Already in 1854, Henry David Thoreau had declared in Walden that "Most men appear never to have considered what a house is" (225). Like Thoreau, many other renowned American writers have considered what houses are and, particularly, what houses do, and they have created fictional dwellings that function not only as settings, but as actual central characters in their works. The volume is specifically concerned with the structure, the organization, and the objects inside houses, and argues that the space defined by rooms and their contents influences the consciousness, the imaginations, and the experiences of the humans who inhabit them. Contributors are: Cristina Alsina Risquez, Rodrigo Andres, Vicent Cucarella-Ramon, Arturo Corujo, Mar Gallego, Ian Green, Michael Jonik, Wyn Kelley, Cynthia Lytle, Carme Manuel, Paula Martin-Salvan, Elena Ortells, Eva Puyuelo-Urena, Dolores Resano, and Cynthia Stretch.

Ella is a young fairy. For most of her existence, she's had little to worry about. She was just a normal, beautiful fairy-like all of her friends-until one day, blue streaks showed up in her wings. Suddenly, she was shunned by friends and fellow fairies.The elders know of a legend that speaks of a blue-winged fairy. In the well-known prophecy, there is significance to this added color, but Ella always thought the prophecy was mere legend, not truth. She could not have been more wrong, as she comes to realize the prophecy is about her. With this news, Ella must leave her village and go on a quest to seek the meaning behind her newly discovered gift.Ella's only companion is Brogan, a warrior wolf, sent to keep her safe as she searches the wide world for her destiny. There are those who would hurt Ella and Brogan, yet there are also those who await their arrival with joy. The legend of the blue wings is finally coming true. Ella must accept her destiny and learn to be a Blue Wing Princess. Will she live to fulfill the prophecy, or will she fall into fearful darkness, just like all the other blue-winged fairies that came before?

PICTURE FRAMING- MODERN METHODS OF MAKING AND FINISHING PICTURE FRAMES by EDWARD LANDON. Contents include: I ABOUT PICTURE FRAMES i II TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT 9 III MOULDINGS 28 IV MTTER CUTTING 34 V JOINING THE FRAME 42 VI INSERTS OR LININGS 51 VII FINISHES 57 VIII DECORATIONS 88 IX REPAIRING DAMAGES 93 X MATS AND MAT-CUTTING 97 XI MOUNTING PICTURES 105 XII PASSE-PARTOUT 116 XIII GLASS-CUTTING 118 XIV ASSEMBLING 121 XV EXPERIMENTAL FRAMES ORIGINAL DESIGNS . . . 134 XVI SOURCES OF SUPPLIES . 141 XVII INDEX 144. CHAPTER ONE. ABOUT PICTURE FRAMES. THE PICTURE FRAME, as it exists today, is derived from the doorway or entrance to temples, palaces and cathedrals. From a functional viewpoint, it might have been more practical to place doors at the sides of these buildings, but the impor tance of the door framing an impressive picture of the interior was never overlooked. The need to enhance a picture or bas-relief with a frame is evidenced from the earliest times. The first decorations were necessarily crude a raised line some times being the only ornament The earliest examples of frame-like decorations or borders bear a great resemblance to door frames. They were composed of two columns surmounted by a con necting entablature and this form persisted into the i5th century. Even the decorations painted by the artists around the edges of pictures before the intro duction of movable frames were similar in form. As a matter of fact, frames without pictures eventu ally came into existence because the desire to embel lish with mouldings was so strong. Rooms in palaces were arbitrarily panelled with mouldings and their vestigial remains are to be seen today in the senselessly panelled walls ofapartments in modern cities. Movable picture frames for easel paintings gained quickly in popularity once they were introduced. About Picture Frames sides the elaborate and intricate wood-carving, ebony, ivory, tortoise shell and mother of pearl were used for inlaid decoration. Gold, silver and every other metal have also been used for frames. With the perfection of the technique of making large sheets of glass which were in turn used to cover and protect pictures, frame-making received a big im petus in the lyth century. In the i8th century, when cheaper mirrors were introduced, frames were in greater demand than ever. This century also saw an invention that was to revolutionize the art of frame decoration that of the development of moulded composition ornaments. The use of this easily handled material, which did away with the need for laborious and expensive hand-carv ing, drove artisans to other fields. Since then, there has been no large group of wood-carvers devoted solely to frame decoration. It is interesting to note that during the Renaissance period, when movable frames were first introduced, book decoration reached its highest form. Undoubted ly, the early carvers and framers, besides using archi tectural designs, took many of their ideas from early illuminated manuscripts. The frames of the Louis periods certainly got their inspiration from typograph ical decorative motifs. Before then, architects and sculptors designed much of the scroll-work, but later goldsmiths were employed for decoration. Over-elabo ration became the order of the day until all forms were lost beneath the gingerbread. With the French revolution, people turned away from all evidences of bourgeois wealthand returned About Picture Frames to a refreshing simplicity. Until 1850 all mouldings were cut from rough boards by hand, but with the invention of laborsaving machinery, frames could be put on the market for what the raw material had cost previously. This country was fortunately spared from the use of moulded ornaments until the advent of the Victorian era...

