Art is sometimes overwhelming. Life as a whole can become overwhelming, and at times I do find myself caught up in its whirlwind of drama. Being the person that I am, being faced with it, I tend to question the things that I don’t understand, and sometimes I questions the things I understand the most, the things that I am certain of the most, like art.

After one of our regular seminar sessions at college I found myself contemplating a piece of work we were presented with that afternoon: three canvases painted yellow placed on top of each other on a wall of a gallery, a creation seemingly effortless, yet was declared to us and to the whole world as a masterpiece, something of given value, an example we should measure up to. It stirred a lot of controversy in the room, the most diverse response I have ever witnessed on an art related discussion amongst my classmates. Some could not help but demean it, others dismissed it as something pathetic, something a child could produce in one day, while a few glorified it. However I sat there disappointed with my not knowing how to assess it, with my not understanding how it could seem credible and worthy of admiration to many.

From that day on, viewing such pieces of art became very thought provoking for me. When I visited the college’s library, I came across a book on Tom Friedman’s work. One of his pieces, untitled 1995, caught my eye; it was a chewed piece of bubble gum that has been stretched to stick to both the ceiling and the floor. On the spur of the moment, this piece of work seemed insignificant and dirty to me. Why a chewing gum as an art piece? Something very accessible to all, something we chew on and spit on the side of the streets day after day. Why would he want to present such a trivial thing as a work of art? I just did not get how such an artist would find recognition and fame. It made me reflect on art again. What is it? Who defines it? Who creates it? And where do its parameters lie?

As I read about it I discovered that it all lies within the concept, the value of it lies predominantly in the idea, the philosophy embedded behind it. This particular piece of work ‘untitled’ 1995, was one amongst several others of his featured in an exhibition in 1996. Each individual piece was an illustration reflecting on one angle of the bigger picture he was exploring.

His work in that show was seen collectively as an exploration of the relationship between ideas; ideas that he did not mention the content of, but ideas that I see representing general ones, representing thoughts in their raw context. How do they interact with one another? Do they exceed to strengthen, or do they branch out and complicate themselves?

The bubble gum piece visually tackles the concept of ideas drifting apart from each other, hence the action of being stretched. It also shows how further and further away the idea has moved from its original state. The relationship is then depicted to have become thinner and thinner until its connection is no longer detectable and defined. It has also been said that this particular piece carried further meaning, as in it Friedman saw the relationship his other various pieces of work have with each other, their increasing independency and their evolving further apart.

Reflecting back on this piece of work I have become more appreciative of such work, and learned to search for meanings to pieces of art that I fail to comprehend at the first glance. However, still bearing in mind the subject matter of this work (ideas and their relationship with each other), I have come up with an interpretation of my own that could be relevant. What if the stretched piece in between the ceiling and the floor expresses a feeling of holding on rather than moving away? This idea could also reflect the ambiguity, contradiction and spontaneity that exists in the way we think and develop ideas. I also believe that he is an honest, simple person, who reduces or compares the meaning of life to a thing, smaller than him, something tangible, something our hands can play around with, like a chewing gum in Friedman’s case. To me it is his expression of control over his life. In my opinion he is making life seem as trivial.

Friedman is one artist that has approached art in ways that are beyond the conventional painting or sculpture, and, as I have come to find out, this is one of the features of modern art as a whole, in which conceptual art belongs.

Conceptualism is a form of art that questions conventional art. It sets to project a concept to the viewer through a piece of work, in which the value of it lies firmly on the intellect and the idea behind it rather than the representation of it. In fact the physical appearance and the aesthetics of it is frequently of little or no importance. Like the works of art that are classified under conceptual art, the movement in itself is open to controversy, many do no want to stick labels or definitions to it, others reject it as not art. www.bbc.co.uk, www.artlex.com. Lucie-Smith, 1995

The movement started out as a backlash created by a group of independent artists against the commercial attitude that existed towards the previous art movement (pop-art). The exponents of conceptual art therefore wanted to produce art that was deprived and ‘purged’ of the ‘impurities’ of Pop Art such as its heavy emphasis on iconography and its quest for visual appeal. Moreover, most of the conceptualists have nothing to sell, enforcing a statement to their viewers about their attitudes towards materialism. It also gives a clearer idea of what they value most about their work; their consideration of form as form, idea as an idea.

To return to Friedman’s work, “Untitled 1990”, Two white sheets of paper, displayed side by side seemingly with identical size, texture, and believe it or not with identical wrinkles. The idea presented by him this time revolves around identity and ‘identicals’. To him such a thing does not and cannot exist. He is teaching us something new while making us doubt what we believe in. No two things can be the same, they can be alike but never the same; to have something be the same as something else would mean having two of the real and actual thing, which in reality can not happen, because at the end of it we will always have one original. Each is placed at a ‘different’ relation to one another the right piece is positioned to the left of the left piece and vice versa. I can’t help but find it ironic that what we first perceived to be identical objects evolved into opposites through a process of thought and reason. I wonder if the artist had it in mind to lead the viewer into this path of thought or whether it is only my added insight on what I understood from his book.

