looking but your Windows Media Player should upgrade itself.

If you are on a Mac and you have iTunes, open the program. I know that iTunes is really good about sending updates so you should have the latest version of the program.

5. Once you've opened Windows Media Player, go to the "Rip" menu. There should be tabs across the top saying "Now Playing", "Library", "Rip", "Burn", "Sync" and "Media Guide". Run your mouse over the "Rip" menu and then click on the arrow below "Rip".

Once you've opened iTunes, go to the "Edit" menu. There will be a small menu on the left side of the program screen once it opens. The tabs will read, "File", "Edit", "View", "Controls", "Store", "Advanced" and "Help". Click on the "Edit" menu and scroll down to "Preferences".

6. Once you've clicked the arrow under "Rip" in Windows Media Player, click on "Format". You will see another menu pop up beside the one you just clicked with "Format" in it. This window will list different formats available on Windows Media Player. Scroll down and select "MP3". Now when you go back to the menu, you will notice a check mark next to MP3.

Once you've scrolled down to "Preferences" in iTunes, click on the "General" tab. This should be the first tab that you see in a list of tabs labeled, "General", "Playback", "Sharing", "Store", "Parental Control", "AppleTV", "Devices", "Advanced". Once you are in the "General" tab, look for a button labeled, "Import Settings". Click that button and you will see a small box.

7. If you've followed the steps so far in Windows Media Player, you're done. You can close the program and the next time you want to convert a CDA file into an MP3, you can open Windows Media Player and rip it to your computer. The files will automatically be changed to MP3 files.

If you're using iTunes, there are a few more steps. Now that you have the small box in front of you, you want to look for the menu next to "Import Using". There should be an arrow that you can click on. Once you click the arrow, you will see a drop-down menu. Click on MP3 encoder and select that one. Once you click that, you can go down to the bottom of the box and click, "OK". Then you can click on "OK" in the other box.

8. You should be set on both programs. The easiest way to convert CDA files to MP3 files is directly off of the CD. So you should just put the CD into your computer and pull up either Windows Media Player or iTunes and rip or import the CD. Once you do that, the files will be converted and you can put them on your MP3 player or just have them as MP3 files on your computer.

Convert A Picture To Some Cartoon

So you have a photograph you want to make into a cartoon? You might want to do this for fun, to present as a gift or to create a comic book featuring pictures you've taken. Turning photographs into cartoon pictures is easy. You can do it using graphics software and applying cartoon special effects or by using an online service that allows you to create cartoon images using web-based graphic tools.

Instructions

Photo to Cartoon Software

1. Choose a software product that is designed to turn photos into cartoons. There are several available, some priced moderately and others free (See Resources).

2. Open the software and under the "File" menu choose "Open" to browse for the folder where the image you want to turn into a cartoon is located.

3. Apply the cartoon effect to your photographic image. The software will immediately render the photo as a cartoon.

4. Edit the cartoon by going to the "Effects" menu and adjusting the texture appearance and coloring of the cartoon until it fits your needs. You can also add text to turn the cartoon into a comic.

Web-based Photo to Cartoon Coversion

5. Select a website that features web-based tools for converting your photographs to cartoons (See Resources).

6. Upload the photo you want to convert to a cartoon. Apply cartoon and other drawing effects to your image using the graphic tools. You can color your images to look like comic book art or turn them into rough pencil sketches with just a few clicks. Simply follow the on-screen directions.

7. You can also choose a cartoon template scene from the wide variety available and upload your photo. The photographs you upload will be placed in the scene template you selected, allowing you to make cartoons featuring you and your family and friends.

Diy Collage Paintings

Collages are not just for children.

Wall collages are fitting accents in a Victorian-inspired, contemporary or modern room. Collage has existed in various forms for many centuries, although it became a prominent fine art form in the early 20th century. They incorporate clippings from books and periodicals with photos, textiles and lightweight found objects to create a mood, make a social commentary or explore emotions and social boundaries.

Instructions

Prepare Your Items

1. Clip a variety of images from magazines, catalogs, brochures, postcards and glossy ads that appeal to you, evoke an emotional response or make a statement. Sort your chosen images by theme.

2. Leaf through old books and newspapers for bits of text from headlines, captions and advertisements that fit any of your image themes. Clip any words or groups of words that provoke a strong reaction, whether positive or negative.

3. Trim your clippings as you wish. Trim neater for positive, inspiring or traditional themes, or leave ragged edges if your themes are provocative, challenging or nontraditional.

4. Lay your images in various combinations with one another, adding, removing and repositioning everything until the effect makes the statement you want to convey and appeals to your eye.

5. Place found and natural objects such as twigs, feathers, seeds, pressed flower petals, leaves, stones, bits of fur or cloth, jewelry findings, shells, beads, aquarium gems or any other items with personal significance where they create the effects you desire in your collage. Add, remove and reposition everything until you are satisfied with your arrangement.

6. Remove each found object, placing it in the same position it held in your collage, in a separate area on your work table. Remove the images you intend to layer over your central image as well.

