A few years ago, I was hired by The Wellness Community of Philadelphia to design and lead a workshop for people with cancer. Because of my extensive training in the use of arts in healthcare settings, I wanted to make sure that everyone in the group would be able to engage fully (and comfortably) in all the activities planned for the half-day workshop. In fact, I specifically adapted many aspects of the session during the planning stages: simplifying the art-making process as much as possible; choosing easy to use and non-toxic art materials; ensuring the room was odor and fragrance-free; and paying special attention to the temperature and seating arrangements.

On the day of the workshop, I greeted the attendees as they began to arrive. It was clear that several of them were currently in treatment (radiation and/or chemotherapy) while others were many years into their recovery. A few wore the pinched facial expressions often noticeable in people who are experiencing physical discomfort or pain.

One older woman in particular, who was escorted in by a friend, appeared to be in a great deal of pain. She was slightly hunched over and very thin. It took her some time to get settled into her seat. She also seemed distracted or bored, as if someone had to persuade her to come to the workshop.

When the session began, there were several activities that the woman did not participate in and I wondered to myself if she would get the full benefit of the day if she were unable to engage in the main art-making activity.

But when it was time for the group to move over to the long tables set up for creative work, her eyes widened at the array of colorful paints, fabrics, beads, stamps, and ribbons spread out on the table to choose from. Although it took her some time to pick out her materials, she got right to work on her “dream pillow”.

Because the art-making portion of the workshop would last about an hour, I made a mental note to check on her every ten minutes or so, but by the third “check-in”, it was obvious that she was totally engrossed in her painting and was not having any trouble whatsoever.

As we neared the one-hour mark, the entire group was in active creation mode, busily gluing and stamping their pillows and swaying to the upbeat music playing in the background. Suddenly, the woman I had been concerned about cried out “Oh, my God! My pain is gone!” Every head in the room turned toward her. “When I came here this morning,” she said, “I was in so much pain, but I haven’t had any pain since I started making my pillow”.

I’ll never forget the mile-wide smile on her face and the light shining in her eyes.

You see, even though I could name research studies documenting the fact that hospital patients who participated in bedside art activities often requested much less pain medication and often even left the hospital earlier, it was only in that moment that I truly appreciated how deeply rejuvenating (and perhaps even life-extending) the simplest acts of engaging art and creativity can be.

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Paintbrush Anatomy

A paintbrush’s anatomy is made up of three basic parts. These are the head, the ferrule and the handle. It isn’t necessary to know this to create a beautiful paintings, however, by knowing the different parts you will be familiar with various art terms when you hear them.

Head – The hairs or bristles of the brush. The hairs are made from either natural or synthetic fibers and is what an artist uses to apply and push paint around on the canvas. The head has three parts too. The very tip of the head is called the toe. The fattest part of the head is called the belly and the point where the head meets the ferrule is called the heel.

Ferrule – The metal cylinder that attaches the head on to the handle and helps hold the hairs in shape. High quality ferrules won’t rust or come loose.

Handle – the long stem of the brush that is held when in use. It’s generally made of wood or plastic. The length of the handle can vary. A quality brush will balance on your finger regardless of the size.

Brush Types

An oil painting artist’s paintbrushes come in a variety of types. Knowing what those types are is beneficial in knowing which brush to use to achieve the effect you desire in your paintings. There are two main types of hairs in paintbrushes – bristle and sable. There is one other type – synthetic, however that one will be talked about last.

Bristle brushes are made from ox or hog’s hair and are usually light in color and have a lot of bounce. The ends of the bristle hairs don’t come to a point, but has two or three V-shaped splits called “flags.” This makes them capable of holding a good amount of paint which is beneficial since these brushes are mostly used when you are applying paint to the major areas of your canvas. After repeated use, the “flags” will become stained by darker pigments, however, this will not adversely effect the brush in any way. In addition, because the individual hairs of the bristle brush are hard or stiff to the touch, they will leave small grooves in the paint. These grooves will remain in the paint until they are smoothed out with a sable hair brush.

