Best
price, best selection, and best customer service
MisterArt
is the world's largest online discount arts and crafts supply store with
over 40,000 brand name products at discounts of up to 80%-off. MisterArt
continually offers the best price, best selection, and best customer service
for all your art supply needs.
MisterArt
mission is to provide a broad range of art supplies at competitive
prices. We strive for prompt delivery, a full stock of inventory, and complete
customer satisfaction.
MisterArt stocks
a broad range of art supplies and related merchandise in our warehouse.
MisterArt
have one of the largest inventories of any art supply store in the
world. This includes ceramic goods, books, brushes, paint, furniture,
canvas and many other items at discounts up to 80%-off suggested retail
prices. Additionally, MisterArt
carry "Pro Art" products that represent excellent values compared to many
well-known brands.
MisterArt's inventory
is replenished daily, and their database is updated every night.
Go to MisterArt.com
and earn Cash today!!!
Art craft books
Art
for Children: Imaginative Craft Techniques/Practical Printing Ideas/Fantastic
Paper Projects
by Moira Butterfield, Elizabeth
Harden. Hardcover (January 1998)
Christmas
Gifts for Everyone; Unique and Fun Holiday Gifts to Craft for Family Friends
And...
by Barbara Fimbel(Editor). Paperback
(September 1995)
The
Craft and Art of Clay
by Susan Peterson. Hardcover (January
1996)
Crafts
and Craft Shows: How to Make Money
by Philip, Philip Kadubec. Paperback
Fistful
of Art and Craft Ideas : Summer
by O'Leary, Sean C. O'Leary. Paperback
(July 1997)
Fistful
of Art and Craft Ideas : Winter-Christmas
by O'Leary, Sean C. O'Leary. Paperback
(July 1997)
Fistful
of Art and Craft Ideas : Winter-Christmas
by O'Leary, Sean C. O'Leary. Paperback
(July 1997)
Fragrant
Candles (Milner Craft Series)
by Rhondda Cleary. Paperback (January
1998)
Decorating
Your Garden : A Bouquet of Beautiful & Useful Craft Projects to Make
& Enjoy
by Mickey Baskett. Hardcover (April
1998)
Ecology
Crafts for Kids : 50 Great Ways to Make Friends With Planet Earth
by Bobbe Needham. Hardcover (May
1998)
Parchment
Craft (Art of Crafts)
by Carla Larter. Hardcover (May
1999)
Stained
Glass for the First Time : Art Glass Originals
by Art Glass Originals(Editor).
Hardcover (March 2000)
Tools
of the Trade : The Art and Craft of Carpentry
by Jeff Taylor, Rich Iwasaki (Photographer).
Paperback (October 1998)
Treasures
from the Earth : Creating With Flowers and Nature
by Kathy Lamancusa. Paperback (July
1998)
The
Work of Craft : An Inquiry into the Nature of Crafts and Craftsmanship
by Carla Needleman. Paperback (January
1993)
365
Art & Craft Acitvities (Craft & Project Books for Children)
by Donna Shyrer. Hardcover (November
1996)
How
to Build a Dollhouse and Furniture (Kid's Guide to Crafts)
by Tim Bramlett. Paperback (November
1997)
The
Kid's Multicutural Art Book : Art & Craft Experiences from Around the
World (Kids Can)
by Alexandra M. Terzian. Library
Binding (January 1999)
Start
a Craft - Toleware : Get Started in a New Craft With Easy-To-Follow Projects
for Beginners
by Ann Witchell. Hardcover (August
1996)
Start
a Craft: Basket Making
by Polly Pollock. Hardcover (September
1994)
Tie-Dying
: Get Started in a New Craft With Easy-To-Follow Projects for Beginners
(Start-A-Craft)
by Celia Buchanan. Hardcover (June
1995)
Article
index:
-MisterArt.com:
The world's largest online discount art supply store!
