www.ARTSHOP.la

Seeds of Creativity by RATON (c)

RATON believes that the seeds of creativity live in everyone and are very important for a balanced and happy life. Some people are fortunate that their sprouting imagination was nurtured and grown into strong creative thinking abilities. Their parents and teachers nourished them with creative experiences and confidence building responses to their attempts throughout their childhood.

Creative minds invent, imagine, problem-solve, create and communicate in fresh, new ways. Every business, every team requires creative thinkers in the form of engineers, scientists, researchers, technology innovators, business entrepreneurs, artists, performers, writers, illustrators , designers, inventors, educators and parents. The list is long and those with the ability to "think outside of the box" will lead the future and make special things happen. They make a difference. So get inspired, try something new , be creative . 

livingART menu by ARTSHOP - los angeles

books + infer about succulents by RATON

	Australian Calandrinia  This booklet has exceptionally high quality images of Australian succulent calandrinias in habitat. Covering many of the common and also some of the very rare.... more »»
	Australian Bottle Trees and Boabs  This booklet has many high quality images of Australian bottle trees and boabs, both in habitat and in cultivation. Comparing the various species and distinguishing features. There are five Australian species covered.....more »»
	Australian Gymea and Spear Lilies This booklet has high quality images of Australian Doryanthes in both habitat and in cultivation. The text explores the diversity within the genus and even within a given species... more »»
	Australian Succulent Orchids  Orchid flowers are seasonal and may not last that long. This is about the plants that are worth growing and knowing just for how they look any time of the year. This booklet has high quality images of Australian orchids in both .... more »»  latest 3 titles here .. please search side menu, then click' Australian native plant series' for more information on these titles, then if interested  to order please email us re availability, price and ordering              OR    Visit our EBay store to order: http://stores.ebay.com.au/Australian-succulent-plants-books
	Succulents for the Garden Succulents have come a long way since grandma's day when they were represented by a few spiny and neglected specimens in clay pots.... more »»
	More Succulents for the Garden More Succulents for the Garden is the second in a series of books which explains how these fascinating plants can be used in the garden.... more »» SOLD OUT
	Succulent Success in the Garden Succulent Success in the Garden is the third in a series of books which explains how these fascinating plants can be used in the garden. In this book a range of gardens are explored.... more »»
	Succulents: Care and Health Buying a succulent plant is the easy part. Now what? Where do I grow it? How do I take care of it? What do I need to do to keep it healthy? ....more »»TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK
	Succulents: Propagation If you think there is nothing more to learn about succulent propagation beyond pushing a few leaves into a pot then you are mistaken..... more »»
	Succulents For The Garden Series A series of books on succulents covering what they're called, how to grow them, how to use them creatively in the garden and lots more. Each book builds on the others, covering how to garden with succulents successfully.. more »» TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE
	Copiapoa In Their Environment Little information on the environment in which cacti naturally grow has ever been available to collectors and growers of cacti. This book, while mainly written for more experienced collectors of cacti who wish to know more about the much prized genus Copiapoa, should also appeal to beginning collectors of cacti and lovers of nature who wish to understand cacti in their dry, often desert, environments.. more »»
	Uebelmannia and Their Environment The genus Uebelmannia has always had a mystique about it since its discovery in the 1960's. While many collectors are familiar with the ever popular Uebelmannia pectinifera var. pectinifera, the other six taxa are less well known. Field work was carried out over three years.. more »»
	Pinguone, Kenya - Succulents and their Environment This book deals with a specific area of Kenya and focuses on its diverse succulent flora, mostly on the private ranch 'Pinguone', an area of 44,000 acres (20,000 ha) located in the highlands of Kenya.. more »»
	Echeveria Cultivars This long awaited book is aimed at collectors and gardeners alike and is currently recognized as the world's best book on echeverias. It covers an outstanding selection of over 130 different echeverias with large photographs showing plants under different growing conditions.. more »» *Reprints of this popular title are being organised in other languages, please enquire.
	Echeveria Cultivars - Korean  Due to high demand, this outstanding book, Echeveria Cultivars, has now been re-produced in Korean.  more »»
	Copiapoa 2006 Copiapoa 2006 follows the pattern of the previous book, Copiapoa in their Environment. This book by Rudolf covers all of the described species and their many subspecies and forms.. more »»
	Aeonium in Habitat and Cultivation Available November 2007, Aeonium in Habitat and Cultivation covers all the aeonium species in habitat. The second part of the book covers those species and hybrids which are commercially available... more »»
	Australian Succulent Plants  Australian Succulent Plants is an introduction to the beauty and diversity of Australian succulent flora. A fresh change from conventional attitudes and ideas about the diversity and beauty of Australian flora. With Australia's natural flora of well over 20,000 species, at least 400 are considered to have a notable degree of succulence. This book covers approximately one hundred species from forty genera. SOLD OUT more »»
	Haworthia for the Collector  SOLD OUT There have been several books published on Haworthia in the last twenty years, these have all focused on the plants in habitat or on taxonomic issues. This book focuses on the needs of the collector.... more »»
	Practical Guide To Australian Orchid Growing This small practical guide, written for everybody from the absolute amateur through to the hardened native orchid nut, fills a huge void in Australian orchid literature.... more »»
	Adenium: Sculptural Elegance, Floral Extravagance This authoritative and sumptuous book, authored by experts on growing and propagating this lovely plant is chock full of the latest information on the various species that make up the group.... more »»
	Tuberous, Cormous and Bulbous Plants This book is a very in depth look at a range of plants, including various succulents and other obscure Australian native plants.... more »» SOLD OUT
	Australian Native Plants  A comprehensive and popular book on Australian native plants. Very easy to use reference book with up to date information on over 1000 native plants.... more »»
	Succulents of the Transvaal This book has exceptional appeal to artists and lovers of botanical art alike with inspirational ideas and images to draw on.... more »» SOLD OUT

