Oct 11

Breweriana at Art Auctions

My father-in-law is very interest in beer art. Breweriana is the special name for beer related artifacts. I’ve been watching for special pieces to add to his collection at art auctions I’ve been attending.

The first breweriana piece that I acquired for my father-in-law was a 1940s Lone Star Beer sign. He was so happy with this find at the art auction that he asked me to keep finding him interesting pieces of beer history. I think that finding breweriana at art auctions is definitely a commentary on today’s society.

I found another really old piece of breweriana at the very next art auction I attended. It was another sign and it was from the 1930s for Ziegler Beer. I was at an art auction in Wisconsin and had to ship that sign to my father-in-law by freight.

My quest for breweriana has taken me to some art auctions that I would not have ordinarily attended and I’ve met people that I don’t ordinarily meet. I got into a bidding war with a Cajun man over a Jax Beer sign from the 1930s. The auctioneer said that it was a piece of New Orleans history.

The Cajun outbid me at every opportunity. I had a limit that had been set by my father-in-law and we were closing in on it when he finally stopped bidding. I won that piece of breweriana at the art auction for eight hundred dollars.

The porcelain breweriana signs are showing up at art auctions all over the country. I found another one from the 1930s for Supreme Beer that was double sided and oval. I was really pleased when I was able to present that one to my father-in-law.

The tin breweriana signs are actually not showing up as often at art auctions. I felt fortunate when I found one from the 1930s for Washington Beer. The ceramic breweriana signs are much more commonplace.

After my first few purchases of breweriana for my father-in-law he decided that his taste really did run to items from the 1930s and 1940s. I’ve tried to keep this in mind when I find new acquisitions.

I usually stay away from neon or illuminating breweriana. I just don’t think it fits in with the feeling of my father-in-law’s collection. The antique feel of everything is nice. He has taken up beer making as a hobby since his wife passed away, so it is not a far leap to beer art collecting.

The Goetz Country Club Beer sign that I won at an art auction in Indiana was a little more chipped than the other pieces I’ve gotten. I was intent on winning this sign because Goetz was my father-in-law’s mother’s maiden name. He was so happy with this old piece of breweriana because of the name on it that it instantly became the centerpiece of his collection.

I found two pieces of cardboard breweriana at an art auction in Ohio. I decided that they were going to sell so cheaply that I could buy them and frame them for the collection. I’m glad I went to that art auction.

I won a sign for Velvet Beer and another one for Stratford Beer. They both were from the 1930s and they were more colorful than tin breweriana signs that I’d purchased at other art auctions. The framer that I used framed both pieces for fifty dollars.

The art auction that I attended in Rochester, New York turned out to be very fruitful for my father-in-law’s breweriana collection. There was a Standard Dry Ale reverse painted glass sign up for auction. The sign had hung in a bar until the 1960s when the bar closed down.

The most recent piece of breweriana that I bought at an art auction was an original prohibition era Miller High Life Brew sign. The red and black sign looked great on the wall with the other signs in the collection. My father-in-law plans to build an old-fashioned bar in his home, at least the decorating is complete!

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Oct 11

Native American Art Auctions: Art Antiques

Whether traditional or contemporary, Native American artwork is both highly collectible and universally appealing. Native American art forms the basis of many exemplary public as well as private art collections. People that collect Native American artwork can be very passionate about their collections.

Older, more traditional Native American artwork and cultural artifacts are not merely revered and / or emulated by modern artists, they are also held dear as parts of art collections the world over.

Fine Native American art done by well known American Indian artists, such as Nampeyo, the Hopi potter, can raise the caliber of a private or public art collection quite significantly. Iris Nampeyo lived on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. She made a good income making pots and selling them at local trading posts.

A remarkable aspect of Nampeyo’s work is that over time she became more ad more interested in making pots according to ancient ways, as opposed to the modern pottery that was being made by people at the time. The quality of her work, as well as her interest and use of ancient pottery techniques certainly add to the demand and high price tags of her work.

If you find yourself in the market for Native American art antiques, be prepared to pay the price. Particularly with Native American art, availability doesn’t correlate to demand or cost, as is the case with many other highly collectible art types.

Items such as early Plains beadwork or late nineteenth century basketry are certainly examples of what would be considered extremely rare finds in the world of Native American art auctions.

When choosing from various art pieces, compare styles, read and research. This is really the only way to educate oneself about the various types of American Indian art. Then it’s time to shop around. Just like anything else, you won’t know what’s available unless you take the time to comparison shop.

During the 1900s many of the Native American art and crafts that other peoples associate with American Indians began to be commercially produced, especially by Asian nations. These Native American fakes became so widely purchased that several millions of dollars were taken from the American Indian artists in the form of cheap imitation Native American art.

Before purchasing Native American art antiques it’s a good idea to perform additional research has to the authenticity of the piece or pieces. Unless you’re highly knowledgeable on the topic and have experience spotting fakes, this type of art can be extremely hard to verify by inexperienced sight alone.

All in all, collecting American Indian art antiques is just like collecting any other antique, the definitive and primary timeframe is anything that is pre-1950s. Although a name that is well known can seriously increase the value of an object, condition, workmanship and prevalence are factors that are just as important.

Increasingly, even seasoned art dealers that deal in American Indian art find it difficult to discern authentic art antiques from imitation pieces. For this reason, it is particularly important to opt for dealing with reputable sources. In order to ensure that your perfect Native American art antique is the real deal it’s worth taking the time to locate such a well known art dealer or museum.

There are specialized art museums and dealers that offer Native American art pieces. These organizations generally are most interested in promoting Native art and cultures. The better of these institutions and organizations directly invest many of the profits gained from the sale of art pieces back into the Native American community.

When it comes to collecting Native American art antiques or any other type of art, don’t buy it unless you absolutely love it. Your best pieces are going to cost a pretty penny. If you don’t fall in love with a piece, chances are you’re not going to like it any better once it’s on your wall. So hold out for the perfect piece, you’ll be glad you did.
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Oct 11

How To Capture Small Things With a Digital Camera

Have you ever wondered how a photographer gets such clear, detailed photos of things like flowers or insects? Capturing such close-up pictures is most often done with a setting that comes as an option on many digital cameras–the macro setting.

What the macro setting on your camera essentially does is focus on a very small area. The background often appears unfocused to further bring out your intended subject. Getting in close to capture all the detail of a small object is nearly impossible with the regular setting on a camera. Anything closer than about three feet becomes blurred. The macro setting changes the distance your camera will be able to focus and often allows you to take clear pictures from as close as two or three inches.

This camera mode allows for a lot of experimenting. Try taking a picture of a bee sitting on a flower petal or a close-up of frost on the window. You will be amazed at the details brought out. You will be able to almost feel the furriness of the bee and the ice crystals are beautiful.

If you are planning to sell at online auctions, a macro setting on your camera will help with taking better pictures–and better pictures help with sales. You can take close-up photos of such objects as stamps and coins, show the engraving on an object or allow a viewer to see that a piece of jewelry is flawless.

Don’t save your photo taking for big events exclusively. Take a walk and notice the little things like the pattern on a tree trunk or an ant carrying a bread crumb twice his size. There are interesting photos everywhere once you start to look, and the macro mode on your digital camera is the perfect tool for capturing them.

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