Sable hair brushes are soft painting brushes made with hair that comes from animals such as sable, squirrel, marten or mongoose. They are springy and silky to the touch with each strand converging to a fine point. Sable brushes are great for blending, glazing and making soft, less-defined brushstrokes. When compared to a bristle brush, you will notice their hairs are softer and much more delicate. In addition, sable brushes will not leave tiny grooves in your paint. They are capable of smoothing out the brushstrokes left by other type brushes and will give your painting a smoother, softer look when you don’t want your brushstrokes to show. Artists prefer using them for more delicate applications of paint and finer detailed work. Sable brushes are the most expensive and will require more care than all of your art brushes.

The final type of art paintbrushes are called synthetic brushes. They are not made from animal hairs, but are products from man-made materials of either nylon or polyester filaments. Synthetic brushes range from soft to stiff hairs. They can be tapered, tipped, flagged, abraded or etched to increase their paint carrying ability. Synthetic brushes are more affordable than natural brushes made from animal hair, however, they are not quite as good. The hairs of these type brushes tend to stick together when they get wet and synthetic brushes are also prone to wear out faster and are harder to work with. The individual strands often spread out in all directions and fall out and can become a permanent part of your oil painting. However, there are some advantages of synthetic brushes. They are less prone to being damaged by solvents, insects or caustic paints. They are also easier to clean than natural hair brushes because the filaments won’t trap paint like natural hairs will.

Brush Shapes

Art brushes come in four standard shapes for oil painters and are called round, flat, filbert and bright. The names refer to the shape of the end of the hairs on the brushes and the different shapes determine the nature of the stroke that it will make. Therefore, it is important to select the proper brushes for specific needs. There are also a few other brush shapes that are used for specialized functions like blending which will be talked about afterward.

A flat brush is a brush with hairs that are long and flat on the end, much like the head of a screwdriver. From the side it is narrow. Flat brushes have a lot of spring to them and can hold a lot of paint. You can use these brushes for broad sweeping broad strokes or you can turn the brush on its edge to create fine lines. With a little twist, you can even create a triangular stroke. The flat brush is also good for when you are blocking in large areas and for early stages of a painting. These brushes are perfect for quickly and evenly applying large amounts of paint to the canvas surface.

The filbert brush is an almond-shaped brush with a thick, flat ferrule and hairs that are medium to long in length. It is similar to the flat brush except the edge of the brush hairs come to a rounded shape. The strokes are somewhere between a flat and round brush. Filberts create a softer more rounded stroke because of their shape and are perfect for painting flower petals and leaves.

Round brushes are most often sable hair and get their name from their round ferrule. Their tip is shaped like a bullet which comes to a blunt point or sometimes it can be pointed. They are designed for more controlled brush strokes. Round brushes make a softer rounded stroke and are not suited for creating hard straight edges. They hold a nice amount of paint and are great for making thin or thick lines. Round brushes are also good for washes, fills, fine detail work and creating long lines.

Bright brushes are similar in shape to flat brushes but the hairs are much shorter. They make short controlled strokes and tend to put paint on thickly. Brights are good for driving paint into the weave of a canvas, however if worked too hard, they will actually remove as much paint as they apply. Depending on how you manipulate the brush, brights can create broad and bold brush strokes, sharp edged thin lines or smooth sweeping layers of paint. A bright is the ideal brush for painting landscapes and flowers.

The last paintbrushes that falls under this category are called blending brushes. While these type art brushes are not essential like the first four types listed above, they are good to have on hand for smoothing out brushstrokes and for spreading and blending colors smoothly. Blending brushes are very soft and are not used for applying paint. They are made to gently stroke the wet paint that you already applied to canvas to take out brushstrokes and for blending. These art brushes are usually your most expensive brushes in your paintbox so you will want to take good care of them to make them last a long time. An example of one is called the fan brush. The fan brush is shaped like an open Chinese fan where the bristles fan out. This brush is not suited for holding paint, it is mostly used for blending colors.