RATON just loves succulents ....

succulents

Succulent plant 

Not to be confused with cactus; botanically cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti.

Succulent plants, such as this Aloe, store water in their fleshy leaves

In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents or sometimes fat plants, are plants having some parts that are more than normally thickened and fleshy, usually to retain water in arid climates orsoil conditions. Succulent plants may store water in various structures, such as leaves and stems. Some definitions also include roots, so that geophytes that survive unfavourable periods by dying back to underground storage organs may be regarded as succulents. In horticultural use, the term "succulent" is often used in a way which excludes plants that botanists would regard as succulents, such as cacti. Succulents are grown as ornamental plants because of their striking and unusual appearance.

Definition

There are a number of somewhat different definitions of the term succulent. One difference lies in whether or not roots are included in the parts of a plant which make it a succulent. Some authors include roots, as in the definition "plants in which the leaves, stem or roots have become more than usually fleshy by the development of water-storing tissue."^[1] Others exclude roots, as in the definition "a plant with thick, fleshy and swollen stems and/or leaves, adapted to dry environments".^[2] This difference affects the relationship between succulents and "geophytes" – plants that survive unfavourable seasons as a resting bud on an underground organ.^[3] These underground organs, such as bulbs, corms and tubers, are often fleshy with water-storing tissues. Thus if roots are included in the definition, many geophytes would be classed as succulents.

Plants adapted to living in dry environments are termed xerophytes; thus succulents are often xerophytes. However, not all xerophytes are succulents, since there are other ways of adapting to a shortage of water, e.g. by developing small leaves which may roll up or having leathery rather than succulent leaves.^[4] Nor are all succulents xerophytes, since plants like Crassula helmsii are both succulent and aquatic.^[5]

Those who grow succulents as a hobby use the term in a different way to botanists. In horticultural use, the term succulent regularly excludes cacti. For example, Jacobsen's three volume Handbook of Succulent Plants does not cover cacti,^[6] and "cacti and succulents" is the title or part of the title of many books covering the cultivation of these plants.^[7][8][9] However, in botanical terminology, cacti are succulents.^[1] Horticulturists may also exclude other groups of plants, e.g. bromeliads.^[10] A practical, but unscientific, horticultural definition is "a succulent plant is any desert plant that a succulent plant collector wishes to grow".^[11] Such plants less often include geophytes (in which the swollen storage organ is wholly underground) but do include plants with a caudex,^[12]which is a swollen above-ground organ at soil level, formed from a stem, a root or both.^[3]

A further difficulty is that plants are not either succulent or non-succulent. In many genera and families there is a continuous sequence from plants with thin leaves and normal stems to those with very clearly thickened and fleshy leaves or stems, so that deciding what is a succulent is often arbitrary. Different sources may classify the same plant differently.^[13]

Appearance

Evolution

Many succulents come from the dry areas of the tropics and subtropics, such as steppes, semi-desert, and desert. High temperatures and low precipitation force plants to collect and store water to survive long dry periods. Succulents may occasionally occur asepiphytes - "air plants" - as they have limited or no contact with the ground, and are dependent on their ability to store water and gain nutrients by other means; this niche is seen in Tillandsia. Succulents also occur as inhabitants of sea coasts and dry lakes, which are exposed to high levels of dissolved minerals that are deadly to many other plant species.

