Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Personalised Birthday Gift Ideas




Finding that extra special birthday gift isn't always an easy prospect, but with personalised birthday gift ideas you can give a gift that is fun and entertaining or heartfelt and emotional; one thing's for certain, it will always be unique. An array of different items and gifts can be personalised to include one or more photographs, chosen by you, in order to ensure that the recipient truly appreciates the thought and enjoys their gift.

Any Recipient, Any Birthday

One of the greatest benefits of choosing personalised gift ideas is their flexibility. As well as being the ideal gift choice for any occasion, they can be given to any recipient. Ideal as presents for him, for her, or for children, the assortment of items further enhances the range of options. Canvas prints, photo blankets, and even personalised wallpaper can all be customised to include the image or images of your choice.

Personalise A Range Of Items With Any Photograph

Customised photo gift ideas can be completely personalised in order to include photographs or any images. Digital photographs do tend to work best and are the most popular option because of the improvements in digital photography but even old slides and 6 x 4 prints can often be scanned and converted into great looking birthday presents and any gift ideas. As well as photographs, you have the option to use other images and pictures in order to create unique items.

Customised Gift Ideas

Gift ideas include items of wall art like canvas prints; created in virtually any size and using dimensions that fit your photograph and your wall. Triptych or multi canvas prints offer an even more unique method of displaying your chosen picture and are ideal for nature photographs as well as landscape pictures.

More Photo Gift Selections

As well as canvas prints, other forms of wall art include pop art representations of your photographs. With an extra dose of colour, a photograph of the recipient can become even more fun and especially unique; perfect for adorning their wall at home or even in the office. Photo blocks, photo cubes, blankets and cushions, photo bags, and many other gift ideas can be customised to include one or more images.

Last Minute Gifts

Considering how good personalised photo gifts look, they can be created and delivered in a surprisingly short space of time. Perfect as a last minute gift or for those times when you've forgotten a special date and need to give an extra special gift, photo canvases and other personalises photo gifts can be delivered as soon as the very next day.

More Than Birthday Gifts

Personalised photo items do make exceptional birthday gift ideas and can be given for any birthday and to any recipient. However, the possibilities don't end with birthday gifts; anniversaries, the birth of a new baby, weddings, and any other special occasion can be celebrated with the giving and receiving of a special customised photo gift. With wall art, home décor, and even soft furnishings, there's no reason you can't treat yourself to a personalised gift or two either.

Art is composed of many expressive disciplines. It refers to various human activities and artifacts, used to cover all aspects of skill or mastery. Art is an expression or communication of emotions and ideas, a means of exploring and appreciating formal elements. www.made-from-india.com is a one-stop online information center on antiques & collectibles, brassware & brass handicrafts, diaries & calendars, handicrafts, incense & incensory, sculptures & paintings etc.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

How to Master the Art of Giving Gifts to Anyone?




I have this amazing friend of mine, Wesley. He is just so good at the art of giving gifts to anyone. His way and abilities to sense the inclination of a human being for objects is unbelievable. I do not remember even a single person who was unhappy with whatever he gifted him/her. He seems to have mastered the art of sensing all what people want, and most importantly, "At the Right Time!"

What do you think Wesley would buy to his friends? Let me tell you something; he never spends a big amount on his gifts. All what he gifts are small things from a local shop or anything related to a particular one, but really inexpensive.

I am going to reveal Wesley's secret in the next few lines.

Wesley believed that we all are in need of something every single day of our life. It is just that we do not realize it sometimes. All that we need to do is to identify what any person is in need of at a particular time.

For example, my ten year old son may be wishing for a pair of nice baseball stuff to play, but I buy him a nice mp3 player on his birthday! Or I buy my best friend a nice pair of clothes on his anniversary, when I know he falls sick frequently throughout the year and that a medical insurance policy could be a better present for him this time. To put it in simple words, your gift should make some sense to the receiver and should be apt for the occasion on which it is presented.