Brush Sizes

Artist’s paintbrushes come in a large assortment of sizes. They range from very large brushes to medium sized to extra-small brushes. The size of the brush is usually indicated by a single digit number on the side of the brush handle up near the ferrule. Most brush sizes range from 0 up to 30, however, you’re really small brushes are numbered by multiples of the number zero (like this: 00, 000, 0000 or 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, etc.). The more zeroes there are, the smaller the brush. The most standard brush sizes are 3/0, 2/0, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, and 20. However, keep in mind there is no exact standard for their sizes and brushes manufactured by different companies are not universal in size. You will need different sized brushes for all stages of a typical painting. Large brushes for the beginning stages and smaller brushes for the detail work. Which brush you would want to use depends on two things:

The size of your canvas. The larger your canvas, the larger your brush will need to be and the smaller your canvas, the smaller your brushes. The particular area of the painting you are working in. For example, you would use a large brush to apply paint to larger areas of your painting such as the background (like the sky) and smaller brushes for the detail work (like individual leaves on a tree).

After you have considered your brush size, the next thing to think about is the handle length. Art brushes are either “long-handled” or “short-handled.” There is no universal standard for handle length. Long-handled brushes usually tend to be around 9 inches or longer and short-handled brushes are generally 6 inches or shorter in length. The handle length was developed ages ago and depended upon the brush use. Oil painters usually stand away from the canvas which requires a longer handle on their brushes, whereas, a water colorist sits and paints much closer to their canvases and do not need the longer handle. Your larger brushes will most likely have the longer handles since they are used are for larger areas of the canvas and smaller brushes will have slightly shorter handles since these are used most for detail work where the artist would need to move in closer to the canvas.

Brush Manufacturers

Oil painting brushes are made by variety of manufacturers around the world. A few of the more popular brands are da Vinci, Winsor & Newton brushes, Silver Brush Limited, Raphael Paris Classic brushes and the Robert Simmons line of brushes. These are the best known and most used high quality brands of brushes. They will always be known for the quality of the brush as well as their longevity and ease of use. Some artists are faithful to just one brand, whereas, other artists like to have an assortment of different brands available. The only way to know what you will like best is by using the brushes yourself. Some name brands will be more expensive than others, however, don’t let that be what you base your final purchasing decision on. With proper care the more expensive brushes will out last the lesser made and priced brands of brushes.

Caring for Your Paintbrushes

All art brushes require thorough cleaning at the end of each painting session. Let me repeat, never store your brush until it is completely cleaned. Never leave your brush standing head down in a solvent for any length of time. This can cause the brush to lose its shape. After cleaning, a brush should be hung head-down or laid flat to dry. This allows moisture to drain out of the ferrule and hairs. If you allow your brush to dry standing up, the cleaner and paint residue can drain towards the ferrule, which can weaken the glue that holds the hairs to the handle. In addition it can also cause a buildup of paint residue in the ferrule. In time, this will also cause the brush to become misshaped. When a brush looses its shape, it is then worthless. As a final step in caring for your paintbrushes, you will need to remove the solvent from the head by using mild “degreaser”, like dish soap, and warm water. This helps to keep the hairs soft and undamaged.

One final word – always keep in mind that your art brushes are expensive, if you take good care of them they will last a long, long time.

More oil paintings information and tips can be found at

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Zwykłe ogłoszenia matrymonialne, które w dalszym ciągu do niedawna mogliśmy znaleźć w popularnych gazetach oraz dziennikach, odchodzą już pomału do lamusa. Ogłoszenia internetowe stwarzają bowiem więcej możliwości. Pozwalają nie tylko zobaczyć dużo na temat określonej postaci ale także przepatrzeć jej zdjęcia. Istnieją jednak sceptycy, którzy stwierdzają że przez ogłoszenia matrymonialne nie uda się wyszukać swojej miłości, tej jedynej. Mówią, iż osoby w Internecie w kółko podają się za innych niż są w realu.