The day that was named Christmas

It was December , the 24th , normally the main Christmas holiday for RATON and 
his family . Normally that would mean lots of delicious food , many gifts , 
lovely shiny decoration and lots of not funny jokes . 

This year for sure was a gruesome one. It was cold and grey , and the wind blew 
strong over the giant patio , knocking everything in it's path down. Flowers 
pots, pillows, little decorative wooden houses and plants were thrown through 
the air like they weigh nothing . Even the bamboo chime which normally never 
moved , was making noises, which  meant that it was very, very stormy.  

The weather didn't add  to the already somber atmosphere at home . Dad's health 
had worsened actually , he almost couldn't speak any longer, and became more and 
more frustrated with his situation . The stubborn bull was turning weak and un 
coordinated totally depending on any helping hand that was available , moaning 
in pain and agony. It was really time to go it seemed, but for some reason , he 
wouldn't let go . He simply wouldn't die , simply because he wanted to live . 
That's at least  what RATON thought . 

His mother continued running around trying to make dads life as nice as possible 
. She was visibly shaken by all the current incidents, an emotional roller 
coaster , of which she had to carry the heaviest burden . It was hard to watch , 
especially because she didn't get much back in return. Yes, she was driving 
around in her fancy car , wearing a mink coat and expensive shoes , living in a 
big house , but love and kind compassion , the one thing she really was hoping 
for was not available to her at this point . It had never changed for 50 years. 
Dad simply was not able to give her what he wanted deep inside of her heart, but 
had accepted it a long time ago that this is how her life would pan out . Not 
bad, she was grateful , but there was always this little hope in her eyes, 
hoping for dad would soften and to say how much he loved her. 

by RATON (c) 

meet Nira

Meet author, entrepreneur, organic chef and owner of Organic African Red Tea 
Imports , Nira Levy-Maslin, for a fascinating and inspiring story on how she 
co-founded her company and developed her product. 

From a single tea bag to a global recognized brand , Nira is now celebrating 
over 13 years of knowledge of organic African herbs and continues passionately 
to educate people about the benefits of Rooibos from South Africa. 

Since the starting days many things have changed and she elegantly adjusted to 
the global market climate , the shift to booming online sales and the growth of 
a brand , that snowballed into an international organic sensation. 

From working from home off her kitchen table , to welcoming guests at her retail 
space on Fairfax Ave , to now being the online shop to buy Rooibos tea from , 
the journey has been long and satisfying . 

She is a published author and public speaker , teaches cooking seminars and 
continues to develop all organic products to add to her Rooibos Tea collection , 
educating and making new friends one tea bag at a time. 

Rooibos Red Tea is her passion. Get a taste of her world by trying out one of 
her recipes. Click here for her delicious Banana Spice Bread recipe and Red Bush 
Tea-Rhubarb Gelee. 

Nira Maslin can be reached in Los Angeles at ARTSHOP . Please email 
info@ARTSHOP-USA.com

By RATON (c) 

clean home = clear mind

Pick up after yourself! This is not a hotel room with daily maid service ..... That for sure is the first good advise, and yes practice what you preach, so it had not been easy for Raton to actually do at home what he did for others. Living in a clean and organized house was always very cleansing, Throughout his work load he sometimes came across a couple of clients , who not only asked for a simple decorating job , but they truly needed help "cleansing" their home . They were either so busy with work or traveling too much, or some had a traumatic life change and turned depressed. There are many reasons why perfectly beautiful homes can turn upside down quickly.

Not that Raton was a clean fanatic , but he did like to keep his place tidy even just for the simple reason of when returning home from a long day, that his space was organized and neat. And by all means , he didn't mean super clean just not a mess , he disliked stumbling over things or see laundry and shoes spread out all over the place. And he realized the smaller a place was , the messier it got fast , so he got into to the habit to just touch an item once and placed where it supposed to be. Once he got used to this system , it was actually really simple and easy to stay on top of things . It turned into a habit. 

We all know people that are so organized and neat , that even the socks inside of their drawers were color coordinated , which can be a little bit annoying , but those people most likely never would run into the infamous onesy problem, meaning have many , many socks but of each pair just one . That continued to be a mystery in Raton's life , and to this day it was a phenomena that no one was able to explain. Again there is nothing better then a lived in house , so we don't want to take the cleaning and organizing tasks too seriously, but what we don't realize is, that it is actually much easier to stay neat and clean , then having to take the time to clean up.  