Wesley's theory is simple and easy to understand. We all need to know people around us. We need to talk to them about how things are going in their lives, identify their current needs and buy them something based on what they need. And once you have mastered the art of knowing people around you, buying gifts would no more be a difficult task for you.

Art is composed of many expressive disciplines. It refers to various human activities and artifacts, used to cover all aspects of skill or mastery. Art is an expression or communication of emotions and ideas, a means of exploring and appreciating formal elements. www.made-from-india.com is a one-stop online information center on antiques & collectibles, brassware & brass handicrafts, diaries & calendars, handicrafts, incense & incensory, sculptures & paintings etc.It posses an authentic directory of arts & crafts product catalogue, art & crafts product buyers, & sellers, Indian manufacturers & exporters of beautiful range of gifts & crafts deals in different types of assortments like key chains, handicrafts, crystals, paper crafts etc.

There are a number of ideas you can find on websites for a particular occasion but I believe that gifts should be sensible. They should make some sense to the receiver and should be apt for the occasion on which they are presented.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Unique Photo and Crafting - Gift Ideas




How Do You Give a Reasonably-Priced, Unique Birthday or Holiday Gift?

After, you read this article, you will have at your disposal a lifetime list of some of the best, healthiest, and readily-available gifts that you could give to someone.

Okay, that birthday is coming up, that holiday is creeping up slowly and you still have time but no ideas, what do you do? You are going to a party and you have no clue what to give; where do you begin? Ah, the "celebration" party has just about everything and needs nothing more; what do you give?

Almost everyone loves photos. Yet, giving photos may be an 'old' idea. Well, everyone has their own camera, and everyone can take pictures so what kind of gift is that?

IF you think of celebrations ahead of time, weeks or months in advance, you can give a most wonderful special gift that cannot be duplicated by anyone you know.

Here is how you can make your photo gift, your photo craft - SPECIAL! Here's how to put your own personal touch in there that will make your gift different from all the rest EVEN if others give photos as presents.

PREPARE AND GIVE GIFTS OF:

  • TIME

In cases of family presents, we all have the "old" photos, old family history photos, and current photos of past holidays. Consider doing a "lifetime" photo album for someone who has no time to collect, sort and mount photos into archival photo albums. You can give the gift of TIME! Gather copies of all of your old photos and place those copies into a beautiful album. This is a great gift for someone who has piles of photos in boxes yet has no organized way to view them. A great way to give this gift of time is to pre-arrange an outing (to a state park or festival), take photos and do drawings throughout the festival and then collage them all, bring all the art together and present the present to your recipient later on in the year. (For example, go to a "holiday" celebration, parade or festival during the month of the person's birthday and collect the memorabilia for your future collage. If a person's birthday is in February, you can collect hearts and flowers and valentine's type themes at local events, and create a "red and white" special collage or photo book for that person. If their birthday is in September, you might collect "fall" type items, or if in December, you might collect Christmas themed-items and do a holiday or Christmas combined "birthday/Christmas" collage or photo book.
  • MOTION:

Photos, video photos, this is the way to go, especially if your recipient does not own a video camera. You do the video at the event. After you take the videos you can put them online through one of the free website services. Check with a good search engine to find a free website that permits you to post photographs and videos. Then put your family video up there ON PRIVATE - so that only your family can see the video. You can do some research online and even find some programs that allow you to make a "video scrapbook" . Now, that's the perfect gift for someone who has a computer but does not have a video camera. There are many sites online where you can store and display videos. This is very helpful for those people who do not own video cameras. If your family member doesn't own a video camera, he/she can still enjoy seeing videos online if you store them at one of those free sites. If you have a holiday video, you might even be able to bring that to one of your local tv stations for display there. The key is creativity, hard-work, positive-thinking and persistence.
  • LOVE:

