Mantofa Articles Directory

The word belly dance, is a western name for an Arabic style of dancing. In Arabic countries it is simply called oriental dance and some American enthusiasts call it Middle Eastern Dance.

Belly dancing is a form of dance that is not so widely acknowledged in America and other countries, but there is still a large following in the vast ethnic sector. There is a lot of debate in the community as to the exact origin of belly dancing. Some believe it descended from early Egyptian dances, others say it is derived from religious dances and some say it comes from the migration of the Roma people, with Indian origins. No matter where it comes from, the fact remains that it is an exquisite form of dance and its popularity and following grows every year.

Belly dancing is a great way to increase fitness. It is a very active and energetic style of dance, which elevates the heart rate and increases cardio vascular ability, so one of the many benefits of this form of dance is to elevate fitness level, and burn fat. It also helps to stretch the muscles, and limber the joints up so that the participant becomes more nimble and agile. With these two health related factors, it shows us that it’s a great hobby for those with a few extra years on the clock to keep them young and vital, and also just for the general health of people of all ages.

This style of dance can be tailored to suit anyone’s personal abilities, so that it is not overly strenuous on the cardio vascular system, or on the stretch in the muscles. The fat loss aspect is something that belly dancing has actually been manipulated for. Some fitness experts have used belly dancing in personal training regimes to help a client lose weight effectively. This is possible because it is a fun activity, so the client will be happy to perform a certain amount of belly dancing practice each day to work towards their fitness and weight goals.

Males in belly dancing are not very common however there are some males in this form of dance that are very masterful at the art. Even though they are amazing in their performance, they are sometimes not looked upon with much respect in the belly dancing community, as it was an art created by women, and was not intended for men to perform. This topic is one of much debate with the introduction of women’s rights, why shouldn’t men be able to do the same things women can do, and so on.

All these factors make belly dancing an ideal activity for anyone of any skill level or age. It is both fun and good for physical fitness, so there is a number of positive’s and no negatives. Give it a try!

If you want to know more about Belly Dancing, including free information, reviews and much more, then please visit http://www.bellydancingmastery.com

The Renaissance is widely considered by many to have been a historic age, this period of time came after the Middle Ages but before the Reformation in historic hindsight, but the Italian Renaissance of the 15th century is connected with the absorption of knowledge by Western influences.

Especially the various realms of mathematics from the origins of Hindu India, the importance of living well in the present through humanism, and the explosion of knowledge brought about by the invention of printing that allowed many to understand the world around them.

As for the art of the time, the Renaissance boasted many of the most important artists to have been culled from the public consciousness; such as
Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, and Michelangelo, and has come to represent a golden era of time in which many people found themselves enlightened as to the state of world affairs and their own internal issues as well. Much of the art to come out of the Renaissance has been described as being the turning point for a large amount changes in the way things worked, and much of this is due to the previously mentioned artists and their now priceless
works.

The Renaissance has seemed to donate quite a bit to our culture as it now stands, even though a new age of Renaissance has yet to be really hinted at, and much has collected throughout the years to show the validity within this age of progression in all avenues of interest. It is the Renaissance that
has propelled the many ages to follow into their current state, with much praise being accrued to the many pioneers which pushed this age to a close,
but their impact is felt in the architecture and artwork of our time through the striking ways in which they moved everything forward by leaps and
bounds.

Much to come from the years within the Renaissance, whether it would be philosophically or in the aesthetics that claim to hold sway in the multitude of artistic pursuits to have arisen, but from there it has only been elaborated upon. Creating an established amount of history from which to draw upon, and it is these things which man claims to call art which seems to have truly revolutionized the world in which we live and strive every day.

There are many things out there today that we have come acknowledge as fitting into the categories encompassing the realm of art, these areas in particular range the gamut from paintings and sketches to sculpture and architecture, but all these things have the common central idea of expressing an artists interpretations of the world both within and without.

T J Madigan has been established in online business since 1998 and is director of a number of successful online projects one of which is http://www.articles.net.au your best source for FREE and articles and information.

You can travel almost anywhere in the world, and you will probably see graffiti. Although graffiti art is usually more common in big cities, the reality is that it can occur in almost any community, big or small.

