Shag rugs were extremely popular in the 1970s. Their origin is shrouded in psychedelic mystery. One version says they originated from the meditation mats that Buddhist and Indian monks regularly use.
These mats are often pretty large, and look exactly like a shag rug does when they get worn out through long use. Because the 1970s saw a great influx of eastern religions in the US, it is not inconceivable that the popular shag rugs were inspired by these so called meditation mats.
Another version says that shag rugs are direct descendants of the goat and sheep skin rugs that were a part of the Middle Eastern Jewish tradition. In the late 60s and 70s, not only was there a sort of revival in traditional Christianity, there was also a growing interest in and awareness of the Middle East after the Arab Israel wars and constant Diaspora to Israel from the US. It is plausible that the shag rug may have arrived on these shores from these Middle Eastern connections.
Shag rugs are soft rugs made of a pile of various kinds of fibers. The pile is knotted short so that loose ends of the fibers form the pile. The rug is extremely soft, and in the tradition of the times, they were done in bright colors that would remind people of so called “LSD trips.” Colors ranged from typical hippie yellow and purple to green, orange and blue. Often a single shag rug would have all of these colors in a bright rainbow.
One very popular shag rug in those days of zero conservation and organic clothing was the bamboo shag rug. Strange as it may seem, the bamboo shag rug was really a very soft and delicate shag rug that had a silken touch to it. The bamboo shag rug was widely used because of its non-allergic, organic, and antibacterial nature. It was renewable and bio-degradable and looked good and colorful; what more could people from the 70s want?
A shag rug had a very particular place in a 70s household, especially if you were into mod stuff. I remember, when I was young, we had a gray shag rug neatly folded and kept in a corner of the room. Every Saturday evening, when two families we were friends with – our neighbors, actually – came down to visit us, my mother would unfold that rug and spread it near the fireplace.
People would mostly sit on that rug, with their back against the couches, and smoke pot. Sometimes, the guys would laze on the couch, but the women always sat on the shag rug, their legs spread out, lazily smoking pot and chatting away. The funny thing was that everybody always sat on a particular place on the shag rug; that spot was always reserved for the person it belonged to. All 3 families were into the hippie thing, and they often wore peculiar hippie clothing, and all were greatly interested in eastern stuff like Buddhism, pot, shag rugs and the rest.
For many years, after the hippie thing died down and father took a job in the local bank, that shag rug was left unused. But recently, I happened to look into a carpet maker’s shop window downtown and saw a shag rug just like ours on sale. I came back home and took the old shag rug down from the closet and spread it out again near the hearth. It looks good.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Rastafari and Reggae Designs in T - Shirt Printing
By Marie Claire Ponsaran
T-shirt printing companies often feature symbolic prints on t-shirts. These symbols include political and social images that may have significance to a minority group or may represent a counterculture movement, such as the Rastafari Movement.
According to Wikipedia, most Rastas do not think of the movement as a "religion," but a "Way of Life." It is monotheistic, worshipping only one God, which they call Jah. However, this God is not a vague Almighty Being in the heavens, but incarnated as Haile Selassie I, the last Emperor of Ethiopia.
Rastafari has Afrocentric ideologies and teachings. Its members support the spiritual use of cannabis, or marijuana. It also has a tri-color flag-red, green and yellow-with a lion's silhouette printed at the center.
Bob Marley And Rastafari In T-Shirt Printing
The strong association of Rastafari with reggae is partly because of Bob Marley's stature and his membership in the movement. Bob Marley is one of the most popular Rastas in the world, and his popularity has helped spread the influence of the Rastafari Movement in the world.
Bob Marley's signature image - his wide smile and his dreadlocks - is one of the most popular designs in t-shirt printing. His face has been printed in different versions, either as a pencil sketch or as a photograph. The prints show Bob Marley in different poses, while singing onstage or with his head thrown back in carefree laughter.
Bob Marley heavily incorporated Rastafarian chants in his song. Aside from Marley, other reggae musicians also used music to spread the teachings of Rastafari. Musicians like Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer have integrated Rastafarian doctrine in their songs.