This Valentine's Day go out and photograph all of the beautiful window displays and community displays that feature hearts and valentines and valentines-related theme pictures. Collect these and save them for the following year. Do some of your own valentine poetry or go online and do some research for some free poems that you can use in your personal album. (Lots of sites have poems and art subjects you can use FREE -as long as you do not use them for commercial purposes. Obey all copyright laws and double-check to make sure these images are free. So, after collecting free images and poetry all year long, put your work together in a nice scrapbook. Check with your local scrapbook stores to find "scrapbook" pages to make your album beautiful. You can also check with Pearl Paint Stores and Michaels Crafts for some awesome additions to your collection. Both of these stores are awesome and have reasonably-priced items for all holidays.
  • COLLAGE:

You can give the gift of "time" in another way. Make a collage of either old or new photos OR combine some old and new into a time line capsule collage. If you go to thrift shops or garage sales, you can usually find old magazines and even some newspapers to use in your collage. Create a unique collage, place it all together on a craft board, and to top this present off, make a beautiful photograph of the collage. That last item will be your special personalized gift that is irreplaceable. Your photo of your collage. Most people you know will love a collage that is personal.
  • FAME:

Yes, you' ve heard it - Fame! Here is an idea if you live in a small town or in a town that has small libraries with display cases. PLAN a holiday or birthday display for a family member or friend. Once you plan it - gather all the photographs, collages and craft items along with your poetry or writings. Put it all together in a public display of your affection, time , love and connection to your family members and friends. The way to arrange it is this, go into your local library and speak with the reference librarian. Tell that person that you would like to have a month's display on the topic of CELEBRATION. Tell them that you will include pictures or writings about local celebrations, parades, festivals etc, and then you have a space for free to display your work. (Sometimes they need 2 or 3 months advance notice to make your reservation of the library exhibit space). Now, as you collect different memorabilia (from your city or state), collect also some of your family pictures that you know your family would want to have on display (be sure of this!). When you go to set up your exhibit, add the family pictures to the display, and that is the perfect gift for someone who has EVERYTHING. Send the announcement of the display in a card to your recipient and you are set. ALWAYS get permission to display individual photograph portraits of people in public displays.

YOU MIGHT NEED:

Sometimes you may need model release forms for your photographs. Check out this site that has free release forms online.

HEALTH AND SAFETY (For Artists)

If you do a search for arts hazards or arts safety or arts techniques safety , you will come up with a good number of websites that furnish great information about art and health and hazards.

USE your imagination and you will come up with ten more ways to celebrate using collage and photography and your crafting skills.

FIND YOUR CRAFT ITEMS:

  1. PEARL PAINT STORES - This group of stores is located in New York City in the heart of Chinatown. They carry craft items of everything from sumi-e supplies, puzzles, photography, art, watercolor, stamping and hundreds of other craft items. They have so many items that it takes FIVE stores to hold all of the items. (One store alone is five stories high).
  2. PORTER'S PHOTOGRAPHY - Look up this store on the net. It is one of the best photography supply places that we have found. We have purchased items from this store so we do recommend it highly. They have prompt delivery, accurate service and great products.
  3. PUBLIC LIBRARIES - Surprise! You will find craft items here, sometimes even prettier and more rare than those you find at craft stores or photo stores. MOST libraries sell old books and sometimes those OLD books are good enough for collage supplies. You can purchase a book for fifty cents or one dollar and with that one purchase you will gather tons of pictures, illustrations and other embellishments good for your collage.
  4. FAMILY AND FRIENDS - Ask. Ask everyone you know if they have any old magazines or books that they would like to donate towards your craft projects. You might come up with some wonderful ideas and supplies for your next projects.
  5. PORTER'S ONLINE - (no relation to the Porter's Photography) - Though we have not purchased from this company, their website looks good so it's worth checking it out as soon as possible. You can find this one online by using the Google search tool. This catalog is an awesome photography and crafts tool .
  6. THRIFT STORES - You can sometimes find old photography albums at these stores and also, they have been known to sometimes have scrapbook items.

LOOK!

Once you really open your eyes to talent and creativity, you can come up with awesome ideas of expanding your creative collection for future gifts.

Look around your city and town and you will be surprised at the talent that you can find. Get permission to check out the high school art departments and ask about having the services of the local photographers there to do your special photographs.