Friedman’s recurrent incorporation of everyday things, such as chewing gum, straws, papers and pencils, into his work in a matter new to all, creates an atmosphere of contemplation. Such new positioning of items and objects makes the viewer consider their existence and his existence in one.

Let us take Simone Berti’s work for instance. As a part of an outdoor exhibition he has placed a bridge of bricks in the middle of a pond so that, it is enclosed by the water. Observing this installation piece, many people would reach the conclusion that the water is acting as an obstacle not allowing the bridge to perform its undisputed function of transferring people from one end of dry land to the other end of dry land. However, despite this unsettling arrangement of the bridge and the pond, Berti wanted to present this scene as a harmonious environment. He intended to present to us the bridge as ‘an object in its own right’, while to him the pond almost acted as a background or a backdrop.

As I view it, Berti is not illustrating an emotional attachment or a connection with the bridge, but rather using it as a tool to tell the viewers that it is okay to break loose from the chains, break away from the ideals of what looks or is indeed right. It allows us to see the bigger picture in life and be less afraid to label things that are unusual as the norm, or even more daring as the praised. What if we take what Berti has just taught us as a measure of our attitudes to other issues in life, like beauty for example, why is still not acceptable to have an overweight woman on the cover of Vogue magazine? It is only us that set certain measures and constrains on ourselves, and in order to change that, art radicalizes what is common to us and stretches it like the piece of bubble gum. Until that piece of reality has distorted itself and we are then forced to look at life from a fresh more hopeful, more questioning angle.

This brings me on to mention the similarity I have also found between Friedman’s pieces and one of Damien Hirst’s. The piece titled this little Piggy went to Market; this little stayed home is one example of his wider work on animals. In it he displays a pig that has been cut across into individual parts, each is placed in a tank of formaldehyde preservative which is then separately monitored by an ‘automated track’. The tanks then move the parts of the pig apart and slide back into place in repetitive motions, connecting and disconnecting the pig’s body.

Although in comparison with both Friedman’s and Berti’s work, this piece appears to me as shocking, grotesque and sickening. I find that a similar thoughtfulness in their approaches. Hirst stated that he wanted his piece of art to make “people think about the things they take for granted. Like smoking, like sex, like love, like life, like advertising, like death”. He also said that he wanted “ to make people frightened of what they know. I want to make them question”. http://dh.rysshuu.com/art/

In my opinion it is his inclusion of objects and things that are familiar to us in his art work in ways that are new and unthought-of of that really provokes us as viewers into questioning. The realization of reality in a new order brings fear. “Ordinary things are frightening. It’s like; a shoe is intended to get you from one place to another. The moment you beat your girlfriend’s head with it, it becomes something insane. The change of function is what’s frightening…. That’s what art is.” http://dh.rysshuu.com/art/

Say we were presented with canvases that no longer hang in galleries, no longer project an idea through its surface but rather through the manipulation of the body of the canvas it self, won’t that be scary. In some of Angela De La Cruz’s work, I found such concepts to be evident. Her canvases are almost the personification of ugly and negative feelings. They appear to be treated as people who have committed a misdemeanor and have been punished, or rather abused for it. After reading about her piece titled, Sky Folded, 1997, I have come to discover that without acknowledging the action and the process in which such pieces have evolved into, they will never maintain the same value and appreciation if they were. Reading about Sky Folded, 1997, I was amazed to find out that the block of canvas ‘has been violently smashed and bent along the diagonal, like arms pinned behind one’s back in a painful wrestle’. Such information alters my perception of it now, it is not a piece of canvas that has been folded at one of its corner and then placed thoughtfully on the floor, and instead it has been emotionally and physically dealt with. Breuvant, 2002

To conclude I have come to realize that what it all comes down to simply; when reality is rearranged it confuses people straightforward as this may sound; I found this out while researching artists that have presented our reality in another form. I discovered a reality of another kind and that, is what I find shocking, art works that have insignificant sizes of faeces on a pedestal have never managed to make me doubt my knowledge and common sense. It is like finding a new dimension of thought and staying true to this point, can any and all form of art other than conceptual able create a wave of shock when realizing the actual hidden thought and intents behind its concept?

Mahaba Abdulla

Because of different instruments, materials and cultural background, Chinese paintings have their own image and content in comparison to other types of paintings. Unique appearance of Chinese Painting owes much to the use of the Chinese writing brush and the Chinese paper (rice and silk). There are four essential elements used in the creation of Chinese Painting, the brush, ink, paper, and the ink stone. Lacking any of them the job cannot be done.