Prepare Your Background

7. Use a heavier, stronger material such as plywood, particle board or melamine for your background if your collage includes heavier items such as large aquarium gems, branches or anything that might require a stronger or faster-drying adhesive than white craft glue. Use paper, cardboard or craft foam sheets if most of your collage items are lightweight.

8. Measure the area where your collage will hang, and cut your background material to fit that space.

9. Finish your chosen background material to the extent that is most compatible with your collage. For example, give a carefully trimmed collage with delicate elements a smooth, painted background with a formal frame. Leave your background unpainted if your collage theme is rough, negative or provocative.

10. Use a damp sponge to brush the back of a paper, cardboard or poster board background with water. This prevents curling and wrinkling caused by unequal moisture levels. Allow the background to dry before proceeding.

Finish Your Collage

11. Turn your chosen central image "bad" side up. Squeeze white craft glue back and forth onto the back of the image, avoiding the edges by at least 1/4 inch. Use less glue than you think you need since it is easier to add more glue than it is to clean excess when you press your image into place.

12. Dip a 1/2-inch to 1-inch wide paintbrush in water, and stroke it across a piece of scrap paper several times. Use the wet brush to feather and smooth the lines of glue on your chosen image. Smoothing ensures that your image will adhere to the background and eliminates ridges formed by lines of dried glue.

13. Use care when you pick up your image. Dip the unglued side of the image in water, and allow it to drip-dry for two to three minutes.

14. Hold your image glue-side down so only the center touches your background. Smooth the image from center to top right, center to bottom right, center to bottom left and center to top left to prevent trapping air bubbles. Poke any bubbles that do form with a pin and smooth the image again.

15. Glue the remaining images and text in their correct positions. Allow the glue to dry for three to five hours before proceeding to glue anything that is too heavy for white craft glue.

16. Glue all of your found objects in place.

17.Mat or frame your collage, and hang it as desired.

Draw Texture

Texture in drawing involves creating the sense of a certain type of surface on an image, for example, fur on a cat. Images can be realistic or abstract, but texture can give the illusion of a surface with some sort of tactile quality. Examples of tactile qualities are, smooth, rough, furry or spiky. Children as well as adults can enjoy this drawing technique.

Instructions

1. Start by collecting simple drawing materials such as a piece of paper and a pencil with an eraser. Use any drawing material that appeals to you such as pen and ink, pastel or even crayon for children.

2. Think of an image that you would like to texture. Draw an outline of that image on your paper.

3. Create texture by repeating marks that have the character of the surface you desire. For example, repeat short straight lines to draw the texture of the hair of a short haired cat. Place the lines parallel and next to each other. Repeat them many times. This is called a hatch technique. Create the texture of curly hair by repeating small circles next to each other. Build the illusion of the texture through repetition.

4. Experiment with new materials and create more textures. Any tool that can make a mark can create an illusion of a surface texture if you repeat the mark over and over. Create wonderful visual works by combining various textures in one drawing.

Oral cavity Painting Ideas

Cheek painting is a great activity at school carnivals, picnics, parks and even just at home. Children enjoy picking an image for each side of their face and the surprise of finally seeing it on themselves when it's complete.

Picking the Face Paint

If you are going to paint the faces of strangers, or if you're going to charge for your services, pick hypoallergenic face paint. Children who have allergies may break out if the face paint is poor quality or non-hypoallergenic. Search online the face paint you are looking for, or look at a craft store. Pick a kit that comes with a few quality paint brushes. Some kits come with glitter, or you can buy glitter to stick on the child's face afterward.

Display

Make sure that you can actually paint the images that you say you can paint. Do a test on a piece of paper. Draw each design and make a display the children can pick from. Keep your designs simple, colorful and easily recognizable. You may want to avoid any commercial images like cartoon characters, because these are much more difficult to replicate quickly.

Ideas for Girls

Girls tend to be attracted to rainbows, flowers, stars, hearts, puffy clouds, suns, butterflies, snowflakes, comets, mermaids, smiley faces, dolphins, horses and unicorns and teddy bears. Items that are cute, pink and symbolic of love or friendships are all hot items for girls. Remember to keep the image simple. Children have small cheeks, so be sure to keep the images well-contained.

Ideas for Boys

Of course there is an overlap between boys' and girls' preferences. Boys like some of the same things as girls, like stars, suns, comets, smiley faces and teddy bears. Be sure to include some images in your repertoire more specifically geared toward boys. Cars, trucks, rocket ships, snakes, dragons, turtles, bumble bees, airplanes, spiders and spider webs are just a few examples.

References

Do research online if you need an image to refer to when creating your face paintings. Clip art makes for an excellent reference because these images are usually broken down with cartoon-like simplicity, making them easy to look off of and imitate.

Create A Paper Camera

Spawn your child’s interest in photography. Make a paper camera with a view finder that outlines imaginary pictures. This paper craft uses a rectangular box with a rounded lens and a viewing tube for the future photographer to see what pictures will look like. Top it off with a shutter button to make a paper camera that just might become a favorite toy.

