Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Harvesting thekinetic energy generated by crowds of peopleis one of our favorite approaches to renewable energy. Recently Netherlands-based Natuurcafé La Port installed an energy generator in a rotating door, so every time someone walks in for a cup of coffee, they give just a little bit of their energy back to the coffee shop. We keep saying that solving the problem of global warming will require that we open up new doors in the field of renewable energy, but we must admit that we never expected to mean it literally.
The door was part of the refurbishment of the Driebergen-Zeist railway station designed out by architecture firm RAUand built by Boon Edam. The door is expected to generate around 4600 kwh of energy each year, which may not sound like much - but every little bit helps. To enhance the design, the team decided to include a transparent ceiling to show how the system works, and LEDs display the amount of energy that it is generated each time someone walks in the door.
Architect Vincent Callebaut’s latest project balances public galleries, meeting rooms and gathering spaces over canals and abandoned railroad tracks in the 19th Parisian district. The prototype uses green technologies and techniques but is more than just an example of sustainable design. Callebaut’s ‘Anti Smog: An Innovation Centre in Sustainable Development’ is a catalyst for cleaner air.
The project centers on the “Solar Drop”, an elliptical structure perched over the unused railroad tracks. The exterior is fitted with 250 square meters of solar photovoltaic panels and coated in titanium dioxide (TiO2). The PV system produces on-site electrical energy while the TiO2 coating works with ultraviolet radiation to interact with particulates in the air, break down organics and reduce air born pollutants and contaminants.
Callebaut describes the process as an intention to “absorb and recycle by photo-catalytic effect the cloud of harmful gases (Smog) from the intense traffic near Paris.” Under the smog eating exterior, the building houses public spaces with a central courtyard and natural lagoon, a place Callebaut envisions for teaching opportunities about urban ecology and renewable energy. The Solar Drop also harvests rainwater from green space on the roof for use inside the building.
The “WindTower”, the second component to Anti Smog, spirals into the air with a helical shape and a façade that alternates between vegetation and embedded Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) to capture the prevailing urban winds. Ramps lead visitors through museum space and out to a rooftop garden with views across Paris.
Anti Smog offers an innovative urban space that is engaging, powered by renewable energy and has a positive impact on the surrounding urban environment. In the words of the designer it is ‘”a self-sufficient dépolluante“. Oui indeed.
After an exhaustive search spanning thousands of nominees from five continents, the International Collective Council of Excellence has announced this year’s World’s Greatest Business Mind to universal acclaim and fanfare.
The decision was unanimous despite the fact the world-class shortlist comprised such well-known names as Steve Jobs, Warren Buffett, Bruce Wayne, George Soros, and that kid who invented Facebook. Here's the award video.
Every working day for the past 20 years, Suresh Kanwar, a civil engineer in Chandigarh’s Forestry Department, has been sitting on the same battered wooden chair, an object he said had “no beauty” even if it was, “for office use, very comfortable.”
Hazarding a guess as to its value, he suggested 400 rupees, or about $10, “perhaps, at a junkyard.”
A pair of chairs identical to Mr. Kanwar’s, instantly recognizable to collectors as Pierre Jeanneret teak “V-chairs,” will go on sale at the auction house Christie’s in New York this month with a reserve of $8,000 to $12,000.
A handful of antique dealers from around the world have become regular visitors to government junkyards in Chandigarh, the experimental modernist city about 150 miles north of New Delhi, conceived by the architect Le Corbusier in the 1950s. There they buy up disused stocks of furniture that was specially created by Corbusier’s colleagues to equip the new city.
The disappearance of large quantities of these distinctive, ultrafunctional tables and chairs — most of them designed by Mr. Jeanneret, Le Corbusier’s cousin, for the city’s government offices, courtrooms and colleges — has begun to alarm architects and some officials in the city.
Rajnish Wattas, principal of the Chandigarh College of Architecture, was stunned when he saw the catalog for a sale at Christie’s New York last June, titled “Chandigarh.”
“We found out that we were sitting on a pot of gold, quite literally,” he said. “But the dealers had realized much earlier that there was big money to be made.”
The process by which the furniture left the city’s offices and made its way to New York and Paris reflected a broader ambivalence among the public toward Le Corbusier’s heritage in Chandigarh and widespread official neglect of his work.