The most important factors for Chinese Painting are the special pedagogy, the close relationship with the painter’s personality and the unique Chinese philosophy. They are trained not only to convey the objects but also express the mood and the spirit of the subject. The Chinese also believe that the painting is the expression of the painter’s knowledge and temperament. In this way, Chinese Painting becomes something much more than art.

The most essential philosophy of China is the unity of Heaven, Earth and Human Beings. What the Chinese Painters are trying to express is not what meets the eye, but their attitude to the Great Nature. The Chinese painter has a profound love and admiration for nature. It is part of their culture, religious practices and their need to depend on nature to survive.

In relationship to human and animal figures, the Chinese painter utilizes the forms he finds in nature, such as ovals, circles, and geometric lines which are found also found in Chinese calligraphy. Thus, all Chinese paintings whether they are landscapes or the human figure are painted with the same movement, rhythm, and harmony that is used when drawing the forms of calligraphy. Calligraphy is a form of art, even more revered and honored than all other painting.

In the same theme they may spend hours contemplating and drawing inspiration from the figures of nature such as humming birds with their fragile wings, the robust legs of the cricket, and the fascinating form of the praying mantis. From the minor or simple creatures that are chosen as subjects of art work, we can see how they enjoy the nature and the love they devote to the most humble things.

The Chinese painter finds it offensive to contemplate and draw the human figure by itself. Human beings are part of the surrounding heavens and earth. They are all together. That is why Chinese paintings are simple in composition and full of harmony, overall balance and peace with all of creation. They are interested in the mood and spirit.

Copyright 2004 © Ernesto Apomayta

Publishing guidelines: You may publish my article in your newsletter, on your website, or in your print publication provided you include the resource box at the end. Notification would be appreciated but is not required.

About The Author

Ernesto Apomayta

Born and raised in Puno, Peru, Ernesto Apomayta was identified as an artistic prodigy at the tender age of five. As a boy, Apomayta was first influenced and inspired by the natural marvels surrounding the humble home he shared with his family. In close proximity to shimmering Lake Titicaca, the striking beauty of the Andes and the awe-inspiring Incan ruins of his ancestors, Apomayta was spiritually compelled to express his wonder visually through his paintbrush. A direct ancestor of the legendary photographer, Martin Chambi, Apomayta derived inspiration from the same native influences and his legacy that encouraged Apomayta to fulfill his own artistic destiny.

To view many of Ernesto Apomayta’s pieces of artwork please visit www.apomaytaart.com for full information on Mr. Apomayta.

apomayta@hotmail.com

To the online artist, it might seem a paradox, at first glance, to hear a recommendation to hold back work. The artist on the Internet often overproduces and displays their entire body of work. In essence, by placing it for casual viewing, known as "shopping" the work, devalues its worth by defying the Law of Supply and Demand.

How can the artist benefit by applying the advantages of the Internet with the successful business practices of the traditional gallery? Let’s look at the traditional gallery’s sales structure.

At the Preview, in an inner gallery, and by invitation only, previously unviewed works are presented to the gallery’s selected collectors. The works are tagged as sold, but left for viewing. An aspect of human nature, wanting what one cannot have, has been accommodated as well as a relationship to supply and demand.

To paraphrase Israel A. Kirzner, the, almost, universally accepted theory of supply and demand shapes production and consumption, and is, not only the skeleton, but the flesh and blood of the economic system which determines the artist’s survival in the marketplace.

["The Law of Supply and Demand", by Israel Kirzner At the time of publication Kirzner was an economist at New York University. http://www.libertyhaven.com and The Freeman, a publication of The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc., January 2000, Vol. 50, No. 1.]

The show opens to the general public. As the show closes, unsold works are then considered shopped, since the public has viewed them. Then, they are placed in an outer gallery for the casual onlooker. Those traditions have held true, stemming from the basic nature of human beings and how market prices are determined.

This brings us back to the question of how might the traditional practices be adapted to the Internet? The artist could, for instance, set up a number of galleries.

The Inner Gallery would contain works previously unseen. A collector might pay a one-time fee, the purpose of which is to discourage window-shoppers. The fee could then be applied to their purchase. Those who purchase are the collectors who go into your special Guest Book to receive Preview invitations, thus, eliminating the major pitfall of current Internet based galleries, the window-shopper.

How does one structure a Preview Page? Obviously, for your Preview Page you wouldn’t want just anyone dropping in. This could be accomplished through a member login given only to your private collectors. By closely monitoring their login dates, you can determine when the Preview is over and it’s time for the show to be opened to the general public.

A Middle Gallery is for works that didn’t sell in the Preview, but are only available to those who have registered in the Guest Book and agree to receive future newsletters and updates. Finally, there is an Outer Gallery, that is for browsers and only contains images that have been sold, their price, but never to whom it was sold.

Although there will be many window-shoppers, as the exclusive nature and as the reputation of the site grows, the more exclusive collector will come to the site, sign the Guest Book, and come to the Preview ready to collect.

