Formidable Woodblock Masterpieces Of Women By Utamaro

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One of the most prominent themes in the arts of Man has always been female beauty. But surprisingly few artists are primarily identified with this theme. A major exeption is the Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) who dedicated is whole artistic life pursuing this beauty. He specialized in the posture, the character, the softness of the skin and the grace of the woman and fully utilized the characteristic of the woodblock to obtain the essence of female nature.

The following five bijin (beauty print) designs are among his most acclaimed masterpieces.

Mature Woman (c.1793)

From Utamaro’s five part series Kasen: ko no bu(Selected Love Poems) this okubi-e (bust portrait/ half length portrait) design is generally considered the best of this set of prints. The title in the English translation of this print is ‘Love Which One Can Not Put Out in One’s Mind’ and is the portrayal of a mature woman resting her head on her hand. Her eyebrows are shaven, which indicates she’s married, and her eyes are narrowed in a dreamily gaze looking into the distance. In this series Utamaro focuses on the facial expressions of these women using fine lines and soft delicate colors trying to expose their inner feelings.

Applying Red Lipstick (c.1794)

An ordinary woman depicted in a half-kneeling position looking in a mirror which she holds in her hand. She’s applying red lipstick to her mouth after she blackened her teeth. In this design Utamaro proofs his mastery in depicting women wearing everyday clothes placed in an ordinary setting. The subtle contrast between the red lipstick and the white of the skin is a magnificent detail. The black box in front of her contains implements for blackening the teeth.

Yamamba and Kintaro (c.1801)

Utamaro designed nearly fifty prints of the mountain woman Yamamba and her son Kintaro (a.k.a. Kintoki) in various settings and formats. This naga-oban (c. 20 3/4″ x 9 1/2″) design is Utamaro’s most well-known print depicting this subject. In this scene the viewer can feel true motherly love from Yamamba as she’s trying to calm the little boy with chestnuts while fondling him as he is holding on to her. The soft colour combination is beautifully contrasted with the strong colours used for Kintaro, emphasizing his health and strength.

Ten Physiognomical Studies (c.1791)

The following print is from Utamaro’s famous ‘Ten Physiognomical Studies of Women’ -series and is a study of a noble looking middle-aged woman reading a letter, with her hands outstretched to unfold it. A masterpiece because of its simplicity and superb composition. Some prints of this design have a pink-mica background instead of silver-mica. The pink was made after the silver.

Takashima Ohisa (c.1792)

This print belongs to the same series as the foregiving one and is probably the most celebrated single bijin portrait in the history of Ukiyo-e. The model of this print is thought to be a daughter of Takashima Chobei who was a proprietor of a tea-house in Ryogoku Yagenbori. The viewer can feel the sweetness of this girl who is a daughter of a well-to-do family. It seems that Utamaro often painted Takashima Ohisa (like many other contemporaries) by preference. He also painted Ohisa in the series ‘Six Famous Beautiful Women’, even after her marriage and as the proverb says: “Beauty is often inconsistent with luck”, this pretty Ohisa died young leaving two sons behind.

Modern Kashmiri Furniture

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Kashmir, a northern state of India, has built its fame not only on the merits of its age-old political controversy or its natural beauty, but also on the merits of its local arts and crafts, of which the hand-crafted, ornate walnut furniture pieces are both beautiful and functional. The paradox of this class of furniture is that it is both old and new; traditional and contemporary.

Most of the skilled craftsmanship has been handed down generation after generation in very traditional, family-based settings. Families that thrive on making rugs make only kashmiri carpets and rugs; families that have specialized in making walnut furniture only live on those!

What’s So Famous About these Kashmiri Walnut Furniture?

These carefully hand-crafted furniture items combine the rare elegance of walnut; the traditional, ornate designs of Kashmiri crafts; and the practical, usage features of the contemporary world. In beauty and grace, this type of furniture stands for tradition; in functionality, it stands for modernism. These furniture items are still so popular, that foreigners all over the world make an extra effort to stop by Kashmir or any large store in India selling these; then they order some to take back to their homeland.

Walnut Furniture

The Kashmir, hand-crafted walnut furniture has to go through a wood treatment process before its ready to take on craftsman’s tools because unprocessed walnut wood would crumble under those heavy beatings turning the ordinary wood pieces into beautiful, carved-wood furniture pieces. These pieces range from study desks, to roll-over cupboards, to end table to a lot of other useful items. The outstanding features of Kashmiri walnut furniture sets are:

– They are visually appealing with finely carved out, ornate designs

– They combine rare traditional beauty and elegance with modern, practical, usage ideas. Each and every furniture item can serve at least two purposes, if not more.