There was nothing illegal about the purchase by foreign dealers of the furniture, much of which was being thrown out or sold by the city’s administration. But very belatedly, heritage experts in Chandigarh are lamenting the loss of a vital part of the city’s original design.
“It is a tragic misunderstanding,” Mr. Wattas said. “I wish the scandal had come out earlier and then maybe we could have clung on to much more than we have now.” Last fall, he founded Chandigarh’s Heritage Furniture Committee, in an attempt to archive the remaining stocks of the Jeanneret designs. But little progress has been made.
Mr. Jeanneret, who later took over from his cousin as Chandigarh’s chief architect, was passionate about creating furniture that echoed the style and ethos of the surrounding buildings.
“There were no furniture shops, no carpet shops, so the architects designed their own,” said M. N. Sharma, an architect who worked closely with Le Corbusier. “The furniture Jeanneret designed is naturally in the same spirit as the city, in the same school of thought. It is functional, and used locally available material and craftsmen.”
Mr. Jeanneret paid extraordinary attention to detail, designing lampposts, municipal light fixtures, manhole covers, even the pedal-boats in the huge artificial lake at the heart of the city. He designed several versions of the basic chairs, with modifications for more senior bureaucrats, like leather backs and armrests instead of simple cane. Local workshops were commissioned to turn them out, and thousands were made.
Despite the striking simplicity of the chairs’ design, few of the city’s employees gave the furniture a second glance.
Gradually, as the furniture fell into disrepair, it was thrown into government storerooms and occasionally auctioned “for peanuts,” Mr. Wattas said, usually to local carpenters who broke it up and reused the increasingly expensive teak. “People wanted new and glossy stuff: synthetic leather, Scandinavian design, metallic furniture.”
India’s export laws classify antiques as objects more than 100 years old, which made it easy for collectors to take the objects out of the country.
A Paris dealer, Eric Touchaleaume, first came to Chandigarh in 1999, and started buying at government sales. Much of his collection was auctioned at Christie’s in New York last summer: a manhole cover, designed by Mr. Jeanneret, molded with the map of Chandigarh, was listed with a reserve of $20,000, alongside daybeds, stools, armchairs and bookcases.
In an e-mail message from his Paris showroom, Galerie 54, he said that such was the level of neglect for Mr. Jeanneret’s designs that disused furniture was being chopped up for firewood. “I always paid on average 100 times more than what the local dealers were offering,” he wrote, adding that he hoped that the attention the New York sale had attracted locally might encourage Chandigarh to value its heritage more highly.
Kiran Joshi, a professor of architecture at the Chandigarh College of Architecture, agreed that the dealers were perhaps not to blame. “It’s not the collectors that were the problem,” she said. “The problem is our perception of heritage. We thought it was junk; our government thought it was junk.”
The city authorities, who are applying for Unesco World Heritage status, have ordered that no more furniture be auctioned, and prisoners in the local jail have been commissioned to start restoring some of the broken pieces.
Mr. Sharma said the disappearance of the furniture was symptomatic of a broader disregard for Le Corbusier’s work.
“There is a general lack of appreciation here of Chandigarh’s architecture by the administration and the general public,” he said. “Truly, I feel very sad.”
Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are beginning to take a more commanding role in the development of “smart” building management systems, reports Network World.
As new buildings are designed to be more energy efficient - and old ones are retrofitted with new, integrated management systems - the IT department is being called in to converge its infrastructure with a building management system (BMS).
BMSs can “hang” off of IP networks, creating huge operating efficiencies. For instance, heating systems can communicate with air-conditioning systems, so windows open and close automatically to adjust to temperature. Failed light bulbs get replaced by a remote system. Vending machines on the IP network can be replenished quickly when low supplies are detected.
Large IT and networking suppliers (e.g., IBM, Cisco) are working with BMS suppliers to provide the technology for the integration. BMS providers have their own protocols that are not always IP-based, and CIOs are encouraging them to convert them, thus setting up a future of integration.
And because IT executives are accustomed to change and a short cycle of innovation, they are perfectly poised to push companies to embrace new ways of operating, said Rajesh Sinha, technical director of building services company NG Bailey Teswaine, the ICT arm of the UK’s NG Bailey.
