суббота, 11 декабря 2010 г.

Baba Yaga by Ivan Bilibin



Baba-Yaga is a witch-like character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle or broomstick, kidnaps (and presumably eats) small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs. In most Slavic folk tales, she is portrayed as an antagonist; however, some characters in other mythological folk stories have been known to seek her out for her wisdom, and she has been known on rare occasions to offer guidance to lost souls. According to Propp, she often fulfills the function of donor; that is, her role is in supplying the hero (sometimes unwillingly) with something necessary for the further quest.

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin (16 August [O.S. 4 August] 1876 – 7 February 1942) was a 20th-century illustrator and stage designer who took part in the Mir iskusstva and contributed to the Ballets Russes. Throughout his career, he was inspired by Slavic folklore.

Ivan Bilibin was born in a suburb of St. Petersburg. He studied in 1898 at Anton Ažbe Art School in Munich, then under Ilya Repin in St. Peterburg. In 1902-1904 Bilibin travelled in the Russian North, where he became fascinated with old wooden architecture and Russian folklore. He published his findings in the monograph Folk Arts of the Russian North in 1904. Another influence on his art was traditional Japanese prints.

Bilibin gained renown in 1899, when he released his illustrations of Russian fairy tales. During the Russian Revolution of 1905, he drew revolutionary cartoons. He was the designer for the 1909 première production of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel. The October Revolution, however, proved alien to him. After brief stints in Cairo and Alexandria, he settled in Paris in 1925. There he took to decorating private mansions and Orthodox churches. He still longed for his homeland and, after decorating the Soviet Embassy in 1936, he returned to Soviet Russia. He delivered lectures in the Soviet Academy of Arts until 1941. Bilibin died during the Siege of Leningrad.

Ivan Bilibin
Baba Yaga

четверг, 2 декабря 2010 г.

Sandro Botticelli. Card from Nataly


"Venus and the Graces Offering Gifts to a Young Girl", с. 1483
Fresque
Musee du Louvre, Paris - France


Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli or Il Botticello "The Little Barrel"; (c. 1445 – May 17, 1510) was an Italian painter of the Florentine school during the Early Renaissance (Quattrocento). Less than a hundred years later, this movement, under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, was characterized by Giorgio Vasari as a "golden age", a thought, suitably enough, he expressed at the head of his Vita of Botticelli. His posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century; since then his work has been seen to represent the linear grace of Early Renaissance painting. Among his best known works are The Birth of Venus and Primavera.

Botticelli

среда, 1 декабря 2010 г.

Pippi Longstocking

Pippi Longstocking (Swedish Pippi Långstrump) is a fictional character in a series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, and adapted into multiple films and television series. Pippi was named by Lindgren's then nine-year-old daughter, Karin, who requested a get-well story from her mother one day when she was home sick from school.

Nine-year-old Pippi is unconventional, assertive, and has superhuman strength, being able to lift her horse one-handed without difficulty. She frequently mocks and dupes adults she encounters, an attitude likely to appeal to young readers; however, Pippi usually reserves her worst behavior for the most pompous and condescending of adults. She turns white around the nose whenever she gets angry, and considering her superhuman strength, this fortunately happens very rarely. Pippi's anger is reserved for the most extreme cases, such as when a man ill-treats his horse. And like Peter Pan, Pippi does not want to grow up.

After an initial rejection from Bonnier Publishers in 1944, Lindgren's manuscript was accepted for publication by the Swedish publisher Rabén and Sjögren. The first three Pippi chapter books were published from 1945 to 1948, with an additional series of six books published in 1969–1975. Two final stories were printed in 1979 and 2000. The books have been translated into 64 languages.

Pippi

суббота, 9 октября 2010 г.

Mail-art project "4 Senses"

Nonprofit institution of disabled people of Samara region "The Center of Social Initiatives" invites you to participate in mail-art project.

The topic is "4 Senses".

Usually one have 5 base sensations: visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory and sense of smell. visual sensation is critical because it gives majority of infor…mation about environment.
There are colourful ads, shop windows, coloured walls, vivid buses and trams around us. There is a lot of visual information so we often pay a little attention to it. But the people with no visual sensation usually have only four base sensations. How does one lives without critical sensaton?

One who wish to participate are proposed to reflect his own vision of blind's world.
Size is not restricted.
Tecnique: not restricted to particular tecnique.
The works should be sent via post not in an envelope. No copies, no E-mail contribution please.
The works received will not be rated or returned to sender.