Look into non-profit groups in your area. So many times, non-profits have access to mural-painters and other up-and-coming artists. So perhaps you can make some connections there.

Look into the annual fairs and festivals. These are types of events that artists seek out. And usually, if the fair or festival is large enough, you might even see a special art exhibit just for that event.

Look into your own network of friends and relatives. There are very creative people around you. In your own circle of family and friends, you probably will find some talented writers, artists, poets and other creative individuals --right there where you are. Enlist their help in some of your art projects.

Art is composed of many expressive disciplines. It refers to various human activities and artifacts, used to cover all aspects of skill or mastery. Art is an expression or communication of emotions and ideas, a means of exploring and appreciating formal elements. www.made-from-india.com is a one-stop online information center on antiques & collectibles, brassware & brass handicrafts, diaries & calendars, handicrafts, incense & incensory, sculptures & paintings etc.

It posses an authentic directory of arts & crafts product catalogue, art & crafts product buyers, & sellers, Indian manufacturers & exporters of beautiful range of gifts & crafts deals in different types of assortments like key chains, handicrafts, crystals, paper crafts etc.

So, in summary, remember these important items when thinking about using crafts and photography for gifts:

HEALTH and SAFETY: Always use safe materials and keep them away from children. Many of the creative arts kits and paints and painting kits contain lead. These kits are not toys but kits for beginning and professional artists. Take care when bringing these into homes and schools.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Arts, Gift and Crafts


Arts, crafts and gifts are few of the ancient sectors which are going on through a long span of time. These can be said as things, which are used for various purposes and helps in making a complete home. Although there are many use of these things that makes a life complete. Gifts are given to express the feelings or love to someone, but still they are considered as non living things. Today, the meaning of these things has changed to a lot. Earlier it were just, a subordinate or ordinary things, but now there is a separate industry and people strive their livelihood on these things.

Arts and Crafts have totally changed their dimension as they used to portray in front of the Indian audiences. Earlier these things were considered just hobbies, but now they had taken a professional turn. There are museums being organized for special auction of art and crafts. Art galleries are being made and constructed, so that the talent comes out people should look more towards it in a professional manner. Earlier art and craft were limited up to specific things, but now the range of articles offered are aluminum handicrafts, wooden handicrafts and decorative.

When it comes to being professional and as an industry, the demand for handicrafts made in India is in demand all across the world. There are nominated painters and craftsmen who have achieved big marks in this field. The export is in large quantity. People from across the world, visit to India for getting the handicrafts which are being made here. The demand has increased in other countries is such that, in foreign countries, skilled workers are called from India. Also there are many Indians across who are present in foreign countries and doing good while dealing in art and craft sectors. Many exporters from India, who were dealing in art as their adjoining export, have been converted into full time exports of these materials. In countries like Italy & France there is a lot of demand of clay paintings done in India. Exporters from India know the real essence of the market and they are doing well in the business. Moreover the demand of gift articles is also a lot in the foreign countries.

Many players in gift, art and craft are now big shots. Although there is a lot of competition among them but they make sure everyone is making a good business. All the manufacturers and exporters are aware of the nerve of the people purchasing the items and manufacture accordingly.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Effective Ways to Use Promotional Gifts

Promotional gifts can be used for all companies, large, small and even non profit. Practically anything can be branded with your logo and used as a gift. The type of product you choose and how you gift it depends entirely on what your aim is. There are so many effective strategies that can be incorporated in to your marketing campaign.


Perhaps you want increase sales and add profile to your brand. A good method here is to reward customers on purchase. This is a great method to encourage sales and a gift "while stocks last" helps immediate sales. Make sure you choose an item that your audience will like and want. It is also important to think carefully about the profit margin, which will dictate how much you can spend on the item. . .


Including a promotional gift with a mailer ensures the mail is opened. Everybody loves to receive gifts in the post. Once the mailer is opened your information will be in full view by the recipient which will ensure your message is conveyed. Make sure you choose something that is in keeping with your campaign to add to the overall message from your company. . .