Red, Green And Gold In Rastafari T-Shirt Printing
The Rastafari colors are green, red and gold, the same hues found in its flag. At the center of the flag the silhouette of a roaring lion stands proud while the horizontal stripes of the three colors are in the background.
Sometimes, the three colors serve as background to or were superimposed on top of Bob Marley's image. In a sketch of Marley's face, the same three colors were mixed with the dark lines. Other times, the lyrics of Bob Marley's songs accessorize the image.
Red signifies the blood of Black Jamaican martyrs, green represents the lushness of the Ethiopian or Jamaican countryside, and gold signifies the wealth of Africa. Sometimes, black is included as a reference to the Marcus Garvey movement.
Reggae and the Rasta movement are rich sources of artistic inspiration for t-shirt printing designers. The symbols from these movements touch the rebellious spirit of the angst-ridden youth of the seventies, and continue to nurture the same sentiments in today's generation. Custom printed t-shirts with these types of designs speak the messages that they want us to listen to.
Marie Claire Ponsaran is an experienced Internet researcher, independent blogger and freelance writer for various articles on personalised t-shirts in UK.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marie_Claire_Ponsaran
http://EzineArticles.com/?Rastafari-and-Reggae-Designs-in-T---Shirt-Printing&id=3512894
T-shirt printing companies often feature symbolic prints on t-shirts. These symbols include political and social images that may have significance to a minority group or may represent a counterculture movement, such as the Rastafari Movement.
According to Wikipedia, most Rastas do not think of the movement as a "religion," but a "Way of Life." It is monotheistic, worshipping only one God, which they call Jah. However, this God is not a vague Almighty Being in the heavens, but incarnated as Haile Selassie I, the last Emperor of Ethiopia.
Rastafari has Afrocentric ideologies and teachings. Its members support the spiritual use of cannabis, or marijuana. It also has a tri-color flag-red, green and yellow-with a lion's silhouette printed at the center.
Bob Marley And Rastafari In T-Shirt Printing
The strong association of Rastafari with reggae is partly because of Bob Marley's stature and his membership in the movement. Bob Marley is one of the most popular Rastas in the world, and his popularity has helped spread the influence of the Rastafari Movement in the world.
Bob Marley's signature image - his wide smile and his dreadlocks - is one of the most popular designs in t-shirt printing. His face has been printed in different versions, either as a pencil sketch or as a photograph. The prints show Bob Marley in different poses, while singing onstage or with his head thrown back in carefree laughter.
Bob Marley heavily incorporated Rastafarian chants in his song. Aside from Marley, other reggae musicians also used music to spread the teachings of Rastafari. Musicians like Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer have integrated Rastafarian doctrine in their songs.
Red, Green And Gold In Rastafari T-Shirt Printing
The Rastafari colors are green, red and gold, the same hues found in its flag. At the center of the flag the silhouette of a roaring lion stands proud while the horizontal stripes of the three colors are in the background.
Sometimes, the three colors serve as background to or were superimposed on top of Bob Marley's image. In a sketch of Marley's face, the same three colors were mixed with the dark lines. Other times, the lyrics of Bob Marley's songs accessorize the image.
Red signifies the blood of Black Jamaican martyrs, green represents the lushness of the Ethiopian or Jamaican countryside, and gold signifies the wealth of Africa. Sometimes, black is included as a reference to the Marcus Garvey movement.
Reggae and the Rasta movement are rich sources of artistic inspiration for t-shirt printing designers. The symbols from these movements touch the rebellious spirit of the angst-ridden youth of the seventies, and continue to nurture the same sentiments in today's generation. Custom printed t-shirts with these types of designs speak the messages that they want us to listen to.
Marie Claire Ponsaran is an experienced Internet researcher, independent blogger and freelance writer for various articles on personalised t-shirts in UK.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marie_Claire_Ponsaran
http://EzineArticles.com/?Rastafari-and-Reggae-Designs-in-T---Shirt-Printing&id=3512894
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)