The end date of work's registration: 1st March 2011.

Exhibition: we are planning to make a mobile exhibition in organizations andpublic places of Togliatti city. Also we will make a negotiations about making an exhibition in other Russian cities.

Documents: if the project will be successful then the catalogue printing is planned. Everyone who participated will get a printed catalogue in 2011.
All works received will be published in project's blog: 4 Senses
Works should be sent to:
445040, Togliatti, Samara obl.,
P.O. box 5154,
Russia

вторник, 6 апреля 2010 г.

News

New post in "Pearl of my collection":
Pearl number one


Welcome!

вторник, 23 марта 2010 г.

Postcard from Poland

"Wanted, dead of alive. $1.000.000 reward".
Martyna from Poland, Send me your address please so I will send you a letter.
*****************************************************************************



Gdańsk, formerly known by its German name Danzig (see Names below), is a city on the Baltic coast in northern Poland, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.

Gdańsk is Poland's principal seaport as well as the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is also historically the largest city of the Kashubian region. The city is close to the former boundary between West Slavic and Germanic lands and it has a complex political history with periods of Polish rule, periods of German rule, and two spells as a free city. It has been part of modern Poland since 1945.

The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay (of the Baltic Sea), in a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdynia and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the Tricity (Trójmiasto), with a population of over 800,000. Gdańsk itself has a population of 455,830 (June 2009), making it the largest city in the Pomerania region of Northern Poland.

Gdańsk is situated at the mouth of the Motława River, connected to the Leniwka, a branch in the delta of the nearby Vistula River, whose waterway system supplies 60% of the area of Poland and connects Gdańsk to the national capital in Warsaw. This gives the city a unique advantage as the centre of Poland's sea trade. Together with the nearby port of Gdynia, Gdańsk is also an important industrial centre. Historically an important seaport and shipbuilding centre, Gdańsk was a member of the Hanseatic League.

The city was the birthplace of the Solidarity movement which, under the leadership of Gdańsk political activist Lech Wałęsa, played a major role in bringing an end to Communist rule across Central Europe. It is also the home and birthplace of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is of Kashubian origin.

Gdańsk

воскресенье, 28 февраля 2010 г.

"Pearl of my collection"

Dear friends, I wish to invite you to the new blog "Pear of my collection" . You can tell there about yourself and your collection, place a link to your blog and found a new friends.

Who can participate?

Anybody who collecting somebody may participate this project.

How to participate?

Send a message in English to pearl_of_my_collection@mail.ru with your name, your country, short text about your interests and about one pearl of your collection with image of it. Place a link to your blog at the end of the message.

How messages I can send?

You can send any number of messages, but please one message for one pearl.

Contest

Sad, but nobody gave the correct answer. So we will continue contest untill one will found the right answer.

суббота, 27 февраля 2010 г.

Postcard from Tyumen , Russia



Tyumen is a city in Urals Federal District in Russia, located on the Tura River 2,144 kilometers (1,332 mi) east of Moscow. It is the administrative center and the largest city of Tyumen Oblast in the Urals Federal District.

Tyumen was the first Russian outpost in Siberia; it was founded in 16th century to support Russian expansion to Siberia. Since its foundation, Tyumen has always been an important settlement. Located at the crossing of water and land routes, the town rapidly developed from a small military settlement to a large commercial and industrial city. The city core, the Old Tyumen, retains many historic buildings illustrating the city's development during the 18th-20th centuries.

Today Tyumen is one of the most important business centres of Russia, and is of importance in the nation's in politics, education and culture. The capital of a vast oil-rich region stretching from the Kazakh border to the Arctic Ocean, Tyumen is an important transportation hub and industrial center of its region, and the home to many companies active in Russia's oil and gas industry.

Tyumen is also a destination for a fair number of tourists, in particular from Germany. Tyumen's population draws from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions.

Tyumen

вторник, 23 февраля 2010 г.

Mail-Art Project "Ticket To Jerusalem"



Mail-Art Project "Ticket To Jerusalem"

Create artwork called "Ticket To Jerusalem". Use a horizontal piece of thick paper, 8x3" (20x8 cm), the size of conventional airplane ticket (a boarding pass, to be exact). Any media: collage, drawing, rubber stamps etc. Attach a stamp, write return address and mail WITHOUT envelope to: Radik Shvarts, PO Box 245614, Brooklyn, NY, 11224, USA.