Perhaps you want to reward those long lasting clients. It is repeat business that keeps many businesses afloat so make sure you look after those that are important to you. A simple box of chocolates works wonders and printed with your logo reinforces your company's image to the client. This will ensure they will continue to use your services in the future.. .


Perhaps the most important aspect of a business is the staff. Good staff are hard to come by and it important that they are rewarded. Staff will feel happy that their achievements have been recoginsed and this will help to spur them on in the future. You could hold an award ceremony in from of their colleagues to help motivate the whole team. It is important here to choose something that will be greatly received and marks the worth of the employee. ..


Perhaps you want to set certain targets for your staff; you could offer a gift as an award. This will help to motivate the staff to get to certain levels and they know there is something in it for them if they do. The promotional gift would be branded with your company's logo that would not only give your company credibility but everywhere the gift is displayed your company's logo will be on view for all to see. ..


Promotional gifts are ideal for building brand loyalty and brand identity. What makes them so effective is that they are given away, everybody loves a freebie. In most cases they are kept by the recipient offering more longevity than any other form of advertising. The fact there are so many gifts on the market to choose from you can choose something that is in-keeping with your company's image, something that your audience will like and also something that will reflect your brand. Not only can you have your logo and possible message printed on them, you can also choose the colour scheme to match your company's colours. So what are you waiting for? Make you next order of promotional gifts today.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Jewellery Art Touches Worship of Souls


Thai jewellery art from prehistoric period until Rattanakosin era has been created for humans. But it is not created to only present finest craftsmanship or for decoration. According to archeological and anthropological evidence, it can be assumed that jewellery is one of the very first ways men used to represent their sense of beauty and to build their relationship with community and surroundings. The most important thing is the purpose of the jewellery which is to worship sacred souls of nature and self by using "body" to drive "internal context." This article aims to present ideas supported by principles and to discuss processes important to knowledge of jewellery art. This is for ascendants to be able to bring back fading importance of jewelry art to its glory once again. History of Thai jewellery art has started 50,000-1,700 years ago. Necklaces and bracelets made of shells and bones are discovered in graves of both men and women. As for the reason why jewellery is often buried with the dead, cultural anthropologists point that people in those days believed that death might be a form of life continuity, similar to Brahman (a religion founded after Buddhism) who believe that souls of the dead will be reborn. Jewellery should then follow those who passed away to serve them in the next life.

Men do not only try to understand their environment by reshaping it, they also study characteristics of individuals and communities. This can be seen from spaces systematically arranged for culture until men can defeat the chaos of the nature. In a study on an evolution of civilisation, this idea appears in the form of belief. Men blend themselves with the traditions they practise, planted in each man until "customs" are formed. Jewellery or mysterious objects thus become a symbol of this combined worship. This is because it is closest to men's bodies and best expresses human behaviours. Eventhough men always reorganise and improve their customs and traditions, the belief in the power of objects remains. It is reflected from the fact that they continue to create superstitious objects for the worship of the souls and life. Boundary of the belief is limited by religious rituals which are supported by cultural objects, jewellery. The belief is preserved in the form of folktales as well as pictures representing relationships between men, nature, power and the world. This importance is a condition for men to choose an alternative best fit with the context, for example, materials, forms, colours, symbols.

Nevertheless, the ritual cannot be without "body." This is because the body is the first place where interactions take place and touches with the jewellery. At the same time, the body brings out internal context of the jewellery to complete this worship for purity of the souls. For an intended worship, the superstitious materials of the prehistoric men are the basis of the belief before verbal communications, reflected through language, images and forms. Therefore, cultural objects are represented by beauty of structure, timing, or eternity in symbolic forms. These symbols are related to stories. Jewellery is the result of men's intention to worship the sacred souls wholeheartedly.

Jewellery is created, from prehistory to today, for 4 important objectives; to pay respect on status, to show moral support, to worship the rituals of life, and to celebrate the beauty of philosophy and aesthetic. Results of an analysis on these aspects will bring together images or forms of the legacy of the delicacy of Thai wisdoms.