Perhaps Museum Directors, Curators, Critics and Reviewers could be contacted as well. Given passwords, they could actually look at the work online, without the artist having to physically move the works as in a land-based gallery. Their reviews could be then added to the Preview Page and the artist’s resume for future use.

Anyone with experience on the Internet knows you can’t just create a web site and expect people to show up. The site must be properly marketed as well as have something the web surfer desires. Go to ARTNews and see how the ads are structured. Ask yourself what it is about that ad that makes you want to visit that gallery. What makes it desirable?

Look at the size of the images in the ad. Are they thumbnails or full-size images and details? Collectors want to see brush-strokes and have the monitors to do so. Remember, that the majority of the nation’s assets lie in the hands of those over fifty years of age. Many of them wear eyeglasses. Accommodate their eyesight. Bigger is better.

Of course, not all artists who put up a web site are going to be worth collecting, just as galleries will not find all artists suitable. Not all collectors will want a given artist’s work. Without demand there are no sales.

Therefore, critical analysis of the web statistics should be carefully monitored. If you get a lot of hits and no sales then the problem is not in the marketing. Conversely, no hits, or very few, would indicate poor marketing. At some point you have to figure whether or not you’re no good at marketing or the work is not collectible.

As for meeting with the artist, the web cam, if not a personal visit, makes for an enjoyable time. With the development of Japanese graphic technology, one day soon the collector and others members of the art community will view the minute details of the artist’s work in truly a virtual gallery without defying the laws of human nature which drives all mankind.

About The Author

Cynthia Houppert is an art consultant in Atlanta, Georgia and the author of "Art Gallery Safari: Bagging the Big One"

(c)2003

cyndij@cowboyenterprises.com

Many people collect Inuit art as investments. Inuit art is growing internationally but it has been suggested that the number of actual Inuit artists are actually declining. The creation of the Nunavut government which represents Canada’s third official territory, has resulted in many new employment opportunities for the Inuit, particularly the younger ones. Carving and the entire process of bringing back suitable stone from distant quarries to their own communities are hard work for Inuit art carvers.

Many young Inuit prefer to pursue less physically demanding careers such as regular nine to five, weekday only government office occupations. As government offices grow, so will the local businesses to support them which create even more local jobs for Inuit people. These trends are not only affecting Inuit males but also females as well. As more young Inuit women move towards a ’southern’, i.e., more North American lifestyle, Inuit art drawing, wall tapestry and doll making will be less attractive skills to learn compared to office or retail skills.

Many master Inuit art carvers are also expert hunters. They get to see the Arctic animals regularly resulting in excellent representations in their Inuit carvings and other artwork. Many young Inuit these days prefer not to hunt since northern community grocers have reduced a need to hunt for food. As a result, the accuracy of carvings by some younger, non-hunting Inuit artists may be affected since they may not have the familiarity of Arctic animals like older master carvers do.

All of these developments may lead to the demand for good, high quality Inuit art surpassing supply. This will in turn cause a future appreciation of value for good Inuit art. Of course, characteristics of each piece must be taken into consideration. However, most art experts recommend against buying any type of art purely for investment purposes only. Art should be appreciated for its esthetic value. If a certain artwork doesn’t increase in value as hoped, then at least one would still have a lovely piece of art to look at. If one finds a piece of Inuit art that he or she really likes and can afford, then it should be purchased since the opportunity to own that one of a kind piece will probably not come around again.

Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery (http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca), an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards.

Special Types of Mediums

Rice paper is a very delicate medium with lots of natural imperfections that lend beauty and character to the painting. Some rice paper has flecks, sparkle, gold, and silver incorporated within the paper. After painting, the rice paper is mounted to another sheet of rice paper to form a backing.

Silk fabric is used as a medium for painting. It comes in various colors such as white, gold and greenish gold. It is very durable, but difficult to paint on. The painter must have lots of patience. He must paint over and over with the natural inks to create depth and strength of color. The fabric tends to absorb color rapidly. Silk is a medium of the Royalty; it creates a background of softness and elegance to any painting.

Explanation of Natural Inks

The ancient people of Aztecs, Mayans, and Incans all used natural inks. The Chinese also have used natural inks for thousands of years. Natural inks are non toxic, versatile and can be used to create different effects on various mediums such as rice paper, silk, and cotton paper. The colors are brilliant and as varied as nature. Even today it is possible to see these brilliant natural inks still well preserved in ancient artifacts of Central, South America, and Asian Countries such as China and Japan.

Paintings with natural inks can last for 1000’s of years. Natural inks are very color fast and resistant to the sun and water. Even if a painting with natural inks gets wet, the inks will not run. The black inks are prepared from the carbon of pine trees that are 400 to 500 years old mixed with distilled water and a binding agent. The color pigments are made from various insects or parts of plants like the bark or flowers of plants. For example, one type of red ink and turquoise ink are made from different parts of cacti. The use of natural inks revives an ancient tradition of many world cultures. The natural inks create dynamic and colorful pieces of art work that will hold their color and beauty for years to come.