Here are some precautions and guidelines to finish the internal surfaces.
For starters, avoid painting your home during the monsoon or when humidity levels are high. Such conditions don't allow paint coats to dry up quickly. Moisture gets trapped between the surface and paint layers causing blistering. Ensure that surfaces to be painted are fully dry. Only for doing whitewashing and applying Snowcem, the surface need not be dry.
If painting the interior walls for the first time, apply simple white wash and leave alone for six months. This action will allow the plaster to dry fully prevent patches and spots later. It will be much better if this six-month period includes a monsoon. After six months, wash the walls fully to remove dirt, dust and flakes, preferably with sand paper so that all the lime wash is scrapped thoroughly. Otherwise, paint will not stick to the walls. Now, apply primers and paint of your choice and the results shall be excellent.
Pidilite has recently launched colour concentrates that produce high tint shades when mixed with white wash. So use these if you don’t want to see white walls in the initial months. Pidilite colors come in liquid form and are double effective than powder colours i.e. instead of 100 gm of powder only 50 gm of liquid concentrate is required. Take care that no ‘neel’ is added to the lime solution if using a colour concentrate. For more, read on:
White washing
Always choose fresh, unslaked, non-hydraulic lime. See that it is of class C category or Dehradun or Narnaul quality. To prepare solution, add water to lime and not lime to water. Add 5 litre water per kg of lime. The final solution should look like thin cream not water. Leave the mixture for at least 24 hours, preferably 48. Use 150 gm lime per sq metre of surface if one coat is to be done. For two coats, let it be 250 gm per sq metre. In a newly constructed house, at least three coats are recommended. However, as you are using whitewash temporarily, two coats are sufficient. Add an adhesive like DDL or SDL to the mixture at a rate of 4 kg per cu m of solution. Fevicol or gum can be the second option if DDL is not available. This will prevent whitewash from sticking to your clothes and body.
The solution: Add some ‘neel’, say 30 gm per 10 kg to the lime solution. It accentuates the whiteness and brings brightness. But the quantity of ‘neel’ must be restricted otherwise walls may give indigo reflection. For application of whitewash, use ‘moonj’ brushes. As a precautionary measure, tie gunny bags to the feet of ladders as their repeated pulling or shifting may leave marks on the floor. See that in each coat the brush passes every point four times — left to right and reverse; up to down and reverse.
Take your pick
For painting internal walls, choice is between distempers and emulsions. If you choose emulsions, there are extra premium acrylic, premium acrylic and acrylic ones to pick from. All acrylic emulsions are durable and give smooth finish to walls. You can choose glossy, semi-glossy or matt finish. Oil bound distempers too are durable, if applied the right way and economical in comparison to emulsions.
Dry distempering: If you are choosing dry distemper for internal walls, see that it is IS 427 marked. Dry distemper comes in powder form and has no resistance to water. It can’t be washed. About 1.5 litre water is added to 2.5 kg distemper. Use lukewarm water instead of cold, allow the solution to stand for at least 30 minutes, stir well and use. It will cost not more than Rs 1.25 per sqft. However, it has a short life. It has been seen that sometimes people do first coat of whitewash and then apply distemper. Don’t. Use a white chalk solution in water as primer to distemper. Dry distemper should give a coverage of about 6 sqm per kg of distemper for two coats. Mix DDL or Fevicol to dry distemper for better adhesion. Golden Champion and Goldy are good brands.
Oil bound distempering: Oil bound distemper (OBD) is washable, doesn’t come off on washing and scores over dry distemper. If you are choosing distemper, prefer OBD. It contains an emulsion of drying oil or varnish that resists water. See that it conforms to IS 428. Use thinned distemper itself as primer to OBD. Four parts of OBD are mixed with one of water to prepare its solution for application. Know that OBD shouldn’t be applied on new plaster for six months at least otherwise all its oils will be soaked by the plaster. However, if you can’t afford to wait, here is a solution. Get some ready mixed alkali resistant paint as per IS 109 and apply a coat of it. Now, you can do OBD after two days only. OBD shouldn’t come off 24 hours after its application. It will cost you around Rs 2 per sqft and give a coverage output of about 6 sqm per litre of paint for two coats. You need not mix DDL to OBD or plastic emulsion as these have a good grip.