Project deadline is extended until May 1st, 2010. All entries are posted online. Most of them will also be exhibited internationally and featured in a book "Ticket To Jerusalem" that will be published in 2010. Every person, whose artwork is featured in the book will get a free copy.

tickettojerusalem.com

пятница, 5 февраля 2010 г.

Postcard from Bellingshausen Station





Bellingshausen Station is a Russian (formerly Soviet) Antarctic station at Collins Harbour, on King George Island of the South Shetland Islands, located at 62°12′S 58°58′W / 62.2°S 58.967°W / -62.2; -58.967.

It was one of the first research stations founded by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1968. It is also the location of Trinity Church, the only permanently staffed Eastern Orthodox church in Antarctica.

The station is connected by unimproved roads to the nearby stations: Chilean Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chinese Great Wall Station, and Uruguayan Artigas Base.

The Antarctic Peninsula and its nearby islands are considered to have the mildest living conditions in Antarctica. The average temperature around the station in the coldest month (August) is -6.8°С (19.76°F), and +1.1°С (34°F) in February, the warmest. Russian polar residents have nicknamed the Bellingshausen Station "kurort" (Russian: курорт), which is a German etymology adapted by Russian and meaning "resort".

Bellingshausen Station

среда, 3 февраля 2010 г.

суббота, 30 января 2010 г.

Сontest

Dear friends, I wish to propose you to take part in contest.
Those who will give correct answer to my question will get a present -- booklet with Russian stamps.


The question is: "I have 132 pets at my home. What is my pets?"

The winner will be determined at March, 1st 2010.

Good luck!

четверг, 28 января 2010 г.

New souvenir sheets

A.P.Chekhov (1860-1904). To the 150th birth anniversary.






Anton Pavlovich Chekhov 1860 – 15 July [O.S. 2 July] 1904 was a Russian short-story writer, playwright and physician, considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers in the history of world literature. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics.Chekhov practised as a doctor throughout most of his literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress."

Anton Chekhov

New stamp

понедельник, 25 января 2010 г.

Postcard from Nadym, Russia



Nadym is a town in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, situated on the Nadym River. It is the administrative center of Nadymsky District.

The origin of the name is unknown. One of the most likely versions is that it derives from the Nenets word nyaidem, which translates into English as "mossy place".

Nadym was mentioned in Russian chronicles for the first time in 1598 and appeared on the Russian maps in the 18th century. But in the second half of the 19th century the settlement was deserted. In 1968, it was reestablished after the gas deposit "Medvezhye" was discovered nearby a year before. Town status since March 9, 1972.

среда, 20 января 2010 г.

Postcard from Austria



Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburg's "Old Town" (Altstadt) with its world famous baroque architecture is one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city is noted for its Alpine setting. It is the birthplace of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the mid-20th century, the city was the setting for parts of the musical and film The Sound of Music, which also features famous landmarks in Austria. With three universities, Salzburg is filled with the liveliness of a large student population.

Salzburg

вторник, 5 января 2010 г.

Postcard from USA



Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or simply "Santa", is a legendary figure who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24 or on his Feast Day, December 6 (Saint Nicholas Day). The legend may have part of its basis in hagiographical tales concerning the historical figure of gift giver Saint Nicholas. A nearly identical story is attributed by Greek and Byzantine folklore to Basil of Caesarea. Basil's feast day on January 1 is considered the time of exchanging gifts in Greece.

While Saint Nicholas was originally portrayed wearing bishop's robes, today Santa Claus is generally depicted as a plump, jolly, white-bearded man wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots. This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, and films. In the United Kingdom and Europe, he is often depicted in a manner identical to the American Santa Claus, but he is commonly called Father Christmas.

One legend associated with Santa Claus says that he lives in the far north, in a land of perpetual snow. The American version of Santa Claus says that he lives at his house on the North Pole, while Father Christmas is often said to reside in the mountains of Korvatunturi in Lapland Province, Finland. Santa Claus lives with his wife Mrs. Claus, a countless number of magical elves, and eight or nine flying reindeer. Another legend of Santa Claus says that he makes a list of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior ("naughty" or "nice") and that he delivers presents, including toys, candy, and other gifts to all of the good boys and girls in the world, and sometimes coal to the naughty children, on the single night of Christmas Eve. He accomplishes this feat with the aid of the elves who make the toys in the workshop and the reindeer who pull his sleigh.

Santa Claus

понедельник, 4 января 2010 г.