Once you stick to your little routine, you will see how easy it really is and how much better you will feel to have less clutter all over the place . And if you don't know how to go about it , you might want to continue reading this and will learn a thing or two, even though there is nothing to really to learn, there are really just normal procedures. And for the guys , don't think you are out of a sudden a girly man , because you are trying to have your apartment  tight. See it as normal , try to see it as sexy. The biggest turn off is when you walk into someone's flat and it's messy. It compares to the the broken window theory, it reflect that actually no one cares. 

Raton started his home "cleansing" project with a decent laundry bin , that way in the morning and evening he was able to place his worn cloth right where they belong. He got even one that separated the whites from the others  , he felt he was already one step ahead of the game , because nothing would fly around the house any longer. And they are actually really cheap, it doesn't have to be anything fancy. A foldable mesh laundry bin costs as little as $10 and they are so easy to find these days. There are fancy once as well of course, but that's really up to the messy person that wants one.  . 

Then a big help for him was to get into the habit to make his bed right after he got up or basically within 10 min of rising. Sometimes he had to squeeze in a run to the bathroom first, but the essential thing was it was done and the bed was made right from the beginning of his day . That way he didn't have to look at his messy bed , which immediately started to calm his mind and again he felt he had something accomplished without even really thinking about it. Nice crisp bed linen always seemed to help as well . If you like what you sleep in , most likely you will take care of better.  ....Yes, sometimes he did wish the days back when there was a full time house keeper on hand, which really just contributed to become lazy and feeling too superior . 

Certain things one have to do themselves, that includes flushing your toilet (you are not Diana Ross for crying out loud)   , brushing your teeth and picking up the basics after yourself. Yes, it is luxury to have a housekeeper once a week , every day is heaven , but it is the same like being driven around , sometimes it is just necessary that one is on their own . Helps to keep you grounded and independent. 

Raton did remember those advertisements in the magazines that promised the ultimate house cleansing experience , and oh boy on some days he was day dreaming about hiring someone for himself and not the other way around. Important for Raton was as well that he would get control over the cable and extension cord madness . Just looking at it made him confused and  puzzled . He thought there must be a way without it constantly looking like cable chaos. And yes , there are many solutions to take care of it, one just has to put the time and effort and it can be done very easy . . But how ? 

It was a picture perfect California fall day. Just warm enough without braking out in a sweat. He felt awkward during summer arriving to work all drenched in sweat. Today is was perfect and Raton enjoyed the walk to work like it was a stroll in the park. How lucky we are he thought. In Europe they were freezing already, all bundled up, dealing with the never ending rain. Every Sunday morning his mother would tell him on the phone about it. Not here, he smiled as he was walking in to the russian deli around the corner where he started working, helping to revamp a clients home, which had started with a rude awakening and served as a reminder how important a clean home really is. 

The first 3 days had nothing to do with revamping or decorating, it was trash removal, carefully combing through things and determine what needs to be thrown out and what would need to stay. 

Some mother had called asking the office if we can help her to decorate her sons home. He had fallen into some kind of depression, and she wanted him to spent Christmas in a nice and proper new home. Sure, no problem Raton thought, but she forgot to mention that her son was actually a dirty pig with three indoor cats and that he was a horder, so when Raton arrived at the house , he almost lost it over the unbelievable amount of trash and boxes and cloth laying around all over the place. 

The living room was so messy, that one could hardly see the furniture and the stinging smell of cat urin didn't make it any better. What a sweet man he was though , so grateful that someone had actually showed up trying to help him. At this point he said, he was so overwhelmed that he didn't know where to start, so he didn't start at all and the piles just grew by the day . So the first day was intense sorting our , organizing in piles determining what was trash and what were the treasures. And their were many treasures under all the filth, nostalgic old mini trains, frames, vases, jewelry. Some wonderful stuff he had not seen in months he said. Raton felt good helping the guy, he felt he was making a difference.

Raton was grateful that he was able to help this guy, but at the same time so sad, realizing that a traumatizing event had caused all this . On day three the enthusium had kind of stopped and his client ended up sleeping again for most of the time , which is a sign of deep depression. Raton had seen before in other people.  He was just hoping that clearing everything and make it nice and new would inspire , but at this point it wore out quickly. 

Day three was productive , by 4 o'clock Raton wrapped up and grateful that he was doing just fine . He maybe had a melancholic Sunday afternoon once in a while , but thankfully nothing like this . Sometimes it was good to see , how others really have it not so good and actually really suffer , so personal problems he thought he had might not be so big . It goes to show the importance to be healthy, physically and mentally and a clean and organized living environment for sure is the first step to success .  Clean home = healthy mind. Makes sense? 

by RATON (c) 

Today blog is sponsored by retro gallery , LA's finest glass gallery for over 20 years .