Emulsions: If using plastic or acrylic emulsions on internal walls, add water in the first coat only. For quantity of water to be added, follow manufacturer’s guidelines. Choose plastic emulsion of a reputed brand such as Asian, Berger, ICI or Nerolac. IS 5411 mark for these paints stands withdrawn, so don’t look for it. Use manufacturer’s putty to repair the wall if required before application of plastic emulsion. Further, rub the wall with 180 number sand paper on drying up of putty and apply a coat of primer over it. On drying up of primer coat, sand paper with 320 number. Now, apply the final paint and you will receive excellent results. Tell the painter to clean all plastic emulsion drops from the floor immediately as it may become difficult to remove them later. The first coat will dry up in four-five hours. Plastic emulsion paint should give around 8 sqm coverage per litre of paint for two coats.
Rising on a 358-acre monastery on the Hawaiian island of Kauai is an architectural feat rare in today’s world: a 3.2-million-pound stone structure built entirely by hand.
Arguably the most elaborate Hindu temple in the United States, the $8 million white granite San Marga Iraivan Temple, designed by V. Ganapati Sthapati for the SaivaSiddhantaChurch, is intended to last 1,000 years. Construction began in 2001 and is scheduled to be finished in 2012.
Hundreds of temples serve the 2.2 million Hindus living in the United States, but the Iraivan (meaning "He who is worshipped") Temple is the only one known to be built without modern equipment. Since 1990, 75 sculptors have been working in Bangalore, India, to create the building’s intricately carved stone blocks, which are then shipped to the Kauai monastery 8,000 miles away.
Once they arrive, the blocks—some weighing as much as 4,000 pounds—are physically shoved into place by nine local stonemasons who work full-time on the project. Six Saivite monks also are helping build the structure. "We have the last team capable of building this way," says Paramacharya Palaniswami, a Hindu monk who has lived at the monastery since its founding in 1970.
When completed, the building will measure 71 feet wide by 179 feet deep, and will stand 35 feet from its base to its gold-leafed capstone. The 4-foot thick foundation was formed by a single pour of crack-free, 7000 psi fly-ash concrete and required 108 cement trucks. It was the first, non-laboratory single pour performed since Roman times, according to the foundation's designer Kumar Mehta, a materials scientist at UC Berkeley.
Palaniswami says the temple is the fulfillment of his guru's vision. The monastery’s founder, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyasami, whom the monks call “Gurudeva,” reported seeing the Hindu god Siva walking on the grounds in February 1975. "He took it as a sign,” says Palaniswami, “that Siva wanted to live here." Gurudeva, who died in 2001, outlined three parameters for the temple: that it last 1,000 years, follow traditional design according to the Saiva Agamas (popular Hindu scriptures), and be built without machinery.
Palaniswami says many Hindus in India are happy to see their traditional building heritage take root in the West. "In the West, we build fast and cheap. We don't tend to look upon our architecture as holy," he says. "This is a holy place. We're building a home for Siva."
There are two types of cement: Grey cement - used only for construction purposes, and White cement - for a variety of uses like mosaic flooring, in cement paints, and as a primer for paints, etc. Grey cement costs more than white cement because the production costs and excise duty are higher. White cement also sets faster. For grey cement, the strength after 28 days of setting is taken as the final strength. White cement achieves this strength in about three days time.
The cement has to be fine in texture. It should be smooth, dry and cool to touch. Fineness gives more strength to cement because the chemical reactions take place faster. Do not buy cement which is in rough, granular lumps. This indicates it has been exposed to moisture. Cement is now available in grades and is easier to buy . For eg: 53 grade cement implies that a cube of cement can withstand a pressure of 530 kgs per square centimetre. You can check this on a compressing machine. This is called the breaking strength of cement. Good cement hardens faster. You can therefore remove the scaffolding / formwork sooner than usual. You save on centering and labour costs, and your building is ready much faster.
Paint is one of the most versatile media to work with. But, before you use them in your home, it is essential to get the basics right.
What is paint?