1. Jewellery as respect on status
Because Thai Buddhism culture is influenced by Brahman and Hindu, abstract beliefs are combined into attitudes. It is expressed through the faith in "ideal states," states beyond the acknowledgement of the 5 senses. This state has the power to change the world, men or objects. Thai Buddhism culture pays attention to status of individuals with individuality created by surreal power. Therefore, jewellery is a tool in worshipping these different states. Men adopt the above ideal and develop social ranking and status. This is for the purpose of communications and ruling, especially for the idea of divined god.

2. Jewellery as a tool for moral support
This special tool of expression continues its duty. Now it is not only indicate status, but full of internal power and forces. The images and beliefs of the jewellery bring superstitious power into itself. This kind of jewellery is not as expressive as the first one. It has its own place. This is because a wearer wants to hide the power and keep the moral support personal. Jewellery for moral support has psychological effect on 3 aspects;

o Blessings
o Protection
o Superstitious beliefs

3. Jewelley as a mean to worship rituals of life
Consider life cycle: be born, grow old, fall ill and die, we will find that jewellery is one of the objects embracing cultural contexts, value and stories. Images and the soul of jewellery art, therefore, reflect each part of human's life and timing.This type of jewellery aims to worship relationships of the individuals. It acts as a mean to fulfill the stories of life and psychological functions. It allows the wearer to feel the importance of mind, body and environment as part of one another and traditions. It also represents physical elements of "publicity" which strengthen the unity of the community.

4. Jewellery as celebration of the beauty of philosophy and aesthetics
What differentiates this kind of jewellery is that men start to look at jewellery as art and/or design. The influence of jewellery as an object of moral support is fading. Using jewellery as a way to express individuals plays more important role. Jewellery can be compared to a philosophical and aesthetical medium. Importance of skilled craftsmanship and attention on materials selection thus increase. Development of this kind of jewellery is distinct and outstanding from prehistoric period until today.This kind of jewellery represents motivation of unknown artistic elements; composition, design theories, philosophy. Sometimes it travels beyond traditional practice. Jewellery is like a heart or imagination which expresses our feelings. It may change our thoughts, emotions and feelings. It also holds history and stories. Each man has his own tales and poems. He keeps these to himself until he finds a way to express them through jewellery. But jewellery requires special skills and materials in order to best reflect thoughts and perceptions of the wearer.

As mentioned in the introduction that using jewellery as a mean of worship cannot be successful without its relation to a body. This is because the body is the first place where the jewellery touches and is the first sensual gate; sights, sounds, smells, tastes, body and mind. Body is what moves internal context of the jewellery and brings it out. Movement made while wearing a piece of jewellery might change the whole meaning of it; even before it is perceived, interpreted and completely expressed its essence.There have been delicate customs in using body and spaces between the body and the jewellery from prehistoric period until Rattanakosin era. There are 4 aspects that should be mentioned.

o The belief that there is a sacred soul inside the body worth paying respect and worshipping.
o Physical beauty: There are parts and spaces on or between human body which should be worshipped by decoration. This sometimes includes establishing a new idealised beauty.
o Flaws on the body should be decorated or hidden.
o Something to carry, remind, remember by or recall one's memory of essence of worship.

Men would appreciate the internal context of the jewellery when they contemplate the results of their interactions with the jewellery, at the right time and right place. If the thought about the beauty of placing jewellery upon the body doest not appear on the body, men then cannot feel the "rite of interaction" through any senses. This is because every element of the jewellery is created in comply with its internal context, with an attention that men would notice, perceive, communicate and interpret what they feel or see by observing its meaning through the senses and preparing for the worship of the souls.

