Tag Archives: Holidays

Make Labor Day Special, Celebrate with Art

The United States was a nation built from the ground up. It began taking shape in the latter half of the 18^th century. This is when people started pursuing missions that would create a great society. As a result, 12 hour work days became the backbone of American spirit.

This dedication and determination gained recognition in the late 19^th century. Citizens of the United States started celebrating Labor Day in 1882. The idea was adopted from Canada. The North American neighbor began celebrating Labour Day a decade prior.

Until present day, the United States has been consistent in honoring social and economic achievements on the first Monday in September. Most businesses are closed on this day and hardworking American citizens are offered a long weekend. During this time, barbecues and festive parties are the norm. In fact, the United States celebrates Labor Day with the same spirit that fills Fourth of July.

This blog offers five artistic tips that celebrate the “155 million men and women who are in the U.S. workforce.”

TIP 1- Recycle Old Crafts

Celebrate hard work with fun décor. Labor Day is the perfect opportunity to use red, white, and blue decorations. Dig up the patriotic crafts created for the Fourth of July.

TIP 2- Festive Party Invitations

For those planning Labor Day parties, invite family and friends with unique invitation designs. This is a great resource for anyone wanting inspiration for festive ideas: http://www.examiner.com/article/celebrating-labor-day-with-martha-stewart

TIP 3- Fun for the Kids

Teach children why the nation celebrates Labor Day. This can be done with a fun craft. One suggestion is to use old magazines and have kids cut out pictures of people working. Make a collage of the images. Click on this link for more artistic and educational craft ideas: http://familycrafts.about.com/od/holidays/p/LaborDay.htm

TIP 4- Printable Projects

Teachers and parents who want to convey the important of Labor Day can explore creative ideas here: http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/labordayprint_8.htm. There are many crafts and games that can be downloaded and printed out. This webpage has everything from themed puzzles to festive knickknacks (door hangings and bookmarks too!). In addition, there are quizzes for older kids and adults.

TIP 5- The Perfect Centerpiece

When thinking about this year’s Labor Day party, think about a theme that can celebrate the holiday and excite those who plan to attend. Is it possible to have a party focus on a family member’s career achievements? Find ideas that can mix up traditional themes: http://labor-day-weekend.com/parties/centerpieces.htm

Enjoy celebrating the nation’s achievements and hard work by keeping art at the heart of this holiday. There are plenty of DIY crafts that can make Labor Day special. Be sure to relax and spend time doing something fun.

Read more Segmation blog posts about Celebrating Holidays with Art:

Green Represents Saint Patrick’s Day

Hanukkah, Christmas, Happy New Year’s – Season’s Greetings as Beautiful Art Paintings

The Meaning of Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Art

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Green Represents Saint Patrick’s Day

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Have you ever noticed the tremendous role that color plays in representing and enriching certain holidays? For example, can you imagine Christmas without red holly berries and green pine trees? Or Halloween without orange pumpkins? Chanukah would certainly not be the same if white and blue were not its representative colors. There is no doubt that erasing traditional colors from holidays would change the depth of meaning of those special days, as well as our feelings toward them.

Green is the unforgettable color that has forever marked Saint Patrick’s Day and made it distinct and memorable. Saint Patrick’s Day, which began being celebrated by Irish immigrants to the U.S. in the 1700’s, was originally linked to the color blue. Green was adopted as the holiday’s main color later, in honor of “the Emerald Isle.” The clover, which Saint Patrick himself would use to his illustrate his teachings about Catholicism, is another of Ireland’s symbols that inspired the color green.

Most everyone wears green clothing on Saint Patrick’s Day. Those who don’t know they are in danger of being pinched. This tradition came from the Irish belief that wearing green renders one invisible to leprechauns, who will apparently pinch anyone they are capable of seeing (i.e., those not in green).

Today’s Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations are characterized by the color green. They often feature green drinks, green food, and green decor. The city of Chicago even dyes its river green each year for the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade! The parade is a festive affair, with individuals from all over the world in attendance. Last year’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade goers enjoyed “unseasonably perfect” weather in Chicago, and were reported to have had an excellent time.