It is a mixture of solid pigments (finely-ground particles) suspended in a liquid medium (water or mineral spirits) that dries to form a protective or decorative coating. Pigments are encapsulated by resins or binders which help attach them to the surface being painted and create the paint film.
All paints fall under two categories: water-based, commonly known as latex paint, and oil-based. The former includes all water-borne paints such as vinyl-acrylic, 100% acrylic and alkyd-modified latex. You can use latex paints both indoors or outdoors. Latex provides an excellent finish and is an easier paint to use. It can be cleaned with soap or water, dries quickly, has milder odours, is non-flammable, and easy to touch up. These environment-friendly paints allow moisture to evaporate through the film thus reducing blistering.
Inexpensive latex paints use softer vinyl-resins (binders) and more water in the formulation. More durable latex paints use 100% acrylic-resins and less water. The term enamel is normally associated with paints that have a glossy finish. These are formulated with higher concentrations of resin as they are used in areas subject to heavy wear and tear. Alkyd paints are more commonly used for areas prone to impact and high wear and tear such as floors or cabinets. These paints take a long time to dry, so they do not show brush strokes as much. But they are more expensive and odour-intensive when drying.
Interior paints can be grouped into two categories:
Distempers: These are traditional economy paints which produce a perfectly satisfactory finish with good workmanship. However, their life cycle is shorter. Dry distempers (which are available in powder form) and oil-bound/synthetic distempers are not washable. Acrylic distempers, being partly based on acrylic resins, give greater smoothness and are washable.
Emulsions: Also known as plastic paints, these are based on a fine dispersion of resin in a solvent, which on drying, creates a remarkably tough, adherent and durable coating. Special additives in emulsions give them an incomparably smooth finish in various shades that last for years. These are resistant to water, chemical, fungus and algae. They come in three categories: silk—premium acrylic emulsions, with silky smoothness and a luxurious silk-like finish; regular—they produce a smooth eggshell finish; and economy—a generation ahead of distempers, they are more durable, washable, fade-resistant and smooth.
Exterior paints
Emulsions are good to be used on the exterior as they contain high acrylic content which gives them a long lifespan. Special additives also make them exceptionally resistant to algae, fungus and atmospheric erosion. Other popular choices are cement paints and textured plasters.
Cement paints come with a weather-resistant coating that is considerably effective. The coating contains special additives that are equipped to deal with the rigours of the external environment. Textured plasters are emulsion-based and provide even stronger protection than silk emulsions, besides unique visual appeal. Their thick surface can be designer-patterned by sponging, stippling or with the help of patterned rollers. They are also washable.
Levels of gloss
The sheen, or gloss, of paint refers to the amount of light reflected by its surface. There are four basic sheens:
• Flat paints exhibit non-reflective properties, providing a matte finish that helps hide surface imperfections. It is normally used for ceilings and walls in areas less prone to wear and tear, such as dining and living rooms.
• Satin finish paints are used to create soft lustre. A satin finish provides a harder surface finish, which is more durable and more stain-resistant than a flat finish.
• Semi-gloss paints are more durable, easier to clean and more stain-resistant than satin-finish paints.
• Gloss paint has a harder, more durable and more stain-resistant finish. It is easier to clean than all other paint finishes.
Q:My stucco house has never been painted, and from years of never being cleaned it is very dirty. I have had several power-wash companies look at the house. They have tried various chemicals and they do not seem to take this dirt or mold off. None of the companies has washed the house, they have only looked at it and then refused the job.
A: Your house needs more than just a good cleaning. It needs the finish refurbished. We don't doubt that your house has never been painted. But we do question that it never had what is known in the plastering trade as a "color coat."
Stucco is a porous material made of water, lime and cement. If left unsealed, over many years it will become stained. That is the condition we think you face now.
Your question brings back memories from our youth. We've written before that our dad was a master plasterer. He could do anything with the mud, from the finest ornate ceiling work in San Francisco to coating a tract home in Newark. After working Monday through Friday on his real job, he and his buddy, Babe Mesquite, would take on "little jobs" on Saturdays to earn a few extra bucks. Many of these side jobs would be to redo the color coat on tract homes in San Leandro or San Lorenzo.
As we see it, you've got two choices to spruce up your home: a new color coat or paint.