-
Old Store
- New Location
Arts & Crafts come of age
As long as nimble fingers and artistic
talent have been around, so have roadside shows and impromptu sales booths
offering ingenious handicrafted items to the public. Always a pleasant
past-time, most people love to wander through arts and crafts shows to
find items they didn't know they could not live without, until they saw
them. It seemed logical that handicrafted articles would be as popular
in cyberspace as in physical space - but they aren't. However, it has become
apparent in the past several years that customers for articles found in
arts and crafts shows are least likely to be computer oriented, and those
most likely to locate handicrafted articles in physical, roadside shows,
are least likely to be looking for similar articles on the Internet.
There have been hundreds, more likely
thousands, of web pages published in the past several years presenting
a great variety of homemade articles for sale. A number of countries aid
their local merchants in preparing Internet web pages offering craft items
unique to their particular area of the World. We have spoken with activity
directors at retirement centers that have literally spent thousands of
dollars in purchasing attractive websites and preparing image files and
descriptions in appropriate format for their resident's crafted items to
be offered online. The websites were carefully and diligently entered into
all the major search engines and the sellers sat back and waited for orders.
In almost all cases the results were singularly disappointing.
The most obvious recourse is email
advertising. However, this process often seems to result in clashes with
anti-spam groups. A postal mailbox stuffed with advertising flyers is accepted
and even desired by a majority of the public. An unsolicited email message
is labeled as "spam" and attacked, sometimes quite viciously, by knowledgeable
computer operators until "advertising" and "spam" have become almost synonymous.
This, of course, has probably transpired primarily due to the efforts of
pornographers. Whatever the cause, the results have made it very difficult
for online arts and craft shows to reach the public. There is no traffic
driving by online craft shows and the majority of potential customers may
have email available, and will respond to an offer landing in their mailbox,
but they have not the inclination or expertise to surf the Internet looking
for online arts and crafts shows.
An alternative may be to consider
the Internet as a source of almost unlimited storage for catalogs of handicrafted
items. A customer may drive hundreds of miles to attend an arts and crafts
show and walk around among the various booths. If the booth owners would
advise the customers on how they could review these arts and crafts articles
online in between physical shows, this very well might provide the missing
attention to online shows. I published a website in 1999 that displays
a variety of "booths". Potential customers, once they find the basic website,
can wander around among the booths just as easily as attending a physical
show and walking from booth to booth. Each online booth provides an immediate
link or access to the other booths. In most cases these online booth owners
hold physical shows at regular intervals, or at their homes, or businesses.
Just as auto dealers have found it expedient and advantageous to all of
them to set up shop in the same area as other auto dealers, so online arts
and craft booths will find it advantageous to set up their cyberspace booth
in the same area and other booths. Once customers find an "arts & crafts
area" they like, they will be inclined to return to that area in the future
to review the great variety of products the catalogs provide. The greater
the variety of handicraft items offered, the more likely customers will
wander around among the catalogs or cyberspace booths - once they find
it.
Considering online arts and crafts
shows as an adjunct or catalog to physical arts and crafts shows may be
their best, and only, future. "Advertising" for online shows may best be
accomplished by word of mouth and by handing out flyers and business cards
at physical shows. Without the direction provided by physical arts and
craft shows, the new location of these cyberspace shows, or catalogs of
crafted articles offered, may never be found.
Todd Rockwell
Email: toddr@futureone.com
Oneline Arts & Crafts Show
Murals
in Children's Rooms
by Tim Haas & Linda Cassels-Hofmann
"Castles In The Air"...to daydream!
With a little insight you can create
imaginative murals or accents in your child's room to make all their dreams
come true.
When planning a theme for your child's
room you need to consider, that eventually they will grow up. Their room
needs to grow with them. Of course this doesn't apply if you are so into
art, you don't mind changing it all later. I'm sure you will have no trouble
finding a decorative artist somewhere.
Some suggestions we give our customers
for children's murals are:
Really plan on the placement for the
mural, consider where heavy traffic and furniture will be. We suggestion
painting the mural or accent above chair rail height, high or in a corner.
Maybe consider painting the mural on
the closet doors... this is one spot you will never have to worry about
putting furniture in front of.