Instructions

1. Fold a sheet of construction paper in half in the direction of width.

2. Open the paper and bring both ends in to meet the middle and fold, creating quarters. The quarters form the outer camera body.

3. Open the paper again and make a 1 1/2 inch fold down both sides lengthwise. These strips form sides to box in the camera.

4. Open the paper and bring one end up to the third quarter fold. Press the paper against itself and draw a rectangle 1 inch by 1/2 inch in the upper left corner. Draw the rectangle at least 1/2 inch away from all folds. Hold the paper together and cut out the rectangle through both sections of the page. The two holes open a view finder.

5. Open the paper and refold the sheet into quarters. Open again, refold the two lengthwise strips and hold them folded. Pull the end quarter with the rectangular hole up at a 90-degree angle. Pinch the side strips into triangles, inside the box frame. Tape the pinches to hold the quarter section at the 90-degree angle.

6. Follow the procedure in Step 5 on the next two consecutive quarters. Leave the top flap open to insert a viewer tube and stick on a lens.

7. Fold a separate sheet of black paper in half at the width and bring one side to the fold to make a quarter. Mark a 3-inch line along this quarter fold. Cut along the fold. Then cut down to the edge at a 90-degree angle to free a small rectangular sheet. This will become the viewing tube.

8. Fold the viewing tube to fit the rectangular holes. Hold the small sheet with the quarter page length sideways. Start by folding 1/2 inch, then 1 inch, another 1/2 inch to make the tube meet. Tape the edges together, forming a rectangular tube.

9. Stick tape to the inside of the tube with an excess flap to stick on the outside of the camera. Open the camera and tape the tube to both view finder cut-outs.

10. Cut a 1 1/2 inch strip from the remaining quarter of the black sheet. Curl it into a tube and tape closed. This is the outer lens.

11. Release a small strip of tape from the dispenser and partially stick it to something nearby, so it’s retrievable with one hand. Roll a section of white copy paper into a cone. Slip the outer lens over the outside and mark the tube’s length on the cone. Hold the cone’s shape and remove the tube. Tape the cone together between the marks and cut out the marked section.

12. Cut a 1/4 inch strip from the remaining length of black construction paper. Coil the flat side around a pen and hold for a few seconds.

13. Slather glue over the inside of the cone. Pull the inside end of the coiled black strip through the narrow opening and uncoil strip against the glue in a spiral from the wide end to the narrow opening. Let dry for 20 to 30 minutes.

14. Stick 3 strips of tape to the inside of one end of the lens tube. Fold them against the inner tube to angle them to the inside. Press the angled tape against the front of the camera body. Roll 2 tape strips into a loop with the sticky sides out. Stick these to the outside of the wide end of the cone. Slip the cone into the lens tube and press the tape loops against the inner tube.

15. Fold a small piece of black paper into a bundle that’s as wide as a strip of tape. Tape it to the camera top at the upper right to act as a shutter button.

16. Close the top flap of the camera body and tape it together at the outside. You’re ready to play.

Conjugate "To VisitInch In The spanish language

Spanish is a beautiful language spoken in many parts of the world. To speak the language properly, one of the things you need to understand is conjugate verbs. The Spanish verb "ir" means "to go" and is used frequently in everyday conversation. Mastering the different tenses and forms of this verb and others will help you on your way to expressing yourself well in Spanish. There is no way to learn these conjugations better than by memory and frequent practice, so go ahead and get started today.

Instructions

Preparation

1. 3x5 Notecards

Write the conjugations you learn on a 3x5 card and memorize them. It is best to carry them with you throughout the day and practice them frequently. Before you begin you will need to learn the Spanish pronouns:

Yo (I), Tu (You singular), El (He), Ella (She), Usted (You, formal), Nosotros/Nosotras (We, masculine and feminine), Vosotros/Vosotras (You plural informal, masculine and feminine), Ellos (They masculine), Ellas (They feminine), Ustedes (You plural, formal).

2. Memorize the present tense first.

I go = Yo voy

You go = Tu vas

He/She goes = El/Ella va

You (singular formal) go = Usted va

We go = Nosotros(as) vamos

You (plural informal) go = Vosotros(as) vais

They go = Ellos/Ellas van

You (plural formal) go = Ustedes van

3. She is past tense.

Start practicing the preterite (past) tense, next.

I went = Yo fui

You went = Tu fuiste

He/She/You went = El/Ella/Usted fue

We went = Nosotros fuimos

You went = Vosotros fuisteis

They/You went = Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes fueron

4. Used to go

Move on to the imperfect indicative (continuous past) tense.

I used to go = Yo iba

You used to go = Tu ibas

He/She/You used to go = El/Ella/Usted iba

We used to go = Nosotros ibamos

You used to go = Vosotros ibais

They/You used to go = Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes iban

5. Welcome to the future tense.

Practice the future tense after you have completed the others.

I will go = Yo ire

You will go = Tu iras

He/She/You will go = El/Ella/Usted ira

We will go = Nosotros iremos

You will go = Vosotros ireis

They/You will go = Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes iran