Plastering should be left to the pros. Contact two or three licensed, bonded and insured plastering contractors for quotes.
Painting you can do yourself. The first step is to clean the surface. The quickest and easiest way is with a pressure washer. The water blasts away dirt (not stains). Pressure washers can be a little tricky to operate. For unpainted stucco adjust the spray pattern to a wide spray. Start on an out-of-the-way part of the building to get the hang of using it. Pull the trigger (there will be quite a kickback) and move the wand over the wall in a consistent side-to-side pattern. An additive designed to kill mildew is available to use with the pressure washer. Use it.
Pressure washers are available at rental centers. Make sure to ask the salesperson for a quick tutorial on operating the machine.
Once the building is washed, let it dry for a few days. Wood trim can take as long as a week to dry, depending on the weather. While the building is drying out, scrape off any residual loose paint. Feather the edges of scraped areas with 120-grit sandpaper. Carry a dust brush with you to brush any sanding dust off the newly washed building.
Next, apply a high-quality, stain-blocking latex or oil-based primer, which is a critical step when working with unpainted stucco. The primer will seal the stucco, preventing the finish coat from being absorbed unevenly and looking splotchy. Add a mildewcide to the paint to protect against the rebirth of fungus that may have been present.
We suggest you buy the paint at a store that caters to the trade. The salespeople will be able to suggest primer that is compatible with the finish you select. They also are a fount of useful information should you ask - and you should.
Allow the primer to cure according to the manufacturer's instructions before applying the finish coat. While the primer is curing, caulk any open joints or cracks in the stucco with a good-quality acrylic caulk. Smooth the caulk with a wet rag. Don't think about leaving the primer unpainted. Primer is designed to act as a base for the finish. If left unpainted for any length of time, it will fail, and all of the preparation done to this point will have to be redone.
The final and most exciting step is the finish coat - "putting on the color." Use a top-of-the-line, 100 percent acrylic house paint in the sheen of your choice - flat, satin, semi-gloss or gloss. The shinier the finish, the more any defects will show. We've always been partial to a satin sheen for its washability and because it hides defects well. Because you are dealing with a previously unpainted surface, the stucco may require two coats of the finish.
Over the years, we've used brushes, rollers and airless sprayers to apply primers and finishes. Our best results have come from using the airless sprayer to apply paint to large surfaces, then going back over the area with a roller or a brush while the paint is still wet. We think that method gives us the best of all worlds. The sprayer gets the material on quickly, and the brush or roller gives a uniform coat that gets into all the nooks and crannies.
In James Howard Kunstler's view, public spaces should be inspired centers of civic life and the physical manifestation of the common good. Instead, he argues, what we have in America is a nation of places not worth caring about.
Do you remember making paper mache at home or in school? What about homemade piñatas? The process of making flour paint isn’t much different, so grab a bag of flour from the kitchen cupboard and get ready!
You will need: Natural pigment, like clay pigment Fine sand, silica, quartz or marble dust A friend Paint brushes and buckets, and if you’re feeling especially creative, trowels, squeegees and any other improvised tool you think would leave a nice pattern on your walls.
First: In a large bowl, mix 2 cups flour with 4 cups water, whisking out any lumps.
Then: In a large saucepan, boil 3 cups water. Slowly stir in the mixture from the first step. Reduce heat and stir until the “sauce” thickens. Finally: Remove from heat and slowly stir in 2 or 3 more cups of water. In a separate bowl, stir together dry fillers/pigments and add to the main flour paste. Add more water if needed, to make a paint-like consistency.
You can loosely mix 2 colors if you want to get a faux effect, but test an area first with a sample batch, to practice. You can also add mica, limestone, marble or chalk for different colors and effects. Make sure the colors you use will work together. Consult a color wheel or designer, or find something you like in a magazine!
The important thing is to have the right consistency of the paint. It should flow smoothly off the brush, but not sag or drip. I often use it while it’s still warm, but it will keep for a week or two if you seal the container tightly.
Flour paint is often too thick for use with a roller, but you can use a roller to spread it over the wall, then even it out with the trowel or brush. There are also special texture rollers that are stiff enough to use with flour paint.