Experiencing Comics: An Introduction to Reading, Discussing, and Creating Comics shows students how to critically examine the craft and storytelling elements found inside a graphic novel or comic and spotlights groundbreaking work by comics creators and scholars from underrepresented and diverse backgrounds. This accessible, introductory guide to comics is divided into four chapters. Chapter one discusses how a comic is made and introduces students to the unique form and structure of comics, demonstrating how panels, splash pages, and word balloons are used to tell a story. Chapter two encourages students to apply literary theory and social politics to the world of comics to encourage discussions of comics within a larger cultural context. Chapter three explores the history of comics and introduces students to significant movements and moments in comics history in the United States. The final chapter provides students with comic-making activities so they can practice the craft and storytelling elements discussed throughout the book. Students will gain first-hand insight from comics professionals and practitioners through interviews with creators, artists, writers, anthology editors, scholars, and comics enthusiasts such as: John Jennings, Gene Luen Yang, Ramzi Fawaz, Lucy Knisley, Ronald Wimberly, Sonny Liew, Nilah Magruder, Belle Yang, Andi Santagata, Keith Chow, Yumi Sakugawa, Ryan North, Taneka Stotts, Fred Van Lente, Jeff Yang, MariNaomi, Deborah Elizabeth Whaley, Keith Sicat, Alexander Rothman, Glynnes Pruett, Danica Novgorodoff, Jenny Lin, Betsy Gomez, Sophie Goldstein, Ashanti Fortson, Leela Corman, Jeffrey A. Brown, Rina Ayuyang, and more. The second edition features fresh content on a variety of genres in comics, such as poetry, autographical, and horror comics. The text also includes new coverage on A.B.O. Comix, a collective that seeks to amplify the voices of incarcerated queer people through the medium of comics. Experiencing Comics is an excellent resource for courses in creative writing or comparative literature that focus specifically on graphic novels and comics. It can also be used in gender studies, ethnic studies, and sexuality courses.

The Great Festival presents and analyzes two historical festivals - the ancient Dionysus Festival and the present Roskilde Festival. The purpose is to set up two comparable structures or 'codes' to explain the universal artistic effects, structures and fascination of the festival. Olav Harslof argues that there are major structural, organizational and economic similarities which, when exposed, can give us greater insight into today's festivals. This is illuminated through a combined performance design and event analysis of the ancient Dionysus festival and today's Roskilde Festival, explaining the festival's historicity, diversity, complexity and paradigmatic strength. This will be a discussion of great interest to researchers and students in the fields of performance studies, experience economy, theater, music, classical philology and archeology.

Gary Friedman's guides are world-renown for their thoroughness and easy-to-understandableness (that's a word!). De-mystify the menus and use your camera more confidently with this 656-page guide!