Zamieszczenie zachęcającej fotki, stosownie podrasowanej na photooshopie także nie stanowi najmniejszego problemu. Jednak zwolennicy twierdzą, że sieciowi poszukiwacze namiętności nie bajerują bo prawda i tak prędzej czy później wyjdzie na jaw. Najistotniejszy jest jednak rozsądek.

Szybkie pożyczki wiadomości

In the tradition of all previous editions, this textbook is written in an easy to read, student-friendly style and is beautifully illustrated with the finest graphics to enhance the understanding of the book’s clear explanations. Each chapter is introduced by the four to six key concepts that will be covered in detail in the section. This helps students focus on key points and creates easy-to-review topics when quizzes and tests are upcoming. Using the concept of scientific inquiry, the text presents at least one example of the experimentation behind the concepts in each chapter. Each chapter ends with a series of questions that helps cement the knowledge gained using critical thinking and analytic skills.

Key topics covered in great depth in Biology with Masteringbiology include biochemistry, the structure and function of animal and plant cells, cell division and genetics, the theory of evolution, the evolutionary history of life on earth and the resulting biodiversity, plant structure and functions, animal structure and functions, and ecology. A massive book at 1393 pages, the sections covering topics such as genetics and biodiversity are as comprehensive as many single texts on these topics. Insightful diagrams are plentiful in the text helping students visualize difficult concepts.

To complement the information in the textbook, Pearson has a MasteringBio website that offers an e-book version of the text available to students along with quizzes and tests that review the material. There are also animations of key concepts presented in the book. One highlight of the website is the ability to download and insert the diagrams from the book into notes taken on the computer.

Why Rent Textbooks?

Rather than buying a book new or used, finding an outlet where it is possible to rent textbooks for just the time they will be used is a growing trend catching on in colleges across the country. Especially in a time of depressed economic condition and rising tuition costs, students need to look at ways to save money and the option to rent textbooks cheap is appealing. Biology with Masteringbiology is an expensive book with the retail price around $190 dollars. Due to its vast popularity, it is a wonderful example of a book that is easy to find on websites that rent textbooks online.

Not only do students save money when they rent textbooks cheap, they save time. Rather than waiting in lines to sell back books for a small fraction of the original cost, by choosing to rent textbooks online, the text is simply mailed back at the end of the semester.

With an estimated cost of $700-$1000 per year, textbooks are an overwhelming expense for many students struggling just to make tuition payments. By renting textbooks, it is estimated that students can save up to 50 percent of that cost. Textbook costs have skyrocketed in the last 30 years with costs rising at twice the rate of inflation. Unless a book is one that the student would like to keep for future reference, the wise choice, especially in these rough economic times, is to rent textbooks.

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Pożyczki bez bik przez internet są atrakcyjną ofertą przede wszystkim dla kogoś, kto jest w tej chwili w kłopotliwej sytuacji finansowej i nie posiada żadnej zdolności bankowej, co w całości zabiera mu jakiekolwiek szanse na zdobycie standardowego kredytu w banku.

Trzeba aczkolwiek pamiętać że Kredyty gotówkowe bez bik są zawsze droższe niz kredyt gotówkowy w banku.

Naprawdę warto jest zatem nieco bliżej poznać wszystkie Kredyty bez zaświadczeń, nim postanowimy się na skorzystanie z tej pożyczki. W gruncie rzeczy, w wielu sytuacjach są one dobrym rozwiązaniem, ale równocześnie istnieją sytuacje, kiedy stają się po prostu bezcelowe.

W naszym kraju rynek wierzytelności dla zadłużonych nieustająco się rozkręca. Powstało sporo firm proponujących nawet pożyczki dostępne tego samego dnia.

Zobowiązania dla zadłużonych przekazuje mnóstwo przedsiębiorstw na krajowym rynku. Instytucje takie jak Provident, czy popularne Kredyty chwilówki korzystają często z skomplikowanej sytuacji wnioskodawcy, narzucając znaczny procent.
Rozwiązanie to jest niemniej umotywowane, gdy nie zdołamy zapewniać zdolności kredytowej, ani udowodnić przychodu.