After the first coat, the brush marks may be obvious, but you can smooth these out after it’s started to dry by using a clean, damp brush. Personally, I like the texture. After the second coat, troweling the surface when the paint has half-dried can reveal marble, mica or other colors underneath. You can also spot-sand when fully dry. Again, try a sample area first, and don’t worry; sometimes the best results come from happy accidents! Besides you can always add additional coats, which creates more texture, depth and opportunity to reveal underlying colors. If you’re feeling uncertain, just roll it out smooth and leave it solid. Happy painting!
Modeled after brick and stone,
the cinderblocks and dolomites
that long have kept our ancient homes
half hidden from the crush of night,
a simple notion binds itself to form
in varied shapes of molded polymers
that—scattered out like remnants of a ruin—
tease the mind with possibilities.
Quarried from the realm of thought,
hewn from enigmatic veins,
abundant with the priceless ore
of nascent creativity,
each hollow cube is made to interlock
with all the many others of its kind,
magic puzzle pieces crafted such
that they will build whatever comes to mind.
Of Invention
Imagination rises up
to form a towered ring of walls,
ramparts crowned with parapets
that guard a nest of dens and halls.
Or simple village structures manifest
from deep within the wells of memory,
little homes around a market place,
a chapel standing quaintly in the midst.
Bridges arch above the spread
of nonexistent waterways;
modern superstructures scrape
against conceptions of the sky.
Even ships from other worlds emerge
to travel all throughout the universe,
forever redesigned in the docks
of varied moon or planetary bases.
At Play
Individual colors snap
together in a bold array,
absorbed into a growing sense
of cognizance and clarity.
Nimble fingers probe and rearrange
impressionist expressions of the mind,
each sculpture an accomplished masterpiece
comprised of cubist rectangles and squares.
Walls and rooftops recombine
as various disasters strike;
rigs develop stronger frames,
evolving after every wreck.
Experimental joists and joints explore
the art of bearing loads and distribution,
each new creation more elaborate,
expanding with the will to learn and grow.
I reglued a crib for a friend and she wants to paint it white and asked me what was the best paint to use, so I'm asking for help
You should use what is called Milk Paint. It's non-toxic and is always recommended for toys/cribs that kids might put in their mouths. It actually has a dairy product as one of its ingredients.
Besides, it's beautiful paint because the colors are soft on the eye. Gives a country look. In the 1700s and 1800s, it was used to paint houses. Check out Woodworker.com. They sell it there. Just do a search under "milk paint". You'll see a brand called "J.E.Moser's Old-Fashioned Milk Paint". Get that one.
Travel can open your eyes to some of the world's most beautiful sights and buildings-and to some of the ugliest.
Web site VirtualTourist.com (www.virtualtourist.com) has come up with a list of The World's Top 10 Ugliest Buildings and Monuments according to their editors and readers.
"Some of these picks have all the charm of a bag of nails while others are just jaw-dropping in their complexity. Love them or hate them, the list is certainly entertaining," said general manager Giampiero Ambrosi.
• BostonCity Hall, Boston
While it was hip for it's time, this concrete structure now gets routinely criticized for its dreary facade and incongruity with the rest of the city's more genteel architecture. Luckily, it's very close to more aesthetically pleasing attractions.
• MontparnasseTower, Paris
While it's almost universally agreed that this ominous stick is a blight on the landscape of the world's most stunning city, its detractors admit that there is one very good reason to take in the view from the building's observation deck: it's the only place you can go to get a view of the city without it.
• LuckyShoeMonument, Tuuri
It may be over-the-top, but there is something to be said for the giant, golden horseshoe that looms over Finland's second-largest shopping center. The shoe, and, in fact, the entire town in which it is situated, is said to bring good luck.
• Metropolitan Cathedral, Liverpool
The people who work here must be sick of the space capsule jokes. Even those who find the building's shell a bit "spacey," have to admit the circular interior is pretty spectacular.
• Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York City
Those who pass by this iron monstrosity might be tempted to ask about a completion date, but alas, this is the finished product.
• Torres de Colon, Madrid
Like a set of giant salt-and-pepper shakers, these matching towers loom over the city to the dissatisfaction of many area residents. The buildings are also known as "El Enchufe" or "The Plug" for the plug-like structure that holds them together.