The problem with graffiti art is the question of whether it’s really art, or just plain vandalism. This isn’t always an easy question to answer, simply because there are so many different types of graffiti. Some is simply a monochrome collection of letters, known as a tag, with little artistic merit. Because it’s quick to produce and small, it is one of the most widespread and prevalent forms of graffiti.

Although tagging is the most common type of graffiti, there are bigger, more accomplished examples that appear on larger spaces, such as walls. These are often multicolored and complex in design, and so start to push the boundary of whether they should really be defined as graffiti art.

If it wasn’t for the fact that most graffiti is placed on private property without the owner’s permission, then it might be more recognized as a legitimate form of art. Most graffiti art, however, is only an annoyance to the property owner, who is more likely to paint over it or remove it than applaud its artistic merit.

Many solutions have been put into practice around the world, with varying degrees of success. Paints have been developed that basically cause graffiti paint to dissolve when applied, or else make it quick and easy to remove. Community groups and government departments coordinate graffiti removal teams.

In some places you can’t buy spray paint unless you’re over 18. Cans of spray paint are locked away in display cases. In a nearby area the local council employs someone to go around and repaint any fences defaced by graffiti. A friend of mine has had his fence repainted 7 times at least, and it took him a while to find out why it was happening! Certainly the amount of graffiti in my local area has dropped substantially in the last year or two, so it appears these methods are working to a great extent.

But is removing the graffiti doing a disservice to the artistic community? Maybe if some of the people behind the graffiti art were taken in hand and trained, they could use their artistic skills in more productive ways. It hardly makes sense to encourage these artists to deface public property, and so commit a crime. But perhaps there are other ways to cooperate with the graffiti artists rather than just opposing them. Graffiti artists can create sanctioned murals for private property owners and get paid for it.

Maybe we need to start at a very basic level, and find a way to encourage the creation of graffiti art on paper or canvas, rather than walls. After all, who would remember Monet or Picasso if they’d created their masterpieces on walls, only to have them painted over the next day? Finding a solution to such a complex situation is never going to be easy, but as more graffiti art is being recognized in galleries around the world, we do need to try.

Steve Dolan loves art in various forms and mediums. Find out more about graffiti as an art form at http://www.graffitithis.com and if you have art that needs framing visit http://www.pictureframesweb.com.

Photo mosaics are rising in popularity all over the world. You have probably seen one somewhere such as in your child’s school, your local library, a medical office or elsewhere. They are beautiful, large photo mosaics that will catch everyone and anyone’s eye. You just can’t take your eyes off of these wonderful photos. There is so much to look at and so much to discover in a photo mosaic.

So, What is a Photo Mosaic?

A photo mosaic can also be known as a Photomosaic. This is a type of imaging art that is completely unique from the rest. A photo mosaic is usually made from a digital photograph ‘ this would be the best type of image to use. You could also use another type of picture, but for the sake of this article, we will focus on creating photo mosaics from a digital photograph.

To begin, the photograph needs to be divided into equal rectangular sections, as small as you want them to be. They should be small enough to create a great visual effect, but not too small so that someone looking at the finished project could not see them. They also should not be too large, because then it would look a little odd and probably not create your desired look.

Every one of those rectangular divisions will be replaced by another image with normal colors. When you look at the image at a distance (let’s say you are using a digital photograph of your favorite cat to create a photo mosaic) you would only see the cat. However, you might notice that the photograph’s resolution is a little off, or that something seems to be different about this photograph. When you stand close to the photo mosaic you will notice that there are many different photographs infused within the photo itself. How interesting!

You can use many kind of photos for the mosaic part of the digital photograph you want to. For example, in your favorite cat’s photo mosaic you could use many different photos of your cat to make up your photo mosaic of your cat. So, when you see it from a distance, you will see a large photo of your favorite cat. However, when you look closer you will see many different photos of your cat doing other things in the equal rectangular sections!

Who Invented the Art of Photo Mosaics?

There is no real known inventor, but one man that is believed to be the inventor of photo mosaics. His name is Joseph Francis, and he created a photo mosaic in 1993 while working for R/Greenberg Associates in Manhattan. He made a poster known as the ‘Live From Bell Labs’ created a lot of talk. He created the photo mosaic from a photo of a face. However, his photo mosaic was inspired by an artist by the name of Chuck Close.

How Can You Make Your Own Photo Mosaic?