What would Saint Patrick’s Day be like without the color green? It would still hold the same historical meaning, but would not have that special feeling that the much loved holiday evokes. Do you feel that colors “make” a holiday? What colors represent what holidays to you? Segmation would love to hear your thoughts on the connection between holidays and color. Feel free to share your ideas with us in the “comments” section below. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/18/st-patricks-day-in-chicag_0_n_1357073.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/15/st-patricks-day_n_1348003.html

Coming soon: Do you love tatoo art? If so, you won’t want to miss our upcoming blog post about the first female tattoo artist.

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The Stories Behind Holiday Colors

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December is here, and that means individuals all around the world will be celebrating holidays like Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa, just to name a few. The December season is a favored time of year that is associated with excellent food, gifts, and time spent with family. Not only that, holiday seasons are often represented by unique, symbolic colors. Have you ever wondered why certain colors are designated to different holiday seasons? Let’s find out…

What do Kwanzaa’s shades symbolize?

Kwanzaa, established in 1966, is one of the most recent holidays to be founded. The colors used in Kwanzaa celebrations are red, black, and yellow. Related to Kwanzaa, green stands for “the land of Africa and hope for the future.” Red symbolizes the blood of Africans who have passed away, whereas black represents the skin shade of Africans. Kwanzaa, which is a holiday that honors African-American culture, centers on creativity, faith, self-determination, and togetherness.

Blue and white are significant to Jewish culture.

Most people are aware of the fact that the blue and white shades represented in Hanukkah décor are the colors of the Israeli flag. But what do these shades symbolize? According to a rabbinical interpretation, blue represents divine revelation as well as heaven. Better than any other color, white symbolizes cleanliness and purity. These colors that are so prominent in the design of the Israeli flag are also displayed on the Jewish prayer shawl (tallit), making them an integral part of Jewish culture.

Why red and green for Christmas?

The famed shades for Christmas are, without a doubt, green and red. But what do these colors represent? Green is representative of the evergreen tree, which symbolizes eternal life and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Red may represent the blood of Christ, but researchers are unsure of the exact symbolic meaning of this shade. What they do know, though, is that the combination of red and green likely stems from holly Christmas decorations that were used in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Make this Holiday season more memorable by creating your own seasonally themed works of art. Segmation offers a SegPlayPC Christmas Time pattern “paint-by-numbers” collection that makes it easy and fast to enjoy the Christmas Time celebration and more. Learn more about Segmation’s Christmas Time pattern collection by visiting http://www.segmation.com/products_pc_patternsets.asp#CHR.

Sources:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/what-color-is-your-holiday-chr-104238

Coming Soon: Read Segmation’s exclusive article about the season that inspired so much of famed artist Norman Rockwell’s timeless works.

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United States President Caricature Art by www.segmation.com!

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United States President Caricature Pattern Set for SegPlay® PC by Segmation (see more details here)

Here’s a fun and easy set of United States President Caricature patterns (thanks to our friends at Graphics Factory for providing this content) The set includes 17 nicely done portraits of the more familiar presidents including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

When these patterns are completely colored, the resulting image has a very strong resemblance to the original artwork. These vibrant and colorful pieces of art are truly engaging and exciting for you to paint, and especially a joy to look at when completed.

With over 2800 available patterns from an ever growing collection of artistic themes, SegPlay® PC will provide you with hours upon hours of painting fun and entertainment. SegPlay® PC Splash Screen With SegPlay® PC as an Art Appreciation teaching tool, students can memorize famous works of art, color by color. Children can truly touch images related to a wide assortment of subjects. As a parent or educator, the learning possibilities stretch as far as your image-ination!

SegPlay® PC is in the computer software category known as “casual gaming”. While it provides a pleasurable and creative escape from mundane computer activities, the program is simple to use and new players can begin the painting function immediately, with just a few, intuitive tools. However, the program also offers rich features with challenging and engaging options, so it expands with each user, whether they seek an education in art appreciation or just want to enjoy a creative gaming challenge.

With a dynamic and clear user interface and fun sound effects, the program’s gaming features compliment the artistic benefits and engage users at all levels. For a gaming challenge, users can race against a timer to complete patterns in a given timeframe at levels from Easy to Experienced and Expert. Users can also employ speed-painting tools, monitor the mistake counter, and track the number of remaining pieces and colors to increase the program’s challenging and addictive potential.

United States President Caricature

Have fun and relax with beautiful online painting art. So fun and easy to use with no mess but just a mouse!

Be a Artist in 2 minutes with United States President Caricature from Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

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