Styles of Paintings

Ernesto Apomayta uses numerous styles and techniques in his paintings. True to the symbols/calligraphy of the Incans and the calligraphy of the Chinese he paints with the movements, order, balance, and rhythms of these writing techniques. Some are with broad strokes and openness of movement while others are fine detailed lines but all honor the rules of calligraphy and the concepts of Feng Shui. On some his brush may carry more than one color to create a blend of colors. All of the colors he uses are mixed by him from the five basic core colors of the color palate.

Some of his techniques are based on ancient techniques that he has revived in his paintings. Many of the birds, flowers, and butterflies are painted with what he calls a high “stress technique” which is done by layering transparent paint over and over to create depth and dimension. Later with a very fine brush the tiny detail is painted. This technique is very time consuming but the result is unbelievably beautiful.

Other paintings are abstracts that express a spiritual message and the beauty and harmony of nature while leaving it up to the mind to interpret the message.

Copyright: © 2004 by Ernesto Apomayta

Publishing Guidelines: You may publish my article in your newsletter, on your web site, or in your print publication provided you include the resource box at the end. Notification would be appreciated but is not required.

About The Author

Ernesto Apomayta - Born and raised in Puno, Peru, Ernesto Apomayta was identified as an artistic prodigy at the tender age of five. As a boy, Apomayta was first influenced and inspired by the natural marvels surrounding the humble home he shared with his family. In close proximity to shimmering Lake Titicaca, the striking beauty of the Andes and the awe-inspiring Incan ruins of his ancestors, Apomayta was spiritually compelled to express his wonder visually through his paintbrush. A direct ancestor of the legendary photographer, Martin Chambi, Apomayta derived inspiration from the same native influences and his legacy that encouraged Apomayta to fulfill his own artistic destiny.

To view many of Ernesto Apomayta’s pieces of artwork please visit www.apomaytaart.com for full information on Mr. Apomayta.

apomayta@hotmail.com

There is bias in the elite media! How often do you hear that on cable talk shows? Yes,George Bush gets criticized by the press. Clinton before him took it on the chin and every president before him felt the sting of slings and arrows.Truman and Roosevelt got it, Lincoln certainly did and so did Adams and Jefferson. It started before all the aforementioned presidents because the very first"victim" of presidential “media” bias was none other than George Washington.

And what provoked the media bias that plagued the man who has been revered thoughout our nation’s history?

First a little background…

The tap root of American journalism was sunk into partisan soil when Patriot and Tory hurled invectives across a widening line of intolerance over the Stamp Act in 1765. The twenty three papers in the colonies then were four- page weeklies of local advertising, local here-say and large sections of European news, cut verbatim from the London press. News as we know it was non-existent.

When the Stamp Act created the furor in the colonies, letters of opinion were published by printers who would run pieces submitted by someone - anyone - who had something to say. As the patriot presses from Boston to Charleston rattled out words of defiance to the British crown, the idea of being a British subject was being replaced by a new self-image as writers in journals began to refer to themselves and everyone else as Americans. Led by the printers and their contributing writers, this new mind-set was being developed as opposition to the crown grew.

After the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766, the power of the press was realized. Colonials, intrigued with the idea of independence from Britain, saw it as a weapon and in Massachusetts, the Boston Gazette and Country Journal were in the forefront of agitation. Two fiery coals in the ”hotbed of sedition,”Benjamin Edes and John Gill, opened their doors to a deliberately obscure group called the Caucus Club. Consisting of men like Sam Adams, his cousin John Adams, James Otis and John Hancock, club members would meet at the Gazette where they “cooked up paragraphs,” and “ worked the political engine.” frustrating the Tories who, so embittered, circulated a letter to British troops quartered in Boston urging “ those Trumpeters of Sedition, the printers Edes and Gill,” and their writers for their paper, should be put to the sword.”

And one of them , James Otis, perhaps the least radical of the patriots, suffered such an assault after writing an article for the Boston Gazette in which he took the Governor and some of his commissioners to task for accusing he and Sam Adams of treason. Shortly after the piece appeared, Otis entered a coffee house for some morning refreshment and came upon one of the commissioners and several British army, naval and revenue officers. Robinson, the commissioner, it was reported, led the charge at Otis with his cane, the sword-wielding military right behind amid shouts of “God damn him! Kill him! Kill him!” After Otis took a beating and a sword slash to the head, the combatants were separated by others present fearing Otis would be killed. Otis sued and won damages of three thousand shillings but gentleman that he was, he refused the money on the basis that Robinson had atoned for his action

Otis’ gentlemanly gesture and Robinson’s mea culpa were rare for the dividing line was stretching towards Lexington and Concord. Rancor in the press came from both sides, intolerance under- lining every word. “Tories are,” one man wrote to the Boston Gazette ”..the most despicable beings, that ever appeared in human shape.” A Tory writing to the New York Gazette penned a poem in which he wrote of the Patriot values, “ Cheating and lying are puny things, Rapine and plundering venial sins.”

