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To see or not to see: that`s the question

Expression , Sept-Oct, 2005 by Roy Huntington

If you`re anything like us, your craft area is a victim of inexpensive fluorescent light fixtures from your local home-supply store. At around $10 a light, they`re a great deal. However, in pinching the pennies, you might be doing your creative side more harm than good! The shadows and weird colors those cheap lights cast might even harbor art-gremlins in all that darkness!

When it comes time to pick colors to ink your clay, delicately match stamp to paper, cut a complicated pattern for a purse, or decide if that mauve is "too mauve," then it`s time for daylight--fluorescent or incandescent light simply doesn`t cut it. And rather than relying on the nearest window (which just may be tinted, by the way), or moving your studio outdoors, an easy way out is to invest in a good quality "daylight" indoor work light.

These lights--from a range of manufacturers--come in almost too many sizes and shapes to list, but most have one very important thing in common: they duplicate the kind of clear light only the outdoors can deliver. It`s the almost magical quality daylight delivers that shows colors in their true forms. You`ll know right away if that mauve is, indeed, "too mauve" for your project.

5,000 Degrees? No, we`re not talking barbecue here. Light "temperature" corresponds to the type of light delivered. Kodak, that all-knowing entity of color reproduction, decided a light in the 5,000 to 5,500 degree Kelvin range is the correct "color temperature" to render colors in their truest state. When you buy your dream lamp, simply make sure it says those magic numbers somewhere and you`ll be going in the right direction.

A good quality lamp will also have clean, crisp low-glare illumination, and is a joy to use. You can actually feel your eyes relax when you turn them on and you`ll find all that squinting and blinking you`re used to will virtually disappear. I like to think of it as the opposite of closing your eyes to relax them. After working under the correct lighting, your eyes can feel as rested as when you started.

Oh, and those true colors never cease to astound. You can mix-and-match colors anytime, and not have any surprises when the sun comes out the next day! Details suddenly leap out more clearly, and what might have looked like a dauntingly complicated pattern is simplified because you can actually see it. As an added bonus, most lights have energy-efficient tubes lasting thousands of hours, and many models offer a very low heat signature so you can keep your cool.

A Zillion Models Okay, maybe not a zillion, but certainly a lot. Whether your craft area is cramped and crowded or fancy and fabulous, companies have models to fit your particular needs. Not everyone needs a floor model and many tabletop units can get that light right down where you need it. Remember, these are not for general room lighting, but are a focused light source for the project in your hands. Those same tabletop lights can be easily moved from one side of your worktable to another to keep the light where you need it most. Working on the dining room table tonight? No problem, just bring the sunshine with you!

Some of the floor models offer work trays, attached magnifying loops and more goodies, and many can be ordered with accessories as you see fit. It`s kind of like building your own lamp to meet your particular needs. And prices can be anywhere from a discounted $29 on sale to upwards of several hundred dollars, depending upon the model and features. But like anything, you spend your money and take your chances, so don`t skimp.

Light Boxes In a sort of roundabout way, good old-fashioned light boxes help you to see better, and if you don`t have one, you might seriously consider rethinking things. Typical uses are for tracing, calligraphy, embossing, scrap and memory book decorating, graphic layouts and anything else your fertile mind can imagine! If you can "see" through your "stuff"--even a tiny bit--you can trace it, and that opens up worlds of new art ideas for you.

These aren`t your old-fashioned models that were thick, heavy and not nearly bright enough. Thinner than ever (some are as thin as 5/8th of an inch), the new models are easy to move around from room to room, which means they`re more likely to be used.

Once again, daylight color backlighting in the box is a good idea, and make sure there`s plenty of bulbs for the size of the light box. Other-wise, you`ll have uneven light and potential dark areas, all of which makes it tough to do your best work.

Other Goodies Remember, seeing great isn`t always just about the right light. A quality magnifying glass and "loop" can be awfully handy for the bench and travel kit. But high quality is the byword here, so stay away from those cloudy dime-store magnifying glasses.

Extreme alternatives: healthier cosmeceuticals that really work

Better Nutrition , Sept, 2004 by Kat James

You can take two approaches with anti-aging cosmetics.

The first approach is the "sanding and peeling" method, which may stimulate collagen production because of the skin`s response to irritation. But this technique thins the skin, destroys its lipid barrier, makes it vulnerable to sun damage and may even the out its collagen-producing fibroblasts.

