mosaic, originally uploaded by markhalpert.
Going slow in Belize sounds very attractive…
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All posts for the month August, 2006
Mosaic mask of Tezcatlipoca, originally uploaded by Nolan Willis.
Nolan Willis took this photo in London
The skull of the Smoking Mirror
This mask is believed to represent the god Tezcatlipoca, one of the Aztec creator gods. He was also the god of rulers, warriors and sorcerers. His name can be translated as ‘Smoking Mirror’. In fact, in many depictions during the Postclassic period (A.D. 900/1000-1521) his foot is replaced by a mirror.
The base for this mask is a human skull. Alternate bands of turquoise and lignite mosaic work cover the front of the skull. The eyes are made of two discs of iron pyrites set in rings made of shell. The back of the skull has been cut away and lined with leather. The jaw is movable and hinged on the leather.
Turquoise was sent as tribute to the Aztec capital from several provinces of the empire. Some of those provinces were located in present-day Veracruz, Guerrero and Oaxaca. The turquoise was sent as raw chunks or as cut and polished mosaic tiles decorating a variety of objects, such as masks, shields, staffs, discs, knives and bracelets. We know from a tribute list issued by the emperor Motecuhzoma II that ten turquoise mosaic masks, made by skilled Mixtec artisans, were sent each year from a province in Oaxaca.
Skaholt Cathedral, originally uploaded by Hoffmann.
Skaholt Cathedral is in Iceland. I would very happily attend church just so I could spend long hours staring at the mosaic as I think it is amazing.
IMG_1766, originally uploaded by janeymoffat.
This very Impressionistic mosaic caught my eye today. Glad the artist is managing to give the impression of tranquillity – my day certainly hasn’t been like that!
A mosaic equivalent of Debussy – nice and smooth and calming.
Cardiff Bay Mosaic Sculpture, originally uploaded by srboisvert.
It’s being a funny week and I’m feeling a little bit like the bloke in the photo. I’m typing this from work during my tea break because my almost 10 year old home computer’s hard drive has almost died and is terminal enough that I went and ordered a new computer. I also organised switching over from dial up to broadband last week so once everything rocks up and is hooked up things should really be working very well indeed.
If your computer decides to perform like a dying swan and all of the usual things don’t work and you need to consider a new one I really recommend this article
Thanks to that I managed to save about $800 on a brand new computer that shouldn’t be rendered too obsolete too quickly.
From the Cardiff Bay Travel Guide:
Outside the entrance to the Norwegian Church is the icy-looking Scott Memorial, commemorating the recent centenary anniversary of the ‘Age of Antarctic Discovery’. Scott set sail from Cardiff on his last ill-fated adventure. Designed by Cardiff-based sculptor Jonathon Williams, the mosaic was inspired by Barcelona’s modernist architect Gaudi. The snow-white abstract piece shows Scott man-hauling South towards the pole with the faces of his co-explorers trapped in the ice. A glance through the gap in the centre, which represents the ice cave from expedition photos, shows the entrance of Cardiff Bay, a sight of the sea and start of the expedition’s voyage that remains almost the same to this day.
The monument stands on a compass between the Norwegian Church and the lock where the Terra Nova started its journey. The proximity to the Church is a poignant reminder that Scott was beaten to the Pole by Norwegian, Roald Amundsen.
All I need now is for Australian Crawl to be singing”Reckless” in the background…
Light, originally uploaded by J. Star.
These rather endearing shell mosaics are to be found at the back of a parking lot near Paul Brown Stadium, beneath the traintracks and the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge in Cincinnatti. They seems to have appeared out of nowhere.
Anyone know more?
Sun, originally uploaded by J. Star.
Dusk, originally uploaded by J. Star.
Take a look at this little clip from Budapest…
Mosaic of Jesus, originally uploaded by SiBud.
“I have always loved you.”
But they reply, “How have you shown your love for us?”
Malachi 1:2
Photo to Sketch–Thinker Software–a tool to convert a photograph to excellent sketch
Photo to Sketch v3.21(Standard)
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It is a tool to convert a photo to excellent sketch, and paint water color freehandly. You can convert your photo to:  Pen sketch;
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A freebie worth checking out if you have some photos you want to convert to a drawing. It’s free too. It doesn’t do anything that Photoshop doesn’t do but it certainly looks a lot easier to navigate. It’s a small program too – under 1 MB – which is rather uncommon these days. The freebie version only lets you do pen and pencil and you have to upgrade to do the pastel sketch.
Now here are some examples of what I was able to do using one of my photos.
No worse that my efforts with Photoshop! And certainly a lot easier.
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