And the “venial sin” of plundering did came to pass right after Lexington and Concord. When James Rivington a Tory publisher wrote of the battles at Lexington and Concord in his newspaper "Rivington New York Gazeteer", partisanship showed up at the newspaper office in the guise of Isaac Sears and a cavalry contingent. The press was plundered and the type was carried off to melt down for patriot bullets. Partisanship had taken a firm hold in the colonial America. It would never let go. Looking back thirty two years after Yorktown, John Adams, the nation’s second president, wrote:

“What do you mean by the Revolution? The War? That was no part of the Revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The Revolution was in the minds of the people, and this was effected, from 1760 to 1775, in the course of fifteen years before a drop of blood was shed at Lexington.”

The few had influenced the many. And the newspapers were there.

Stay with this now and we’ll soon get to George Washington.

After the War for Independence, the tap root of the partisan press had sunk deep into American soil and the tree growing from it was struggling to find the sun. Most of the papers that had beat the drum of revolution, or tried to muffle it with opposition, did not survive. Perhaps their reason for being no longer existed but a few survived the turn of the century passing on the legacy of partisanship to a new form of newspaper, the party organ, and a new form of partisanship, that of the political party.

Together, tightly embraced, they would wend their way forward, for eighty or so years, on the pathway to civil war, stumbling on the sharp edged rocks of bank panic, depression and slavery.

The first step of this coupling was the first organ, The Gazette of the United States. Operated by John Fenno who set the paper up in New York City as the official voice of the Federalists, the nation’s first and only party. The Gazette was the national voice of government establishing propaganda and the shaping of public opinion as the guiding spirit of American journalism.

Designed to preach the party line and supported by Hamilton and John Adams, the Gazette did just that, publishing official documents and announcements thus becoming the first political paper and it followed the seat of power as it moved first to Philadelphia then to Washington. Its Federalist line smacked of an elitism and a pro-British posture that ran contrary to the Jefferson and Madison perspective and it aroused the need for an opposition paper. Enter the editor, Philip Freneau, adventurer, scholar, warrior who “did more than anyone else to make American political journalism, a kind of Donnybrook Fair of broken heads and skinned knuckles.” That he did, with The National Gazette

As the voice of the French Party, the name Jefferson’s Republican’s were often called, he attacked Alexander Hamilton’s financial measures and brought John Adams to ridicule but the paper was on weak financial ground and was soon to be out of business.

And now we come to George Washington

Soon another Republican paper similar to Freneau’s National Gazette, one called Aurora and edited by Benjamin Franklin Bache, a grandson of Benjamin Franklin opened shop. Called “Lightening Rod Junior,” a tribute to his illustrious grandfather, Bache who was educated in France and sympathetic to the French Republic soon found himself in Jeffersonian circles. Before he was through, his partisanship and his passion launched a verbal cannonade at no less a person than George Washington. Yes, this is it. George Washington.

After Washington had his Farewell Address to the nation published, Bache made his farewell to Washington. He wrote:

“If ever a nation was debauched by a man, the American nation has been debauched by Washington. If ever a nation has suffered from the improper influence of a man, the American nation has suffered from the influence of Washington. If ever a nation was deceived by a man, the American nation has been deceived by Washington. Let his conduct then be an example to future ages. Let it serve to be a warning that no man may be an idol..”.

And not to be content with those words, the day after Washington’s retirement, Bache’s partisanship could not be restrained. He wrote:

“The man who is the source of all the misfortune of our country is this day reduced to a level with his fellow citizens, and is no longer possessed of power to multiply evils upon the United States…this day ought to be a jubilee in the United States.”

As one might expect, Bache’s comments did not go unanswered. A crowd of Federalist supporters stopped by his facility and wrecked it. Following that, Bache experienced what was possibly a precedent making incident. Federalist editor John Fenno of The Gazette of the United States, on an afternoon stroll, encountered Bache and hit him square in the face. Bache retaliated with his cane to Fenno’s head thus establishing that form of expression as the first in a long series of chance encounters between rival American editors. But the traditional forms of expression were not exempt from usage. Bache, on April 1, 1800 ran a paid advertisement in his Aurora:

“ To Mr. Fenno: This is to announce you to the world as a scoundrel and a liar; and though you may be generally known as such, I will prove what I say…”

But it was the Federalist press that had the last word on Bache. When he died of yellow fever shortly after, Russell’s Gazette of Boston wrote:

“The Jacobins are all whining at the exit of the vile Benjamin Franklin Bache; so they would do if one of their gang was hung for stealing. The memory of this scoundrel cannot be too highly execrated.”

