Pottery Art with A Long History V – The Tang Tri-Colored Pottery in China (up)

The Tang Tri-colored pottery was invented and popular in the Tang dynasty over 1300 years ago, the basic glaze colors of which are yellow, brown and green, and people laterly were customary to call this type of pottery as ”Tang tri-colored pottery".

The Tang Tri-colored pottery is one kind of low-temperature glazed pottery, people add different metal oxides in the pottery glazes and through baking the glaze color tansformed into light yellow, sienna, light green, dark green, sky blue, brown red, eggplant purple and so on, but among them the main colors are yellow, brown and green. With changeful shades in the glaze colors of the Tang tri-colored pottery, which infiltrated mutual and taken on blocky and dripping effect, the Tang tri-colored pottery could display its splendid grand artistic charms.

The Tang tri-colored pottery in the Tang dynasty is treated as a sort of burial objects and used for burying with the dead, because it is crisp and poor in waterproof performance, whose practicality is far less than celadon porcelain and white porcelain that had already appeared in that times. With a round and full body, the characteristics of Tang tri-colored pottery are in accordance with the art features as chubby, bonny and broad in the Tang dynasty.

The category range of Tang tri-colored pottery is wide, and the main species of which there are figures, animals and daily use utensils. With moderate scales and smooth lines, the figures and animals of Tang tri-colored pottery are lifelike and brisk. Among figures of the Tang tri-colored pottery, those warriors have strong muscles and angry eyes and who looks like are ready to taken into a fight; and ladies featured have high buns and broad sleeves, and looks slender and elegant, relax and adagio, also very rich. The most animals in the Tang tri-colored pottery are horses and camels.

Wooden Toys - The Most Classical and Lasting Toys in the World

First, how did wooden toys come about? Wooden toys exist because that’s the most readily available material, and toys can be produced simply with a carving knife.

The price of a wooden toy depends very much on its age and general condition. The older it is, and the better the overall condition, the more valuable it will be.

In terms of price, wooden toys cannot match plastic toys upfront, as it’s cheaper to produce plastic toys. However, wooden toys often last much longer, resulting in substantial savings in the long run.
Wooden toys traditionally started out to be cheaper than all other toys. But as technology evolves, plastic eventually starts to replace wood when it comes to making toys. Hence, many toy makers switched to plastic. So if the decision to buy a toy is based on price alone, then perhaps plastic toys will win this battle. But often, toys mean more than just money alone.

Today, the price of a piece of wooden toy rises in proportion to the time and skill required to make the toy. In other words, the more time and skill needed, the higher the price. Still, people continue to buy wooden toys because they are suitable for everyone.






Whether you are an adult or a young child, you will fall in love with tiny wooden toys, as they are just too adorable to resist. Wooden toys are also suitable for both boys and girls. There are toys like toy cars and toy furniture that are suitable for both genders. Children love wooden toys because they can play with them both indoors and outdoors.

To preserve a wooden toy, clean the surface with a wet cloth before putting it away. Regular cleaning will make the wooden toy last longer. Some children like to use wooden toys for pretend play. Pretend play stimulates a child’s imagination. Simple wooden toys could engage children and motivate them to think. The secret to improving thinking and motor skills is to use simple wooden toys to play simple games. For example, use wooden blocks for counting games, or use puzzles to help encourage thinking.

But for most toy collectors, they like to collect wooden toys because wooden toys can last for a very long time, they are often kept for sentimental reasons. For an avid toy collector, there are many different types of wooden toys to choose from. But what makes a wooden toy a desirable artifact to collect?

For one, as wooden toys last so long, they are often still around even when their owners have grown up. And despite having grown up, the owners often refuse to give away their wooden toys as these toys bring back many happy memories. Also, one does not have to worry about harming the environment with wooden toys. In terms of durability, wooden toys can outlast any plastic toys with ease. They are also popular because of their versatility.



Case in point: skilled toy makers can create more complex wooden toys such as puppets. Pinocchio is a wooden puppet in a fairy tale, and he wants to become a boy. Puppets are interesting toys that can move. Simple wooden blocks can be used as educational toys. They can be used to playing counting games, or to build shapes. Such wooden toys can be used many times over.

So no matter simple or complicated, wood can be made into all sorts of different toys. That means, surely, there must be some wooden toys out there suitable for everyone.

Today, Let's Thanksgiving for All We have Owned!

The 4th Thursday in November each year is the Thanksgiving Day in the United States. This year on November 20, U.S. president George W. Bush, in accordance with tradition, pardon two turkeys in the Rose Garden of White House, and to lead the people to express their sincere gratitude to those heroic fighters who are go through fire and water on the front line to safeguard the American peoples’ lives and houses.