The second approach--which I recommend--rebuilds the skin`s integrity and defenses while stimulating collagen synthesis and skin cell regeneration without irritation. That`s why you won`t find information in my column on self-microdermabrasion, alpha hydroxy acid or retinol products, natural or otherwise. Instead, I want to tell you about powerfully effective, skin-friendly cosmeceuticals that don`t contain the soup of synthetic emollients and perfumes that conventional products have, nor do they carry the high price tag of collagen injections.

The Superantioxidants

"We`ve known for a long time that topically applied antioxidants, such as beta carotene and vitamins E and C, were able to significantly reduce skin aging. But those are weak antioxidants," says Linda Miles, vice president of Derma-E Bodycare. "Superantioxidants, like pycnogenol and astaxanthin, are 50-500 times more potent than vitamin E. They`re also anti-inflammatory. Pycnogenol stabilizes the capillary system to encourage it to pick up and retain fluid, and thus it can benefit under-eye puffiness as well as rosacea. Astaxanthin, perhaps the most powerful of all antioxidant anti-inflammatories, stimulates defensive skin cells to seek out and eliminate problems."

Philip Cohen, MD, ND, co-formulated Ecco Bella`s new Health by Chocolate line of edible, drinkable and externally applicable skin care products as well as the company`s MD Formulated line. "Dark chocolate has four times the polyphenol antioxidant content of green tea, and the same as red wine," says Cohen. "It`s also rich in magnesium, which increases energy production in the cells, increases relaxation and contributes to your glow." The MD Formulated and Health by Chocolate lines are enhanced with the superantioxidants astaxanthin, lycopene, lutein and blueberry extracts.

Research by Nicolas Perricone, MD, on the trio of vitamin C ester, alpha lipoic acid and dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE) continues to have phenomenal impact on skin care formulations. His own line of Products containing that famous ingredient trio (I call it "the Perricone trio") has been emulated or built upon in several other natural formulas with features of their own. These include offerings from Derma-E, Reviva Labs, Nutra-Lift and Source Naturals. Youthful Essentials` Wrinkle Serum, for example, offers the Perricone trio along with green tea, methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) and the exciting anti-aging peptide camosine. Camosine is not only a powerful antioxidant, but it`s also known as a skin healer. Most notably, it inhibits a destructive protein/sugar reaction in the body called glycation, which contributes to a number of aging factors, including collagen breakdown.

Collagen, Botox and StriVectin-SD Alternatives

Injections of Restylane, a stabilized, synthetic form of hyaluronic acid (HA), have now surpassed collagen injections in popularity for filling in wrinkles and facial folds. IIA is the skin`s natural internal moisture sponge that keeps skin hydrated and plumper from within.

But for those who furrow their brow at the price or pain of Restylane injections, Reviva Labs, which first introduced hyaluronic acid into skin care products in 1986, may have an alternative. Its new Hyaluronic Serum--unlike topical humectants, which depend on moisture in the air to work--actually locks moisture from liquids consumed internally into the intercellular spaces within the skin.

Another internal skin plumper that boosts both hyaluronic acid and collagen throughout the entire body is Toki, a drinkable form of collagen from Lane Labs. Told has been clinically shown to increase serum collagen by more than 100 percent while significantly reducing wrinkles around the eyes. A possible alternative to laser surgery may be found in another product by Lane Labs, SunSpot ES, which sloughs off raised sunspots, leaving healthy skin unaffected--thanks to glycoalkaloids, the powerful substances used in its formulation.

Speaking of furrowed brows, a handful of cutting-edge products, including Age Reversal Face Serum by Desert Essence, feature acetyl hexapeptide-3, a combination of linked amino acids referred to by extreme makeover enthusiasts as the non-invasive Botox alternative. It won`t immediately deaden muscle function as Botox does, but it can relax wrinkles caused by muscle tension over time. The Age Reversal Face Serum also contains another ingredient, palmitoyl pentapeptide--arguably the hottest skin care product ingredient of the past 5 years--which is featured in the wildly popular antistretch mark and anti-wrinkle sensation, StriVectin-SD. The synthetically produced peptide, which is based on the animal source precursor to human collagen, has been shown in double-blind studies to significantly reduce wrinkles while thickening the skin 1.5 times faster than retinol and vitamin C--without irritation.

Eyes relaxation index