Polka Dots Backgrounds

Polka dots backgrounds are used in a wide variety of art images. They are used on website backgrounds, as well as on curtains, tablecloths and other fabric, cell phone cases and to make fashionable prints for clothing.

Polka dots are often associated with the dance of that name. A few female politicians in recent times have worn polka dots on their toenails.

Polka dots are frequently used in Yayoi Kusama art images.

The next time you see polka dot backgrounds the cheerful dots might be in emails, on blogs, or on a Twitter background.

Lacquer in Chinese Art: An Ancient Tradition

Lacquer is naturally produced by a tree that was once grown only in China. Lacquer is prepared from the sap of this tree. It is harvested and purified and dyes are added to it to give it the desired tint and shade.

Art forms such as Japanese bunraku puppet theatre have long been admired in the west. Materials such as lacquer, which have been used in Chinese art for centuries, have also found numerous applications in the west.

Lacquer was used in ancient Chinese art to create water-resistant trays and bowls. The technique of applying lacquer later spread to China’s neighbors.

Chinese Jade Forms: Bi Disks

In China, jade is believed to have special properties. For centuries, green jade has been associated with rainwater, and plants, including crops such as corn.

Among its many art forms and art products, China is famous for its jade, just as Japan is famous for ikebana vases and the art of ikebana.

The bi disk is one of the oldest jade forms. The bi jade form is round and flat, and has a hole in the center. Some bi jade forms have carving son them for decoration, while others are simple and have no adorning sculptures. Dragons are one of the popular sculptures found on bi disks.

Kitagawa Utamaro: Japanese Artist

Kitagawa Utamaro was a famous Japanese woodcut artist whose work tended to focus on women. Utamaro was an 18^th century artist.

His work featured slightly stylized images of women. Utamaro did not use color to show light or darkness in his work. He used stylized lines of varying thicknesses to tell a story.

One of Utamaro’s well known works is Hairdressing, which shows a Japanese woman having her hair styled. Appearance and personal grooming were important parts of Japanese samurai culture.