Each year, the Thanksgiving holiday begins with the president pardoning 2 turkeys from becoming someone's Thanksgiving dinner. President Henry Truman started this tradition in 1947. "So now I have a task and that is to grant a full presidential pardon to May and flower, they will shortly be flown to Disney World where they will serve as Honorary Grand Marshals for the Thanksgiving Day parade. Hope that honor doesn't go to their head. "

Turkey is the food that could not absent in Thanksgiving Days’ dinner table, just as the moon cake in the Mid-Autumn Festival of China, every household in the United States will eat turkeys in the Thanksgiving Day. They usually stuffed the turkey belly with a variety of spices and mixed foods, then baked the whole turkey and sliced it with a knife when the turkey cooked. Other traditional Thanksgiving foods there are sweet potatoes, corns, pumpkin pies, jam and so on.

Last year's turkeys were May and Flower, a reference to the ship that sailed nearly 400 years ago from Plymouth, England to America. And in the fall of 1621, these Plymouth pilgrims celebrated a bountiful harvest with local American Indians.

Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving) is one of the most important holidays in American, each year in the day, no matter how busy, tens of thousands of American peoples will together with their families to enjoy this holiday.

Since the 1600s, Thanksgiving has morphed into a holiday in the United States, marked by extravagant parades, feasts, and the opening of the Christmas shopping season. The Macy's Day parade in New York is one of the major ceremonies to mark Thanksgiving each year. Approximately 2.5 million people are expected to attend the parade this year while 44 million will watch it on television at home. The parade serves as a reminder that the holiday season is in full swing.

This Friday, many Americans will rise early the day after Thanksgiving to take advantage of discounts at retail shops around the country. Last year, the National Retail Federation estimated more than 60 million people shopped that day.

Today is the annual Thanksgiving Day, and conceives a thanksgiving heart oftentimes will make everyone in the world become more happy and more lucky (is that true? Yes!), so let thanksgiving for all we have owned!

Unique Mongolia Leather Painting II - Art Characteristics

The creative inspiration of leather painting is comes from the ancient and vast grasslands. People in grassland who has grazed cattle and sheep from generation to generation have created a large number of exquisite and valuable works of art. The drawing paper of leather painting is a whole piece of cow leather, which was made out through traditional craft technics, then paint the picture on the leather.

Mongolia leather picture, made of selected natural high-quality cow leather from grasslands, through a series of processing of special drawing, coloring up, layer dying, polishing, setting, and half-raised pressing of concave-convex and so on, in which there are dozens of technique procedures and the painting was handmade purely. Having maken full use of the advantages of smooth lines of natural leather and featured with unique describing techniques, strong sense of three-dimension and mild colors and so on, Mongolia leather painting bring people a brand new enjoyment of art.

Compared with ordinary paintings, leather painting has the following characteristics:
1. Colorful
The color of genuine leather before dying is light yellow, sometimes they taken on a little red, and in the process of variegation the special fusing attribute with paints of genuine leather itself make its original color become more bright and vivid.

2. Vivid

The 3D framed picture on the leather surface through carving with the lines of picture pattern produced special effects of relievo, and the picture face will floating with the contents needs, matching with gorgeous colors, thus make the design figure on the leather painting vivid and lifelike.


3. Outstanding Texture

The material of leather painting is fine selected high quality cow leather – a piece of whole leather (with no hierarchic arrangement), the leather quality is soft and delicate, with mild colors and the texture of which is unparalleled.

4. Noble and Elegant

As one kind of best interior decoration, the solid leather painting could manifest the owner’s noble characters and his great artistic tastes.

The prairie flavors and styles concentrated in the painting will bring you full-bodied feelings of grassland when you appreciating with it. Put a piece of leather painting in your house, with which could show your nobility and tastes to your guests well.

5. Particular National Technics and Characteristics


Leather painting is one kind of art forms that mixed the Mongolian folk culture with its special traditional crafts, with a long history, whose craftwork and art form has been inherited and improved though several generations, it fully embodied the art essence and cultural connotation of the Mongolia nation, has high values for art appreciation and collection.

How to Make a Personalized Fabric Gift Bag for Special Gifts

The weather is getting colder, and let's have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts are heartful, and also better for the environment. So, pls forget about those paper gift wrappings and gift boxes and take fabric gift bags instead. A fabric gift bag is as well received as the gift itself. This is an easy sewing project for beginners.

Sewing fabric gift bags is usually pretty simple. It is mostly just a matter of determining what size you need, then cutting out two pieces to your specifications. Add seam allowances on the sides and bottom. Allow an extra large hem at the top for the casing where you will put the drawstring or elastic.

Fabric gift bags can be made to fit the intended gift, regardless of the shape or size. Square and rectangular bags are by far the most common and the easiest to make. However, those with some prior sewing experience can also create other shapes as well.

For such sewing projects, durable fabrics work very well. If you choose one that is sheer or rather lightweight, use a heavy interfacing (fusible or non-fusible) on the wrong side to give the bag the body it needs. Gift bags for jewelry need not be quite as heavy. So, a lightweight interfacing would be fine for these.