– The color and texture of walnut makes the furniture sets stand out from other modern Indian furniture.

– The walnut wood and the traditional, kashmiri designs combine to create rare, artistic pieces.

– Specific, made-to-order pieces may be ordered and shipped to a customer’s home address.

Stocked items
Normally, some pieces are always found on stock in any retail shop selling kashmiri furniture; some other items may have to be made to order. The items that are readily available in the kashmiri walnut furniture category are wooden room partitions, centre tables, end tables, sofa sets, roll-over desk tops, roll-over cupboards, and so forth.

Most proud Kashmiri furniture makers would be eager to custom-design any unusual item selected by a customer. A good number of foreigners, while traveling in India, make a point to visit these traditional carpet and furniture-selling families in Kashmir.
Most foreign tourists planning on visiting India may be well served if they are acquainted with the beautiful craftsmanship of Indian furniture.

Modern-designed furniture is manufactured by millions of companies and individuals, thus leaving a buyer quite perplexed about a buying choice. The modern Kashmiri furniture is at least worth someone’s consideration even if it doesn’t make the final round.

Hd Brows Are Here At Last! Get Perfect Eyebrows Only At La Spa Therapie

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ATTENTION ALL EYEBROWS!

Over plucked? Under groomed? Out of shape? Barely there? If you’ve been tweezed and terrorized, waxed and worried or just plain ignored and in desperate of some eyebrow TLC then La Spa Therapie has some great news for you! Introducing HD Brows!

(Cue trumpets and wild applause)

HD Brows, the unique seven-step eyebrow shaping treatment that has taken the beauty world by storm, has finally come to Ireland with La Spa Therapie leading the way as one of only a handful of salons in the country that currently offer this amazing beauty service. Thanks to Katie – our very own fully trained HD Brow technician the HD Brow look can soon be yours!

For those confused eyebrow owners not already in the know, the HD Brows beauty treatment is a must-have for the well-groomed face. Already a huge hit in the UK where the HD Brows brand was born (finding instant favour with celebs and fashionistas alike) Irish girls have been clamouring to get this amazing brow treatment here in Ireland. So, currently sporting a raised eyebrow and would like to know more about La Spa’s HD Brows? Read on for our Q&A.

Q. Why do I need HD Brows?
A. Well-groomed, stylish eyebrows can really sculpt your face and transform your look. The right brow shape and colour can accentuate your eyes, take years off your face and make you look neat and well presented at all times without the hassle of daily brow plucking and pruning. The HD Brows treatment will give you that look.

Q. What does the HD Brow treatment involve?
A. The HD Brow treatment is a seven-stop eyebrow shaping course that focuses on design. It involves a combination of techniques including tinting, waxing, threading and specialist HD Brows products.

Q. Will I get the results I want straight away?
A. Most people will get the HD Brows look after just one session. Sometimes it can take a few visits to perfect the brows depending on the amount of work required. However we guarantee you will definitely see a big improvement after one visit.

Q. How often will I need the HD Brows treatment?
A. The length of time the results last depends on how quickly your hair grows back and how well your hair holds colour. On average you would want them done every 4 weeks to maintain the perfect look.

Q. Can I maintain my brows at home?
A. Yes. We supply the full range of HD Brows products so you can enhance your brows at home in between visits.

Q. I have over-plucked brows. Can I still get the HD Brow look?
A. Sure! Your stylist can put you on a re-growth programme that will train your brows into shape over a course of visits. To speed up your re-growth and maintain nice eyebrows in between visits to the salon, you can use HD Brows products at home that stimulate growth and make eyebrows appear fuller and more defined.

Q. Can I choose an eyebrow shape?
A. Absolutely. Brow shapes are tailored to the individual, as they have to suit your look and personality. Your brows can be made dark or light, thick or thin, sharp or soft. Your input is important in deciding the best shape and look for you. Katie will consider your hair growth, colouring, face shape and overall look when consulting with you on your brow design.

Book early to avoid disappointment!

Katie’s brow perfection techniques will be made available at both La Spa salons in Malahide and Drogheda. Make sure to call ahead for an appointment. See you (and your soon-to-be-beautiful brows) at La Spa!

