Art & Craft Questions & Answers

What does Eliot’s famous line ‘I have measured out my life with coffee spoons…’ mean? — This line is from the poem ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock‘, in which Prufrock is a mythical person symbolic of the 20th century man. The poem highlights the emotional woes of this man, who has no self-confidence, is indecisive about proposing to …

Boomerang are V-shaped devices, opening at an angle between 900 and 1600, depending on their use. There are two types of boomerangs-the returning and the non-returning. The best known type is the returning. When thrown correctly, this type returns to the thrower without his moving and so is used mainly for fun on in sports, since it cannot be aimed …

In the hot deserts of southwest Peru are some immense, mysterious drawings called geoglyphs. Huge geometric patterns, spirals and figures of animals, and thousands of straight lines are immaculately drawn on the desert surface. Known as the Nazca Lines, after the Nazca Indians who lived there in ancient times, the drawings have mystified scientists ever since they were discovered in …

A common figure in Western folklore, Jack Frost is a personification of the nippiest winter weather, credited with leaving beautiful plant-like patterns on windows and frosting on leaves. His name is probably of Norse derivation – the Norsemen knew him as ‘Jokul Frosti’ or Jack Frost. The Saxons who settled in Britain had their Lord Snow and King Frost.

A short order cook is a cook who specializes in preparing simple dishes which can be cooked very quickly. These types of cooks work in places like diners and fast food restaurants, where speedy service is emphasized, and the menu tends to be kept very simple. Some short order cooks have formal training, but others learn through apprenticeship by working …

In ancient China, words were printed by cutting the symbols in blocks of wood. The Chinese later invented movable type, a process in which letters are made separately and assembled to form words. However, successful printing with movable metal type (letters) in Europe was not invented until the 15th century. The man usually called the inventor of printing was Johannes …

China clay, or kaolin, is usually mined from pits like this, for making pottery, or china, as well as other things such as plastics. To make porcelain (the finest kind of china) it is fused with china stone, or petuntse, at very high temperature.

Chicory was first roasted and used in coffee in Holland around 1750. It soon became a popular replacement for coffee. By 1785, James Bowdoin, the governor of Massachusetts, had introduced it to US. In 1806, Napoleon attempted to make France completely self-sufficient by using as a substitute. While this did not last long, the French continued to use chicory to …

The sevillana dress is worn by artistes who perform sevillana, a colourful and exciting style of song and dance that originated in Castile, Spain. It is a variation of a style of dance known as the seguidilla. It is performed to a strict 3/4 rhythm by pairs or groups of people. This style of dance is performed at fiestas of …

Renoir’s style was impressionist. He delighted in the effect of sunshine filtering through trees, dappling revellers in its light. Near the end of his life, Renoir finally found a style which was a combination of impressionism and the older styles. Renoir was one of the co-founders of impressionism, a style in quick brush strokes are employed. His paintings are notable …