Szybkie pożyczki

Coraz regularniej z tymi przedsiębiorstwami w konkurencję wchodzą same banki, reklamując pożyczki konsumenckie bez poświadczenia o przychodach. Pożyczki te są znacznie oprocentowane, ale przystępne. Ryzyko instytucji finansowej jest wynagradzane naszymi większymi spłatami.

Warto korzystać w takich przypadkach z usług konsultantów kredytowych i wyszukiwać najtańszy kredyt przystępny w danej chwili.

I chociaż wprawdzie hasło to z początku spotkało się z bardzo entuzjastycznym przyjęciem ze strony konsumentów instytucji finansowych, to niemniej jednak w rzeczywistości uwidacznia się, iż pozyskanie takiej szybkiej pożyczki zupełnie do prostych nie należy. Instytucje finansowe – przed użyczeniem pożyczki na dowód – wymagają na ogół od użytkowników posiadania swojego rachunku prywatnego w ich jednostce. To jednakże nie wszystko.

Dlatego że z udostępnieniem takiej pożyczki powiązane jest wyższe ryzyko, przeto na ogół od możliwego pożyczkobiorcy instytucja finansowa zażądać może dokumentu od pracodawcy, w którym będzie informacja o sumie generowanych zysków. Do tego często gęsto konsultowana jest też bieżąca historia pożyczkowa w Biurze Informacji Kredytowej.

Wówczas kiedy konsument pomyślnie pokona całe wyżej wskazane punkty, instytucja bankowa zgodzi się na udostępnienie mu szybkiej pożyczki na dowód. Jakkolwiek aczkolwiek trzeba mieć pojęcie, że jest również inny typ prędkiej pożyczki, w przypadku jakiego pożyczający nie tylko, że nie będzie potrzebował poświadczenia o zdobywanych dochodach, to do tego nawet zła historia finansowa czy także wpis do Krajowego Rejestru Długów nie będą powodowały zapory na drodze do otrzymania kredytu.

Taki wariant usługi dostarczają jednakże nie banki, lecz instytucje pozabankowe.

Anna Albingier
Ror.Pisz.Pl
Pożyczki pozabankowe

ING Commercial Finance Polska S.A. rozpoczęło kampanię internetową promującą faktoring. Kampania potrwa dwa tygodnie, a jej celem jest zachęcenie do skorzystania z faktoringu jako sprawdzonego źródła finansowania dla firmy.

Krótka umowa, przejrzysta cena i brak dodatkowych opłat to cechy faktoringu w ING, które mają zachęcić do skorzystania z tej usługi.

Bannery reklamowe i tzw. będą wyświetlane na stronach portali finansowych (m.in. bankier.pl, gospodarka.pl, Pb.pl, lex.com.pl, gazetaprawna.pl. Kampania potrwa do 2.05.2010.

• Informacje o poĹĽyczkach

Home&Market co roku nominuje firmy, „wyró& niające się na rynku i spełniające oczekiwania klientów”. Wygrywają przedsiębiorstwa, uznawane przez środowisko biznesowe za godne zaufania i warte polecenia. Pod uwagę brane są osiągnięcia z ostatnich 12 miesięcy.

W 2005 roku BRE Bank, odpowiadając na rosnące potrzeby sektora MSP, znacznie unowocześnił i rozszerzył ofertę dla małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw, które, pomimo przynale& ności do najprę& niej rozwijającego się segmentu, ciągle narzekają na trudny dostęp do kredytów.

BRE Bank, wychodząc naprzeciw tym problemom – uprościł procedury, co wpłynęło na szybszy dostęp do kredytów. W lipcu br. wprowadził te& nowe usługi w Pakiecie „EFEKT Finansowy”, który zapewnia firmom limit kredytowy do wysokości 1 mln zł. Wystarczy raz podpisać umowę, aby w dowolnym momencie skorzystać z kredytu w rachunku bie& ącym, kredytu obrotowego, dyskonta weksli, gwarancji bankowych i akredytywy bez dodatkowego badania zdolności kredytowej. BRE Bank zwiększył równie& z 200 do 600 tys. zł maksymalną wysokość kredytu w rachunku bie& ącym (zabezpieczanego jedynie wekslem własnym, udostępnianego Klientom MSP w ramach Pakietu „EFEKT Plus”. Decyzja kredytowa jest podejmowana ju& w ciągu 7 dni od momentu zło& enia wszystkich dokumentów.