Celebrity Hair Transplants And Weaves

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Flick through the pages of any glossy magazine and you’ll be confronted with images of star studded beauties and Hollywood good looks. These red carpet pictures are full of lads and ladies with a St Tropez tan, ultra white teeth, perfectly toned abs and flowing locks. However, all is not what it seems; look a little closer, past the airbrushing and you will realise that each and every one of these celebrities is human after all. From hair transplants to weaves we bust the beauty secrets of the fabulously famous.

A classic example is Beyonce Knowles. She is the face of L’Oreal and is tied into multimillion dollar deals that mean that she can’t look anything but perfect if she happens to be snapped by the pap. Her luscious locks however are enhanced by the addition of a weave.

This type of weave uses a woven nylon base which has synthetic hair attached to it. The original hair is pulled through the woven mesh and integrated with the synthetic hair. A weave is used to enhance or extend a style or cover up signs of hair loss. Why L’Oreal is advertising their product on what is evidently fake hair is beyond us and Beyonce probably.

Natural beauty Cheryl Cole is said to be another celeb to sport a weave. Although she already has hair that most women would give their right arm for, she pads it out with extensions to give a fuller sleeker look. We like to view it as a kind of hair augmentation, but there’s nothing bad about making what is already beautiful a little big bigger.

While women go for the weaves, the men are taking on the hair transplant. A hair transplant uses donor follicles from the back of the head to fill in thinning patches. Usually groups of between one and four follicles are transplanted at a time to give a totally natural look. While it is rumoured that the iconic Johnny depp has had a receding hair line sorted out, there is no hard and fast evidence for this, but Jamie Foxx, a fellow Hollywood actor had had his done with pride.

Not only was he seen swanking the celebrity circuit with a fully shaved head, he also went as far as to get the donor area tattooed. Just a few weeks later he was back on the red carpet with a fully restored hair line. It’s good to know that celebrities are just the same as us, and that we can get that same celebrity look.

How Do I Refill A Post It Note Dispenser

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Post-It notes play an important role in any office, for a wide variety of reasons:

They make excellent book marks, so that you can find interesting facts on pages easily

Useful for separating document segments

Offer instructions on files or documents that can be easily removed once the job has been done

Perfect for leaving notes for workmates

Their sticky backs mean that theyll stick to most basic areas of an office including desks, walls, message boards, PC monitors, mugs, doors etc. However, the lightness of the glue guarantees that once removed no residue is left behind to tarnish and/or damage office equipment.

So many office workers couldnt imagine life without the usefulness of the handy little post-it note, but keeping track of where theyre kept can become a bit of a chore, especially if you have several pads of them lying around your hectic desk. And even when you do find them, the chances that theyve become damaged and/or stained by a coffee mug, or some other office-based implement are annoyingly high. Nevertheless, the real solution to this is to purchase a good post-it note dispenser, which keeps them all neat, tidy and organised in a world of mayhem.

*Refilling your Dispenser*

Most Post It Note Dispensers come ready-filled with plenty of notes to keep you going for a considerable amount of time, but no matter whether you work in a really busy office or a quiet one, your notes are going to run out eventually. Thats just inevitable, but where do you even start to go about refilling your note-enriched beauty?

1. The first and most important step is to determine exactly what size of post it note your dispenser holds. You will first need to determine their shape, ie: square, rectangle, circular etc, and then work out their dimensions. This is pretty simple for square or rectangle-shaped notes, but circular may be more of a chore. To save on time, you should check the dispenser and any packaging that it came in, to see whether they offer you this information.

2. It is useful to have an idea of the type of post it notes that you prefer to use. If you tend to only use them as small page-markers, then smooth-surfaced ones are stronger and more durable, in the sense that they are less likely to tear. However, they are unsuitable for writing on. Therefore, if you tend to use post-its for writing notes either to yourself or your colleagues, then paper-based post-its are probably more suitable.

3. Once youve determined the type of post-it notes that you are looking for, shop around all of the stationery-based shops that you can think of, and find out if they supply post-it note refills. The chances are that if they sell the original dispenser that you bought, they are quite likely to also sell the refills.

4. Take time to compare and contrast prices, to make sure that you are getting the best deal possible.

5. Once you have purchased the correct refills, youll need to figure out (or find out) how many notes the dispenser can hold at one time. Its important not to insert too many, as you might have problems pulling sheets out.

6. Find out how the dispenser allows for refills. Some open up at the top, allowing you to simply pop them inside, whilst others can be inserted from a side-angle.

7. Take time to ensure that all of the sheets are inserted correctly, to avoid them becoming crumpled or jammed, and you are all set to go.

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