History of Craft
Napron History: Transformation into Fashion Accessory
A napron for a real man. Guess who first started to wear naprons? The clue, that were men. Okay, we won't torture you with guessing. Officials in the service of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt wore naprons.
Through Time: Fine Art of Vikings
Soulless barbarians or subtly feeling creators? Today I plunged into the topic, what was the art at the Vikings` time. I decided to dig into the Internet, and here's what I have found. In the era of the kings of the sea there were six main art…
Amazing Paintings by Gerda Wegener
The other day I watched a very interesting film "The Danish Girl". It's about the first transgender and his wife. I really liked this movie and I started to search the details. So, his wife was Gerda Wegener. She was an artist, a graphic artist.
Mexican Jewellery: Uniqueness and Tradition
Taxco is a "silver capital" of Mexico. While Europe admired Lalique and Faberge, the life of a small town went on as usual. Such isolation helped to preserve and develop the identity of jewellery. What distinguishes Mexican jewellery?
History of Jewelry: Seed Pearl
Among many types of antique jewelry the amazingly beautiful things made of pearls, tiny as a poppy seed, known as seed pearls stand out. They impress with their complexity and some special tenderness! I am very interested in these fantastic creations of human hands! What is their story?
Lace Artists
For many years I was fortunate to work on the "Snowflake" as a designer together with Galina Marowski and Angelina Rakcheyeva, talented lace artists. Now they are honored artists of Russia.
Style and Dynamics in the Photos by Norman Parkinson
Accidentally I came across some photos, I really liked them, and decided to learn more about the photographer.
St. Valentine's day: How did the First Valentine Cards Look Like
St. Valentine's day is coming. It's February already, the day became longer, and it smells like spring. The mood, of course, can not be romantic.
Heritage of England: Exquisite Embroidery by Helen M. Stevens
Helen M. Stevens was born in Belmont, Surrey, England. In 1981, she established her studio, True Embroideries, and since then her original embroidery became famous worldwide, presented at international exhibitions in Australia, USA, France, Italy,…
Embroidery Technique from Florene: The Forgotten Bargello and Its Limitless Possibilities
I first saw this technique in one of encyclopedias about embroidery — a few scant words about its history, basic rules and features. There was nothing special about the technique in these words. Just one of the options of the counted-thread embroidery. But there were pictures beside.
The Splendor of Spanish Religious Embroidery
One of the interesting facts about Catholic churches is that usually one doesn't see such a large number of icons like in Orthodox temples but they have really great statuary art.
Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam
Tatiana in touch with her story about the Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam.I want to share my emotions about visiting the Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam!This is the largest collection of bags in the world.
Bean Dye Vs. Cabbage Dye
Indigo is one of the oldest colors. Its age is completely indecent, scientists date the first mention of Indigo to 3 millennium BC.
Japanese Handicraft. Part 2
Japan has produced many types of art (discussed in part one), I got interested by kinysayga technique. The imagination of Japanese craftspeople has no boundaries of one type of handicraft, so materials of one handicraft also become materials for another.
Balkhar Ceramics. Folk Crafts of Dagestan
Laktsy - one of the peoples of Dagestan, living in Balkhar, in mountain part of Akyshinskiy District.
Japanese Handicraft
Japan is an amazing country with its culture, customs and mentality. Japanese culture intertwines ancient traditions, new technologies, fashion trends from Europe.
Russian Imperial Family Doing Crafts
The last empress, the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, was a great artist. During her spare minutes she always embroidered, knitted, painted.
Art Nouveau Jewelry and Decor by Philippe Wolfers
At the end of the 19th and in the beginning of the 20th century the Art Nouveau style gave the world many talented jewellers. For example, in France it was Rene Lalique and Georges Fouquet, in Spain — Luis Masriera, in Belgium — Philippe Wolfers.
The History of Creation and Peculiarities of the Chinese Brush
Chinese craftsmen believe that a brush connects heaven and people. In the moment of creating a painting or a calligraphy work it becomes a conductor…
Amazing Rozenburg Porcelain of the Art Nouveau Epoch
Rozenburg Porcelain factory (Haagsche Plateelfabriek Rozenburg), the first in the Netherlands, adopted the features of the Art Nouveau stylistics at the beginning of the 20th century. Jurriaan Kok, the artistic director, together with chemist…
Temari: A Japanese Art of Embroidery on Balls. Ideas for Your Creativity
Temari story covers several centuries. It first appeared in China, grandmothers made them for children from scraps of old kimonos. The balls were imported to Japan in the 8th century. Then they were made so tight that they hopped and bounced from…
How Queens' Garments Were Washed and Where Stored
For example, the dresses of Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sisi). According to the rules of Spanish etiquette (which was taken in the 16th century and…
7 Types of Hair Ornaments
Since antiquity, women (and some men) have decorated their heads and hats with jewelry. Types of precious jewelry for hair can range from simple hair clips to sparkling tiaras, but these terms are often confused.
Chinese and European Painting — What Is the Difference
After a break we return to the Chinese art. We've discussed their way of storing paintings. And what about the painting itself? What are its features compared to the traditional Western art? Their materials are different as we have already said here, here and here. But the main thing is not in it.
History of Jewelry. Earrings
Through the pages of history.During excavations archaeologists find these pieces of jewelry everywhere, regardless of geography and era.
Chinese Painting — More Than an Image
I told you about the tools used by Chinese artists (ink, brushes, paper), how they frame finished paintings.
Papier-mache Dolls' Tale by Natalia Lopusova-Tomskaya
She is a mystery. Nobody knows how a mere mortal can buy her doll. They say, you need to sign up for the months ahead...
A Creative Approach by Helen M. Stevens: Stitch by Stitch
I want to introduce you to a wonderful book about satin stitch embroidery by Helen M. Stevens "One Simple Stitch" (publisher: Rainbow disks ltd).
Caroline Broadhead — Transforming Space Around Body
Caroline Broadhead is an artist and a jeweler, a choreographer and a teacher. She moves easily in many disciplines including jewellery, textiles, furniture, and also takes part in theatrical productions.
Hippies and Love Beads
What's the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about hippies? Long hair, long music festivals and, of course, long, long strings of beads. The hippies called them "love beads". This term was firmly established in English in 1965.
A Scroll vs. a Frame or Why the Chinese Roll Paintings
The Europeans are accustomed that a picture should be framed and hung on a wall. In the East it's different. Nowadays, of course, baguette has penetrated there, and you can see there paintings on walls, but the traditional way of presenting a…
A Man-Made Miracle: the Famous Tablecloth with Birds from the Peranakan Museum in Singapore
Recently one of my friends visited the Singapore's famous Peranakan Museum. As I am doing restoration of old schemes for embroidery, at my request,…
Four Treasures of the Master's Cabinet: Ink and an Ink-pot
We learned how they make paper and brushes for painting and calligraphy in China. Now it's time to talk about ink, because according to the treatises on painting it is the blood of images.