• LiechtensteinMuseum of Fine Arts, Vaduz
Some feel the building's minimalist box design is a triumph, others say it's an eyesore.
• ScottishParliamentBuilding, Edinburgh
Stone, oak, and bamboo are part of the make-up of the Scottish Parliament, a building that is the subject of much debate.
• Birmingham Central Library, Birmingham
One look and it's easy to see how this genre of architecture came to be known as the "Brutalist" style. Not surprisingly, the issue of its possible demolition has been looming for years.
• Peter the Great Statue, Moscow
Some 15 stories high, the larger-than-life monument was designed by controversial artist, Zurab K. Tsereteli, whose statue of Christopher Columbus was repeatedly rejected by the United States.
Did you know that cement waterproofing paint can actually be made into many different colors? This makes it very good for those that want to use it on the cement surfaces of their home, but want to maintain the certain color scheme they have chosen.
Now you should know that using cement waterproofing paint is not going to help too much with the actual waterproofing of your home. It will help to keep the surfaces that you apply it to from being damaged, but it will do very little to help keep the moisture and water from actually entering your home. If you try to waterproof just with paint it will end up costing you more than you could imagine and you will be sorely disappointed.
You may think that you do not need to waterproof your foundation and the rest of your home because your area does not get heavy rainfalls or snow storms, but you would be wrong. Even if you live in the dessert there is still moisture in the ground that can effect the foundation of your home. Plus the moisture in the ground can travel in any direction and will get into your home over time if you do not waterproof correctly to keep it from doing so.
You will want to start your waterproofing from the beginning, with the foundation. This is something the contractors should have experience in and should be able to do for you. You will want to ask them before you allow them to pour your foundation or basement. Make sure they give your foundation about a month to reach its' full strength before they begin to backfill it. You will also need external draining tiles around your foundation and at least a few feet of large gravel so that the water will not be encouraged to go directly into your basement or foundation. Instead it will move around your home and avoid making your life miserable.
It is incredibly important that you make sure your home is protected from water damage. Water damage can be very costly and many times your insurance will not cover it. Make sure you use more than just cement waterproofing paint to get your home protected and make sure you do it as soon as possible.
Have a house to sell or looking to buy a new one? I hope you know feng shui can help you. If you plan to sell your house, or have been trying to sell it for a while, here are some proven-and-true tips to get the energy moving:
1. GO OUTSIDE. You duplex, your condo, your house, whatever it is that you are selling, and look at it from a bit of a distance. Better yet, do it with a friend who has not seen it for a while. Jot down all the thoughts that come to mind in the first 2-3 minutes.
Do not censor it or get deffensive; the more open you are to criticism, the better off you will be when presenting it to other people. You might think the big purple frog looks cool by your main door and is even good feng shui (no, it is not) but potential buyers will not appreciate it. As with every sale, it is a lot about selling a specific emotion, rather than the commodity itself. Make your main entrance look fresh and inviting.
2. GO FRESH AND GO GREEN. If you own a house, definetely invest in some landscaping; it will increase your property value. Do some research and make a call to a good landscape professional; it may create a totally new energy around your home.
If you live in a duplex or a condo and there is not much "outside" to work on, focus on the main entrance and bring vibrant chi, or energy, right as you come in - a big elegant plant or a vase with fresh cut flowers, good lighting, beautiful art and a feel of spaciousness/expansion the strategic placement of mirrors is the secret here!
3. LESS IS MORE. When you shop for anything, and I mean anything - clothes, appliances, food - it is often helpful to see the item in action i.e have your skirt on a manequin, try a sample of the food, etc. However, would you want to pay full price for a used item? Probably not. Think of it and apply it to your home - the less "personal", or "used" you make it, the better. Show to the best how the space can be used, but do not overdo it with personal touches.
Create a spa feel in the bathroom, but do hide all your personal items (buyers do not need to know which toothpaste brand you prefer) make the kitchen smell and look good, but take it easy on how you save with recycling cans, etc etc. You get the idea.
Most importantly be aware of the "almighty" triangle when selling a home: the Kitchen,the Bathroomand the Bedroom. Buyers need to know they will sleep well, eat well, and well, unwind well if they chose to buy your home. Treat their imagination well.
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