So This Is Christmas

Merry Christmas is such an infectious feeling I like to feel that way all year around.

So if you are visiting just before Christmas, just after Christmas or even here on Christmas day I am sure you will find something of interest for you and in the spirit of Christmas.

It may be said that Christmas is no longer a celebration but this must be spoken by people that have never had trouble closing their eyes on Christmas Eve in an expectation of what maybe left for them on the carpet under the tree.

I continue to look forward to the surprise on my Grandchild's faces to this day at Christmas events.

Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Anyone Ought To Experience Contemporary Art!...

By Anna Meenaghan

Art presents itself in many shapes and forms today. To me it is always interesting and gratifying to appreciate other peoples art. You dont necessarily have to like it personally to accept the hard work that has gone into it and the thought behind it.

As I am a contemporary artist, I only know too well how my emotions guide me on my various paintings. If perhaps, I had a hard day, it normally shows in my art. It can range from dramatic to tranquility.

I would say that art is something that is very personal. A work of art that one person loves may have the complete opposite reaction for another. Art is something that is very individual. Thankfully in our modern days there is a such a huge variety of art around that there surely has to be something for everyone. Take Graffiti for example. What one person calls vandalism is anothers work of art.

Just look at pavement artists sketching out their pictures in chalk. This surely is a talent, but one that many passers by can enjoy but yields the artist very little money. Many of us have been to Paris and the Montmartre district where the artists set their easels on the pavements doing quick caricatures much to everyone's amazement and amusement.

More unusual perhaps are sand sculptures which feature in the Canary Islands and I am sure other places. They range from biblical scenes to dragons with real fire breathing out of there nostrils. Mosaics too are very interesting and colourful as these designs can be used on plant pots, walls, gardens etc. and in oh so many ways.

Children are encouraged to create art on a great many occasions. Simply take posters for example. Kids enjoy the challenge to make impressive posters ranging from subjects such as recycling to road safety. And if you are really prepared to let your mind wander a little - What could a really talented individual do with driftwood collected from a beach?

And here is a theme which you might even have on your desk at home. Paperweights, which can range from glass or simple pebbles which were collected, painted and then varnished. Not only is the paperweight very individual, but gathering the pebbles, feeling their textures in your hand, can also provide great fun.

Designing and making your own cards not only brings pleasure to many, but also brings individuality to the recipient. Papermache is another form of art I have never tried, but I really like the results that people manage to achieve. Decoupage in this day and age seems to be very popular, along with scrapbooking, felting, patch working and needlepoint.

With so many different forms of art surrounding us there surely has to be something for anyone. And if you really want to get involved and learn more then there are a great many workshops that are being run in art stores or at schools. The satisfaction and enormous joy that art can bring to people is something that can never be measured, at least not in monetary terms - thank God for that.

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