When it comes to choosing fabric colors and patterns, the only limit is your preference. If the fabric gift bag is for a seasonal or holiday gift, select a material to fit the occasion. Certainly, fabric stores and fabric departments have a wide range of festive kinds for every sort of event.

In addition, take this opportunity to use scraps from other projects if you are doing pieced or appliquéd bags.

Apply the interfacing and appliques. Place the two pieces of the bag with the right sides of the fabric together. Sew the side seams.

For the bottom of the bag, you have two options. The simplest is to sew the bottom seam in the same manner as the side seams. For a fitted bottom, cut notches to form the corners. Then, sew the corners and the bottom. Finally, sew the top hem as mentioned above. Use two rows of stitching for the casing. Leave an opening to insert your drawstring or elastic. The final step is to finish the edges of the opening as you wish. A buttonhole is one possibility.

Use colorful ribbon, braid, lace, or strips of fabric for the drawstring. If you use the latter, finish the edges so they won't fray. When the drawstring is ready, insert it into the opening and you are ready to go.

If you are looking for suitable designs and ideas for fabric gift bags, there is no shortage of information sources. These would include magazines, Internet, commercial patterns found in fabric stores, and craft books of all sorts.

Pottery Art in China with A Long History IV --- Chinese Ceramic Pottery

As one of the four ancient civilization nations, China has contributed much to the society of development and progress of human, among them the invention and development of pottery is particular important and significant.

Pottery craftwork and ceramic art is the oldest arts and crafts of our country. As far away as in the New Stone Age there are gray pottery, terracotta, white pottery, painted pottery and black pottery with simple and rude styles. In Shang Dynasty glazed pottery and rigid glazed pottery which initially featured with porcelain characters appeared yet. The porcelain was created in the Eastern Han Dynasty, whose production techniques and artistic creation level reached to a high degree of maturity. In Song Dynasty the industry of porcelain flourished greatly, and dozens of famous porcelain kilns emerged in rush. As to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the technology of blank forging, decorating and glazing to firing of pottery are more advanced than those in previous generations.

The mainly species of Chinese pottery are terracotta, black pottery, white pottery, painted pottery, printed pottery and faience pottery and so on.

* Terracotta Pottery

Terracotta Pottery is one kind of pottery in Neolithic Age, and as the clay of which containing a few elements of Fe, which will be oxidized into ferric oxide when roasting, as a result the color of the pottery will take on earth red, brick red or henna, and it got its name consequently.

* Black Pottery

The invention of black pottery, according to archaeological discoveries was taken placed in late Neolithic Age, it was bred out between 2600 BC - 2000 BC. As the black pottery was produced through traditional techniques of pottery, so people often shocked by the magnificent and noble beauty of black pottery, it could bring people will feelings of dignity, comfort, quietness and extending. The discovery of Black pottery culture indicates the pottery production technology of Chinese ceramic has achieved to an unprecedented level, and it also displayed to backwards the historical process of the conversion of pottery production from possessing practicability to meeting aesthetic demands.

* White Pottery

"White pottery" is a leap forward from pottery to porcelain. "White pottery" is one kind of pottery, whose inside and exterior surface are both taken on white. Most of ceramic blanks are handmade and using porcelain clay or kaolin which contains less Fe elements than china clay, and the firing temperature of which is about 1000 degrees. The invention and application of incised white pottery in late Shang Dynasty is an achievement in the history of the development of Chinese ceramics production technology.

* Painted Pottery

Painted pottery is a remarkable achievement of Yangshao culture, it is one kind of pottery that painted with sienna, red and black colors. The art of painted pottery featured with strong flavors of life and unique artistic style, the image of which should be painted on the ceramic blank before firing thus the painted patterns will fixed on the ceramic utensil surface and will not break off easily after being fired. The pottery with stamping back patterns from late Neolithic ages to Han Dynasty in China were fired out in such a way: before firing, to press down patterns the pottery needed on its special places just before the ready-made ceramic blanks become dry.

The main sculpts of pottery there are burners, pots, jars and bowls. Among them the main types of ceramic burners there are Ge style burner, Boshan burner, smoke burner and so on; the main types of ceramic pots there are saliva pot, cock head pot, dish mouth pot and so on; the main types of ceramic jars there are four tied jar, small jars with bubbled abdomens, “Tian” word shape jars and small mouthed jars with break shoulders and so on; and the main types of ceramic bowls there are high foot bowls, palace bowls, bamboo hat bowls, lying foot bowls and so on.

Chinese ceramics has flourished for many years till today, the dark-red enameled pottery in Yixing city, the ceramic sculpture in Shiwang town, the three-color glazed pottery in Jieshou area, the purple-red pottery in Zibo city, the green glazed pottery in Tongguan area, the carved glazed pottery in Chongning county, the porcelain sculpture in Dehua county, the porcelain willow leaf bottle and porcelain phoenix tail bottle in Jingdezhen are all well known in the world.