The above condition shows the beauty dynamic of the jewellery which can be perceived by sights, tastes, smells, sounds and touches. It aims to convey a message beyond beauty which helps men to understand the internal context. It is a perfect meeting between the jewelry art and men. If a man doubts the eternity of the internal context of the jewellery when he touches it, will the meeting always be able to provide the answers? Is there anything else men need to know or learn about limitations if they cannot feel them when they first touch the jewellery. As Albert Einstein's theory says that the beginning of things consists of the balanced relativity between "time and place" or time and space. They cannot be separated. This is because they are interdependent. Time and space determine measurement within the universe.

Another way of saying this is that time has the beginning and the end. And time also plays roles in the living of the things in the universe. The results of this theory answer the questions on the art of jewellery and provide more understanding on the truth of matters in the universe. This is in addition to the essence of Buddhism which believes that nothing lasts forever and one thing cannot appear without another. What is the balanced "relativity" between the jewellery and a man who touches it in terms of the results of the worship. Every piece of jewellery must contain a symbol, implication, stimulation and/or evidence which can be explained as a mean of communication. This interrelationship is formed by objectives, the rite of the interactions, including the revolving of time. Sometimes religious riddles hint us on the answers. For example, if the object and/or its name is lost in time, the context would become a pure force. The jewellery is formless but remains in the mind of the man as long as he wants. This is because matters never disappear. They are part of each other regardless of the form. Following are examples from Thai jewellery art which give us interesting images of time and place.

o Indicates specific time and place in order to create the balance which lasts as long as the jewellery itself exists.
o Timeless but has specific place in order to create the balance which lasts as long as the jewellery itself or its wearer exists. Sometimes the jewellery can be created for no specific place. If it is lost, the context will become a pure force as if the jewellery is formless but remain in the mind of the wearer.
o Specific time and place, the jewellery creates the balance for only one time.

Eventhough the jewellery art has its context of worship; with specific place on the body, or within spaces between that body, which means the "place" is specified, the meeting of the two cannot be said as balanced. This is because if we carefully consider the creation of the jewellery, we will find that "time" also makes its conditions. Time may reveal to us some ultimate truths by traces or stains on materials. Place cannot do this but still both cannot be separated. Time and place give different aspects of knowledge and experiences of beauty. Therefore, complete knowledge on the worship requires balanced relativity between time and place.

To conclude, the knowledge and conclusions above are unique and beautiful identity of Thai jewellery art from the prehistoric period to Rattanakosin era. This article on the essence of jewellery is written with a strong intention that all the knowledge in it would challenge our feelings towards the objects which long has the relationships with us. The feelings we have from the touches of jewellery we have worn for so long, in the form of the worship with the pure hearts, make us learn and improve. Those feelings are still the basis which people or artists like us should praise, even forms and value might be changed due to cultural changes. The feelings remain along with the essence of the universe of jewellery. It is created to "worship the sacred souls of the nature," using the "body" to shine the "internal context on the balanced state of time and place." The lights reflect on each of them forever.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Arts and Crafts - A Divine Gift to Humanity

Everything around you are created as art forms. The plants, the soil, the clouds hovering above you in the sky - all resemble art and craft works. Arts and crafts are part and parcel of our own existence.
Any material, waste or otherwise, can be converted into works or art. Wood, wick, cane, leaves, sticks and stones can be converted into artworks if you have an artistic bend of mind. Our forefathers also used these materials in a crude way, but remnants of the artifacts of those periods still enamor most of us. However, we, who lives in this industrialized age, have better choices.
The only pre-requisite for creating arts and crafts is a creative mind. There is no dearth of materials. You should know how to utilize the available things to make artifacts.
Large scale industries manufacturing arts and crafts on a big level have come up. The decorative pieces manufactured by them are comparatively cheaper, but there is a belief that hand crafted items are more valuable and intricate. They even command a huge margin over the prices of machine made articles.
Human beings have developed their own arts and crafts after learning from the Nature. Every man made thing, be it our cloths, our bags, our furnishings, the pieces adorning our houses - all are arts and crafts work. Recently, arts and crafts have become synonymous to stylish living. Most of us love to collect arts and crafts, but many go overboard with their collections, giving their houses the cluttered look of a garage.