It is a kindler, gentler press today. George Washington would surely agree.

Don Bracken is Senior Editor of History Publishing Company,LLC and is the author of the forthcoming book Times of the Civil War which focuses on the American Civil War and its coverage by reporters of the New York Times and the Charleston Mercury. He also co-edited the Historyscope Series,http://www.historyscope.com, a computerized plotting of the 384 major battles and campaigns of the American Civil War.

Have you ever thought?

What is the best way out of this situation or which job do I take which decision do I make and offcourse which path is best! Choices, choices, choices, life is all about choices.

This is where Tarot readings can be and are an important tool!

Some sceptics may say this is baloney, but I am sure they have not experienced the power of the Tarot, closed minds never benefit and so these people limit themselves.

I know the power of the Tarot first hand and how this exciting medium can help and indeed has helped many, many people.

Tarot lays out the different choices a person has in regards to a given situation!

The reader if the he or she is a good one will never say you must take this choice or that choice. Instead a good reader will advise, giving options for the person to make informed decisions.

Good Tarot readers, genuinely want to help people!

To better their lives by making good decisions. Readers will give warnings where an outcome of a decision could be negative and will reinforce all positive aspects.

I know that there are a lot of pretenders out there!

There are also some very gifted readers also. I believe that the power of the Tarot is something that can be learned by anyone, however this does not make someone a good or credible reader. One must look further, the power, I believe is a gifting. A lot of gifted Tarot readers are also visionaries; they use Tarot to channel this energy for the benefit of the querant. This channelling is used in conjunction with the card interpretation to give a powerful reading for the person asking.

Experience counts!

Good Tarot readers, generally want to share there gifting. They tend to travel lot, giving readings and helping people all over the world. I believe that an experience level of at least 6 years is the minium requirement, liken this to an apprenticeship period. This is the time a reader learns, and further develops inherited giftings.

This is what determines the level of the tarot reader. There is always the exception to the rule but this is very remote. Like all things experience and practice perfects!

Have you ever heard of anyone born to play the violin and could play at a world class level with no learning or practice, offcourse not the same applies for Tarot.

Check out readers!

When shopping for a new refrigerator do you simply got to the nearest store and purchase the first one you see? No, that would be just plain stupid. The same applies for Tarot card readers. Always check out your perspective reader, as I have said there are a lot of pretenders out there! A genuine reader will have nothing to hide in fact credible readers will only be too happy to provide any information needed to satisfy any reservations a client has.

A good Tarot reader will always be interested, caring and want to help the client.

Genuine Tarot readers are just that, genuine.

Readers do not provide our services just for the money; readers really want to help people.

A client should always feel good about a reading and that it has been helpful. One should never hesitate to ask questions about a reading or seek clarification if it is needed.

Customer satisfaction should be an important part of a tarot card reader’s job.

About The Author

Hi, My name is Alan woods. I am a Professional Tarot Card Consultant for: Maria Angelica Ortiz Enterprises. I have ten years experience and really enjoy helping people. I offer Tarot Card readings both online and via email please feel free to check out our site: www.Mariaortizenterprises.com. I look forward to seeing you there! You can contact me at: tarot@mariaortizenterprises.com

Feng shui (say "fung shway"), often called the art of placement, could just as accurately be called "the art of flow." This ancient Chinese practice, literally translated as "wind" and "water," aims to maximize the beneficial movement of chi–the universal life force present in all things–through an environment.

Just as fresh air and clean water nourish our bodies, so does fresh, clean chi nourish our homes and our lives. When the flow of chi through our space is blocked, weak, or misdirected, our relationships, cash flow, creativity, health, and career can suffer. Chi wants to meander gracefully through a space, like a gentle breeze or a winding stream. When it flows too strongly, it becomes like a hurricane or flood. We are likely to feel tossed about by winds of change, unstable, prone to crises, struggling to "keep our heads above water." Where chi is blocked it becomes stale and stagnant, like a pond choked with algae and fallen leaves. We may feel tired, run down, depressed, unable to focus, hampered in our efforts to move forward in our lives.

In a corporate environment, poor feng shui can result in miscommunication between managers and employees, conflicts among team members, and lack of support for key initiatives. Individuals may be overlooked for promotions or deserved raises, suffer damage to their reputation in the company, or even lose their job. The company may have difficulty attracting or keeping key customers.

In a retail store, feng shui problems can block the flow of customers into and through the store, contribute to theft and staffing problems, and have a negative effect on the amount and size of sales.

