Randam Artists' Random Blog

1. Happy Valentine's Day
   Just for fun, on Valentine's day, I decided to post some funky and rather different Valentine related handcrafted items.
   
   

   Infinite Mystery

   Infinite Mystery. Heart Silver Pendant Silver Spider in a Web Encased in Resin

   
   
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2. Five Glass Sculptures
    

   
   

   
   Glass has been used as an art medium for over 3500 years.  Glass beads and amulets have been found that were made as far back as 2500 BCE.  It is very amazing that just a few basic ingredients, such as sand, ashes, and lime, can be used to make this wonderfully beautiful and versatile material. Here are five pieces of glass art to celebrate the art of glass.
   

   
   

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3. Getting to know Blue - Symbolism and Personality of Color
   
   

   Blue on Blue by Randam Art.

   There have been many studies focused on color and its impact on our daily lives.  There is no argument that color can influence our emotions, but our reaction to color is not always conscious.  Color can not only affect how we feel, but when used in art it can also portray an expression of feelings and emotions within our work. 

   
   

   I would like to introduce you to my own favorite color, based on research, historical significance, and word association studies, this information should give you some insight into the generally accepted color associations and how we typically react to the color blue.

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4. How To Make Christmas Crackers (BonBons)
   

   Christmas crackers, or bon-bons, as they are also known, have long been a part of Christmas tradition in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries.  Growing up in Australia Christmas Crackers have always been a part of Christmas.  Of course, like many things, the commercially produced crackers became more expensive over the years while the contents seemed to decrease each year.
   
   I started to make my own crackers when I was about 12 and it became a bit of a tradition with my own family and friends for me to do so.  People preferred my hand made crackers to the commercially available variety.  The demand was such that for several years I used to make and sell them.
   
   They are easy to make, and can be as fancy or as simple as you wish.  The only limit is your own imagination.   Use them just for fun or to wrap up small gifts.  Or use them as a place card for a dinner party by adding individual names to each cracker.
   
   Let me show you the basic quick and easy way to make them.  Once you have the basics, you can modify your crackers any way you like!
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5. Christmas: A time for carols, presents, good food… and high symbolism!

   Christmas Crackers (see below post for more info)

   The very word Christmas is rife with symbolic depth. ‘Christ’ itself is not, as many perhaps believe, part of Jesus’s name, but is rather a title given to him. It derives from the Greek ‘khristos’, meaning ‘anointed one’, and this word was used to translate the Hebrew word for messiah into the Greek language version of the Bible. The ‘mas’ is more obvious and simply means ‘mass’ – when we celebrate Christmas then, we are celebrating the mass of the messiah!
   
   Not many of us really think of Christmas in these terms any more; the traditional, Christian meanings and symbols often make way for an international holiday where we exchange gifts, eat food and drink well.
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6. Leather as a canvas - Five carved/burned leather art
   

   
   

   It is absolutely amazing to me the art that can be created on a leather canvas, be it carving, embossing or burning.  Each of these techniques can be used to create some wonderfully stunning artwork.  Here are five pieces of leather art that I find to be very impressive for this week's Five on Friday!

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