When picking a theme and mural, try
to stay clear of fads or characters that might get dated, some loose their
appeal faster then others. Remember your thirteen year old will be inviting
his friends over, he might be a little embarrassed by his eight year old
theme.
Although whole room murals are awesome
it is not necessary to completely cover all the walls to make a lasting
impression. Some times a simple Art Effect can go a long way. Let your
budget lead the way.
More Samples: (click for larger view)
The Monkey Room
Trompe l'oeil and a simple faux
add to this unique room. Effects are created and kept in an area out of
the way of furnishings. Notice the trompe l'oeil bamboo which matches the
real bamboo over the bed.
The Poster
The ultimate in Trompe L'Oeil, a
poster painted in a teens room, with black light paints. Painted to act
as a head board. Everything is painted from the poster, tacks shelf and
electric cord going down to the real outlet.
The Baseball Doors
Painted on the closet doors, the
perfect spot for a mural in a child's room. This mural inspired by a photograph,
the boys faces painted in a Norman Rockwell style.
Tim Haas and Linda Cassels-Hofmann
- "Art Effects" is the result of the combined efforts of muralists Tim
Haas of Tim Haas Artistry and Linda Cassels-Hofmann of Castles In The Air.
Together they use a wide variety of techniques to create imaginative illusions
with their murals and artwork. Whether it is through the Tricks of Trompe
L'Oeil or the skillful Art of Faux Finishing, their Wall Murals and Art
will have you wondering what is real and what is not.
Visit them on the web at http://www.usmurals.com/
(for Print)
or http://www.trompe-l-oeil-art.com/
(for on-line)
Phone: (863)-521-3356 or (863)667-2215
This article Copyright ©2003
- Tim Haas and Linda Cassels-Hofmann. Reproduced with permission.
Science
In Art - The Ways We See And Use color - by Dorothy
Gauvin
Many years ago, in the days before
I learned to say "No", I was asked to deliver a lecture to a philosophical
discussion group. Then, I found the subject had been chosen for me. Its
title was The Spiritual Meaning of color. What did I know
about it? And I sure wasn't going to study up what others had to say about
it. I suspected they were only guessing, too!
You can see I was a little wary of
that word "spiritual" in such a context. So I decided to turn it
around a bit. First I gave a bit on the physics of color and a brief rundown
on the physiology of color perception.
Next was a discussion of our emotional
responses to color, sold as universal by pop psychology, despite the many
differences in cultures: e.g.
-
the adoption of red instead of white
for weddings
-
the adoption of white rather than black
for funerals in Asian societies.
Nearing the end of my allotted time,
I sprang the trick I had up my sleeve. At the start, I had asked the organizers
to hand out cardboard squares on which I had painted a large dot of color:
red, yellow, blue, green, or purple.
Now, I asked the people to look steadily
at their colored dots as I talked. (I'd timed my next remarks to last for
one minute.) When time was up, I asked them to turn the square over. For
a moment or two, the place was filled with gasps of surprise. From the
dais, I blandly remarked on what I knew each was seeing. Those with a red
dot were now seeing a green; those with purple saw yellow. And so on.
When the excitement leveled off,
I asked them to consider this fact: They had just seen something that doesn't
exist and which cannot, as yet, be explained by science. I suggested that,
until it can, it might as well come under the heading of "spiritual."
(That got me neatly out of my dilemma.)
Of course, this audience was seeing
a negative after-image in the hues complementary to the original dots.
These appeared because the cones in our retinas react that way. So far,
no one can say just how this works.
As well, neurobiologists have now
found a system of cells in the brains of primates - humans and the great
apes - which perform myriad calculations producing what is called "color
constancy." Because of this, as yet mysterious, faculty, we always
perceive a white tablecloth as white, a lemon as being yellow, whether
the object is seen under daylight or by candle or neon tube.
So, we've covered, briefly, the physics
and physiology of color; such knowledge gives us a springboard to using
color in Art. But what artists need to know is how to utilize the emotional
impact of color in their work.