Strategia działań BRE Banku na rynku usług dla klientów korporacyjnych nazwana została mianem BREaktywacji. Jej zało& eniem jest dalsze udoskonalanie produktów i uproszczenie procedur, ale przede wszystkim zmiany w zakresie obsługi.

- „Wypracowaliśmy ju& nową koncepcję obsługi Klientów z sektora MSP. Teraz nie tylko du& e przedsiębiorstwa, ale ka& da z firm o rocznych obrotach od 3 do 30 mln zł mo& e liczyć u nas na indywidualne konsultacje z doradcą bankowym oraz pomoc w skonstruowaniu optymalnego zestawu produktów” – mówi Prezes Zarządu BRE Banku, Sławomir Lachowski.

Wychodząc naprzeciw potrzebom Klientów tego segmentu rynku BRE Bank rozbudowuje w Oddziałach sieć doradców do obsługi Klientów z sektora MSP, którzy słu& ą indywidualną profesjonalną pomocą merytoryczną.

- „Zało& enia naszego nowego modelu biznesowego zakładają z jednej strony najwy& szej klasy produkty, a z drugiej zaawansowane i partnerskie doradztwo oraz bliskie relacje z klientami, w tym równie& z wykorzystaniem elektronicznych kanałów dystrybucji usług. Na tych elementach chcemy się oprzeć budując nową jakość w kontaktach z polskimi przedsiębiorcami”, dodaje Sławomir Lachowski.

W 2005 roku do konkursu „Najlepszy partner w biznesie” zostały nominowane jeszcze dwa inne banki: PKO BP i BPH. Prócz nagrody dla najlepszego banku, przyznano statuetki w 8 kategoriach: najlepsze towarzystwo ubezpieczeniowe, najlepsze towarzystwo funduszy inwestycyjnych, najlepsza firma informatyczna, najlepsza szkoła wy& sza, najlepsza firma budowlana, najlepszy samochód firmowy, najlepsza firma zarządzająca dokumentami oraz najlepsza szkoła językowa.

autor: BRE Bank

• OgĹ‚oszenia Finansowe

Documents are very important materials – there is no doubt in that. However, as the years go and the piles of files go higher and higher, you eventually get lost with everything that you have, and not to mention the tons of paper you used (have mercy on the trees) and the high possibility of damage that your documents are prone to. They could easily be torn, burnt or just succumb to decay. If only there is a way to save these files in a more efficient way, organize them in such a way that you do not waste a lot of time just looking for them and be able to share them right away when they are needed.

Now imagine the same office but no clutters. Instead, you have this computer. Then your boss asked you to do the same thing – find a financial update of the company made last, last year and give him a copy. A click here and click there and you already finished the first task given to you!

Maybe you are thinking that converting files to digital would take a lot of effort. You still have to retype them, right? WRONG! The availability of digital technology together with scanning and the available programs that would help you edit scanned files make makes everything e-a-s-y, so long as you know what to do or, if not, you know who to call to do the conversion and archiving for you.

When you convert documents to digital files, you are doing yourself, the people around you and the environment a big favor. You can save time, save storing expenses, have a more reliable safekeeping procedure and have readily available documents whenever and wherever. In addition, keeping documents in database also means using less paper. Just think of all the trees that you could save and the contribution that you could give to environmental preservation. As cheesy as it may sound, it’s true.

Once you have a digital archive of your documents , you can just easily update them with new files. If you run out of space, you just expand the storage memory that you have and not the office space that you are desperately trying to maximize. Gone are the bulky and dusty file cabinets and you do not need to worry about papers burning, tearing or crumbling. As long as you have a stable storage of you data and a reliable back-up system, your documents would last until a better and new kind of archiving comes in.

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