The things that I will be changing are pretty big things, like:

• Removing the vinyl sheet rock.  Yes, there is white vinyl sheet rock in my guest bathroom right now that looks dirty and gross.  I started to try to remove the seams last night.  Seams in this type of sheet rock are typically just pressed in between the sheets, but whoever put it up decided an adhesive was needed.  I spent an hour and a half removing only 6″ of one of the seams before giving up.  I will be back at it today though with a wood chisel.
• Removing the suspended ceiling.  I am not kidding you, there is a suspended ceiling in the bathroom.  One, it’s just weird.  Two, who in their right mind thinks, “oh a suspended ceiling will look great in here?”  That’s correct, NO ONE in their right mind would EVER think that.
• The flooring.  As if hideous vinyl walls and nasty suspended ceiling tiles were not enough, the individual tiles are ugly and not even put down correctly.  Corners of it are peeling up and I get sad when I have to look at it.  So it’s coming out and new tile (real tile) is going in.  Hooray!
• Painting.  I plan on painting the walls and the vanity for a fresh update.

I cannot wait until the bathroom project is complete.  I have been wanting to do this for some time now and my schedule is finally allowing it!

I had the opportunity to take a advantage of Time Warner Cable bundles specials last month, and the new channels opened up the art world to me in ways I had not been able to experience with my limited cable selections.  That’s how I found the following video clip, which I think is one of the more significant art student final projects I have learned about in a few years.  He addresses bullying, a plague to modern society as classrooms grow more diverse and intolerance rears its vile head.  Here it is:

Of course, there are more types of art than just painting, and in all art forms the artists want to share their creativity. One such artist that did that very thing was Henri Matisse. He was a French born painter well known for the colors used in his Fauvism works. Find out more about Matisse in the video below.

In Minnesota you will find that art therapy is used often as a treatment and preventative for illness and disease.  The Minnesota Art Therapy Association is an organization that aims to offer assistance for those in the art therapy field looking for a job and those looking to seek art therapy as a constructive form of therapy. There are many different ways to check out the Minnesota Art Therapy Association. My Minnesota television provider even has a local channel that lists some of the association’s events in the upcoming events.

If you are interested in finding out more about art therapy, how and why it works there is a video included below.  It can help inform you of some of the reasons art therapy is used and how it can transform lives of those who seek it as a form of treatment.  Have a look…

I love when I see something that is typically very plain and boring taken to a whole new level because of someone’s creativity.  Let’s face it, without creative and artistic minds out there, we would live in a very dull world.  Luckily, everyone has their own talents and can offer up their own take and perspective on certain things.  One of my new favorite things is bird houses.  Not the same old boring ones that you would see at a big box store, but the ones that come from a vivid imagination.

I met the man who runs Porter’s Tavern Woodworks at a local craft fair.  His bird house and bird feeder designs are so incredible and range from fancy to almost silly, in a good way of course.  There are cedar feeders designed to look like a resort for birdies.  There are brightly painted houses with a colorful bouncy ball for the peg.  You can even find double-decker bird apartments.  How does this guy come up with this stuff?  Luckily, Boris Lurie Art Foundation (BLAF) asked so you could know.

BLAF:  How did you get started designing houses for birds?

PTWW:  Before I began building furniture and homes for birds I worked for a company that designed modular home plans.  I got to work with people looking to buy modular homes and customize these houses for people.  After I was laid off due to the economy, I decided that I could make some cash by creating houses.  Only this time they were for birds.  My seven year old son also helps come up with ideas that are really imaginative as well.

BLAF:  Where do you get your inspiration?

PTWW:  That varies.  It could be something as simple as a golf ball, or some kind of house my son drew on a piece of paper.  If I find old kitchen cabinet knobs around I can design a house around those.  Inspiration is everywhere.

This guy’s work is really phenomenal.  Check out some of his houses below or at his website:  porterstavernwoodworks.com

Yes, those are little stained glass windows in a bird house!  Impressive, right?

Gotta love those bright colors and copper roofs.

Simple and rustic.

In the following video, you can watch an expert barista creating several designs.  Notice the way he pours the cream and gently shakes the pitcher as he does so.  The patterns are simply stunning.  Even though this is the work of a trained and skilled artist, don’t be afraid to try these designs at home.  You could really impress your friends by learning these skills:

I am so glad that arts and craft shows have found their way into the small town where I live.  There was even a senior citizens art fair over the weekend that I attended, and I could not believe all of the people that came out to support the event and participate.  There is always so much to see when you go to one of these things.  If you are thinking about setting up shop at an arts and craft fair, then you will need to do a little prep work.

Planning your booth can be fairly easy, and selling your goods might not be as difficult as you might would think. If you ever need windows for demos or to spice it up, check with sites like www.allglasswindows.com.  Check out this video I found that offers tips on selling at arts and craft shows.

The most important thing about practicing with sand art is knowing that there is no right or wrong way to do it.  Unlike expensive oil paints and acrylics that must be mixed precisely to achieve the desired shades, then applied to the somewhat unforgiving canvass, sand is a bit touchier to work with because once it blends, you can’t easily separate the grains and get back to a color you wanted to work with.  On the other hand, colored sand is a lot less expensive than paint, and if you mess it up, you can always start over again.

Many artists enjoy going off by themselves and securing their studios with adt security while they spend quiet hours improving their skills and exploring new methods of artistic expression.  Enjoy the following video, relax to the calming music, and dream of some sand art of your own.

Many master sommeliers actually put themselves in the same categories of lawyers and medieval knights.  The thing is, to become a medieval knight, it takes some serious and mad art skills.  When swords and other things like that are involved, you definitely need to be an artist.  Therefore, if a medieval knight is an artist then a sommelier is an artist.  With that deduction, I found something that you can use to be your own little artist, and almost sommelier.  The art of understanding wine is not easy for simpletons, but now you can use the infographic that I found get some more information about good wines on a budget.  Click it to see it larger.