Feng shui provides tools and guidelines for analyzing and correcting the flow of energy into and through our space. It uses the arrangement of rooms and the placement of furniture to create a smooth pathway for chi through a home, office, or retail location. Blockages and other forms of negative chi are removed or counteracted in order to welcome in opportunities and encourage progress. Colors and shapes associated with the five elements-wood, fire, earth, metal, and water-are used to create movement, balance, or protection, depending on the needs of the client. Imagery and objects such as paintings, photographs, statuary and other accessories are chosen and placed to enhance and reinforce the client’s intention.

Feng Shui reminds us that everything is connected, and that our physical surroundings have a significant impact on our mind, body, and spirit. It teaches us to be mindful caretakers of our environments, so that we may be mindful caretakers of our lives.

Copyright © 2002 Stephanie Roberts

About The Author

Stephanie Roberts is a feng shui consultant in Maui, Hawaii, and the author of the best-selling "Fast Feng Shui" books (rated 5-stars by Amazon.com readers). To find out how you can use contemporary Western feng shui to help you achieve greater success and happiness in your life, please visit http://www.fastfengshui.com or subscribe to the Fast Feng Shui newsletter at mailto:subscribe@fastfengshui.com and receive free feng shui tips by email.

stephanie@fastfengshui.com

Unlike Inuit sculpture, art prints from the Canadian Arctic are a twentieth century innovation in Inuit Eskimo art. One of the most significant events that happened during the development of contemporary Inuit art was when Canadian James Houston taught the Inuit to make art prints by incising designs into linoleum tiles, stone blocks and stencils from sealskins. He had previously studied printmaking in Japan since the Japanese were considered innovators in this art process.

One day in 1957, Houston met up with a local Inuit art carver by the name of Osuitok Ipeelee in Cape Dorset. Ipeelee had been studying the identical printed images of a sailor’s head on two cigarette packages he had. Houston demonstrated the process of printmaking to the Inuit carver by rubbing ink onto one of Ipeelee’s ivory tusk carvings and made an impression of it on a piece of toilet paper. Upon seeing the resulting graphic, the Inuit artist said, "We could do that." This resulted in the birth of Eskimo Inuit art prints.

The Cape Dorset Inuit artists soon integrated the new print making methods into their Inuit art and by 1960, their printmaking was a growing business. Eskimo Inuit art prints by early artists such as Pitseolak Ashoona and Jamasie Teevee became much sought after artwork. Because of the success of Cape Dorset, other Inuit communities were encouraged to follow its example. So in addition to Inuit sculpture, art prints became another form of Eskimo Inuit art that found commercial success. Cape Dorset has an annual release of Inuit art prints each year and often sell out. Another Inuit community known for their Inuit art prints is Holman.

Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca, an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards.

Silver is widely diffused but is rarely found in the native state.

Silver is originally as widespread as gold, occurring in nearly all of the volcanic rocks. Whereas gold remains unaltered by the action of the elements and is often carried long distances from its original place of occurrence, silver on the contrary is only to be found in the rocks where it originally occurs. When these rocks are broken down or worn away, the silver is either driven into new mineral combinations, or more often dissipated and lost. Silver, therefore, is only to be obtained by subterranean mining. Shafts are driven and the ore brought to the surface, and by use of various processes the silver is extracted, refined and made ready for commercial purposes.

An old process and one still employed extensively throughout Mexico where a large quantity of silver is produced, is to take the ore after it has been crushed or reduced to a fine mud or puddle and spread it about two feet deep over the floor of a large courtyard. Powered sulfate of copper is spread over the mass and then horses or mules are driven around in circle to tread the sulfate in and mix it thoroughly with the ore. After about one day’s treading a quantity of common salt is added and after two days more treading quicksilver is added. This mass is trodden over for a period of about fifteen days, and is then shoveled into a large tank through which a rapid stream of water is passed. This washes away all but the silver and quicksilver, which is then poured into cone-shaped canvas bags. Most of the quicksilver runs out leaving the silver, which is then retorted. The quicksilver is used over and over again to assist in recovering the silver.

Pure silver has a beautiful white color and luster; it is almost as plastic as pure gold and like it very soft. Silver does not tarnish in natural air, but when it comes in contact with sulfur compounds it readily forms black silver sulfide. The sulfur compounds which act on silver are found in small quantities in the air as a result of burning coal and illuminating gas, while larger amounts occur in vulcanized rubber, wool, and foods like eggs.

Pure silver is too soft to make durable objects that require lightness and stability of form. This defect is overcome by alloying it with a little copper.

An alloy of 925 parts fine silver and 75 parts copper is called 925-1000 fine or what is commonly known as sterling silver. This alloy is used almost universally for jewelry and the best silverware.

For more information on jewelry and gemstones, we cordially invite you to visit http://www.morninglightjewelry.com to pick up your FREE copy of “How To Buy Jewelry And Gemstones Without Being Ripped Off.” This concise, informative special report reveals almost everything you ever wanted to know about jewelry and gemstones, but were afraid to ask. Get your FREE report at http://www.morninglightjewelry.com