You can create your own photo mosaics to decorate your home, give as gifts and more. You will need some certain supplies to make a photo mosaic.

Supplies -

A digital camera
Appropriate software
Good color printer
Your one photograph
The other photos you will be using as the smaller images.

There are quite a few different kinds of software that have been created to help you create your own digital photo mosaic.

Here are some software to choose from -

For Windows:

AndreaMosaic

Imosaic

PhotoMosaic

PicToBrick

For Mac:

MacOsaix

PicToBrick

For Online:

Mosaicr

Mosaickr

There is a lot of software to choose from when looking for something to help you create a photo mosaic. However, if you know that you are going to be creating a lot of photo mosaics, you might want to have a company take care of all of it for you. They should be able to print and mail it for you, as well.

Decorate your home and wow your guests! Give one as a gift and be remembered. Your own digital photo mosaics will probably be very personal to you, and you will be able to enjoy them for a long time. If you are going to give one as a gift, it will also likely be personal and dear to the person you are giving it to. Photo mosaics can be a way to easily decorate your home that will add a personal touch to your walls. It will definitely be quite the conversation piece when you have guests, friends or family over to visit.

Get your own Custom Photo Mosaic design on our Photo Mosaics website: http://www.designamosaic.com

So you say you have a burning desire to make a movie and you will do what ever it takes to get the job done? You fancy yourself and “independent” type and you want to reflect that in your art? Well, you better know what it takes before you decide to launch yourself into the world of independent filmmaking. If you do not know, your project may never see the light of day, or more importantly the light of a movie screen.

Making a low budget or “independent” film is a double edged sword. On the one side you have the freedom to express your art without corporate considerations, but on the other side you have the daunting task of doing almost every job yourself. From writing, producing, directing, and acting to providing travel arrangements, applying make-up, and fixing broken equipment, you cover the broad spectrum of chores and responsibilities. And that does not even cover the other responsibilities such as providing meals for everyone, rehearsals, etc… All you have to do is look at the long list of credits at the end of any movie in the theaters and you can see how much work it takes to make a motion picture.

While in the midst of making my last film Mike And The Magic Lamp I almost started to doubt whether I would ever finish it. I had been working on this movie for about two years straight doing every aspect of the film myself when I suddenly started to run out of energy. The continuous filming that I was doing combined with a heavy work schedule at my real job (Stage Manager of TV shows in Hollywood) was starting to get to me. I would have to prepare everything before a film shoot, and then do just about everything during the film shoots. Once in a while I would have a loyal friend help me with the awesome responsibilities of carrying equipment, setting it up, and then tearing everything down and putting it away each day, but you can only ask them to do so much if you are not paying them.

At one point during the filming of M&TML I passed out, fell off my director’s chair and hit my head on the corner of the set. I was mentally and physically exhausted while only halfway through the filmmaking process. The problem was that I was not yet creatively exhausted. The burning desire to make a movie and enter it in all the major film festivals was still alive, but the vessel (my body) that allows me to create was in need of a little R&R. I would take a day off here and there but it was always hard to rest when you have that little creative voice in your head bugging you to get your film finished so the world can enjoy your art. I was very lucky that I only suffered a minor head injury from that accident.

I finally finished the film Mike And The Magic Lamp after four long years of endless work that nearly put me in the hospital from exhaustion. The film went on to win the Silver Award at the Houston Worldfest in 1998 along with several other awards that year at major film festivals like the Santa Clarita International Film Festival. That film gave me recognition as an Independent Filmmaker and inspired me to pursue the path of making films on my own terms.

I pushed myself to the limits mentally and physically to get my movies made in the beginning of my career and it was just the springboard that I needed to get launched into the world of independent filmmaking. I may have doubted my body’s ability to keep up with my creative drive, but I some how managed to strike an agreement between the two and get my films finished. Before you take on the daunting task of making a movie almost completely by yourself, you have to ask yourself one thing; AM I REALLY COMMITTED to this idea? If you are not, then I suggest you find another outlet for your creativity. If you are committed, then pursue it with everything you have inside, but make sure you realize that your creative drive cares nothing about your health.

Copyright 2006. Michael P. Connelly

Michael P. Connelly is an Author and Filmmaker who travels the world making low budget independent films and writing about his enriching exeriences.
His latest book can be purchased at:

http://www.makeindependentfilms.com