Psychology can help a little - so
long as we recognize that the response to color is culturally conditioned.
I've mentioned a few of the differences between Western and Asian uses
of color. Language, too, reflects our built-in prejudices. In English,
we talk of "having the blues," of being "green with envy "
or feeling "in the pink;" of "seeing red" and so forth. We
say "pink for a girl, blue for a boy." Interestingly, this last
may have a basis in physiology.
A woman's brain can distinguish many
more shades of red than does a man's; he reacts more strongly to the blue
range. Age can have a bearing too. The very young have been shown to prefer
reds and bright orange; older folk often lean towards blues and greens.
We instinctively divide colors into
warm and cool. "Warm" reds, yellows, and oranges are associated
with terms like aggression, cheerfulness, excitement, while "cool"
greens and blues evoke feelings of security, calmness or peace. The browns
and greys - which artists know can be either "warm" or "cool"
- are usually considered to signal sadness or melancholy. Black can register
as dramatic or it can be seen as depressing or even as evil.
Therapeutic use has been made of
color, though fashions in this field change as often as hemlines. Green
has long been popular in hospitals, blue in prisons. Red is favored for
restaurants, on the basis that it stimulates the desire to eat more, eat
faster, and leave quickly. Pink will always sell cosmetics but brown is
a no-go in this area of retailing.
Purple is historically the color
of royalty. Before modern dye-making, it was fabulously costly, produced
from a mollusk found in ancient Phoenicia, (now Lebanon.) Princes of the
church are "raised to the purple" and some attribute this to the "spiritual
vibration" of that color, rather than its royal connotations.
The concept of "taste" in
color is a purely individual matter. One man's enjoyment of puce can be
another's poison. People of exuberant nature revel in combinations of riotous,
flamboyant color. Those of reserved style favor schemes of sedate pastel
shades. No one way can be defined as "right" or "wrong."
You may as well go with what suits your own personality.
Still, some basics can guide the
painter in choosing a color design. If what you're aiming to convey is
a sense of tranquil intimacy, say in a scene of domestic life, a scheme
of pastel blues, violets and greys sparked by soft yellows could fit the
bill. Think of Vermeer's quietly exquisite interiors, e.g. his "Servant
Pouring Milk."
An ominous impression of violence
can be described with dramatic reds and blacks. Rembrandt was able to convey
this feeling in his paintings of seemingly mundane subjects like a beef
carcass hung in a butcher's shop. Have a look at his "The Slaughtered
Ox."
The French Impressionists famously
put their understanding of the science of optics, light and color to work,
producing canvases that shimmer with rainbow light. They banished black
from their palettes and pioneered the use of cool shadows contrasting with
the warm highlights they discovered in painting outdoors. Their concern
was with the effect of natural light falling on objects.
Because of this focus, narrative
was thrown out along with the Black. Many works from this school are extremely
pretty and they remain popular with interior decorators. For my money,
study of the Impressionists will richly reward new students of color use
but I think they should not be expected to yield much more than that.
The great Spanish masters Velazquez
(born 1599) and Goya (born 1746) used color sparingly, yet what an impact
their work still has on us. To stand in front of "Las Meninas" -
the astonishing portrait of the Spanish royal family with a self-portrait
of Velazquez as he paints them - is a revelation. Goya's paintings, and
even more his etchings, of events from his nation's invasion by Napoleon,
bring home the horrors of war.
The concern of these artists was
with Story. They managed to show one moment of history that makes us think
about the effects of extraordinary events on ordinary people. To make paintings
about what is called "the human condition" you need to have a facility
with figure drawing and a basic grounding in Anatomy. And that's a whole
other story...
Dorothy Gauvin - Dorothy
Gauvin is an internationally acclaimed artist who specializes in an epic
theme of the Australian pioneers. Her tips and advice for artists, beginners
and collectors are freely available on her website: www.giftsdownunder.com
This article Copyright ©2004
- Dorothy Gauvin. Reproduced with permission.
