Category: "Uncategorized"

Кисть

by Janell  

Кисть in Russian is brush. It declines as such:

Fix this for end stress in the last four plurals.

SgPl
Nomкистькисти
Accкистькисти
Genкистикистей
Preкистикистях
Datкистикистям
Insкистьюкистями

У меня кисти из Японии. I have paintbrushes from Japan.
Мы говорили о кистях. We talked about paintbrushes.
У неё нет кистей, потому что она бедная. She does not have any paintbrushes, because she is poor.
Она красила кистью. She painted with a paintbrush.

It can refer to a cosmetic brush, a brush to paint a room or in this instance I am referring to it as an artist brush. Brushes come in all shapes and sizes. Brushes with smaller or less bristles are usually used for detail and small areas such as details on a car or eye while the larger ones are for larger areas such as backgrounds. A round brush allows you to paint fine points while a flat one is more versatile and can be used for broad strokes and thin ones. A fan brush is usually used for blending colors. Other forms of paint brushes include mop brush and sword/striper brush. There are different brushes for different mediums; watercolor brushes are different than acrylic brushes. Thicker brushes hold more paint and are better for wet painting such as water coloring, while the thinner brushes are better for dry painting because they hold less paint. The article which I found useful on paintbrushes is: http://painting.about.com/od/artsupplies/ig/Intro-to-Art-Paint-Brushes/. It also gives advice on cleaning, the ways to preserve your brushes, etc.

Душа

by Janell  

Душа is the Russian word for soul. This is how it declines:

SgPl
Nomдушадуши
Accдушудуши
Genдушидуш
Preдушедушах
Datдушедушам
Insдушойдушами

У меня есть душа. I have a soul.

Very often Russians will use the word душа where Americans would use the word ‘heart.’

Он красил с душой. He painted with heart.
Я благодарю вас от всей души. I thank you with all my heart.

The phrase «по душе» means ‘pleasant’ or ‘pleasing.’

Эта книга была мне не по душе. I didn't care for the book.

What is a soul exactly? A soul is the non-physical essence of a person. Across the globe the meaning and existence of the soul varies. For the Christians the soul is the spiritual side of a person that must be saved by Christ in order to go to heaven. The Egyptians believed that a person had three souls, each of which went separate ways after the person died. Many believe that the soul can be contacted through the help of mediums or other spiritual forms of contact. According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusalka and the book Russian Folk Belief By Linda J. Ivanits there is a creature called the Rusalka it is the Russian version of a mermaid. It is believed that when a young woman dies of violent circumstances or commits suicide their soul turns into one of these creatures. Around the soul are terms and phrases: soul mate, window to the soul, lover of the soul, soul music, to sell one’s soul to the devil, etc., that show the soul affects many aspects of life even if the major folklore around the soul has become irrelevant. One must be careful that they do not confuse the word душа the word for soul with the word душ the word for shower!

Мультфильм

by Janell  

Cartoon or Мультфильм in Russian is an animated show or movie. It declines as such:

SgPl
Nomмультфильммультфильмы
Accмультфильммультфильмы
Genмультфильмамультфильмов
Preмультфильмемультфильмах
Datмультфильмумультфильмам
Insмультфильмоммультфильмами

У меня есть мультфильмы из Японии. I have cartoons from Japan.
Мы рассказали о мультфильмах. We talked about cartoons.
Я узнала об этом предмете из мультфильма. I learned about the subject from the cartoon
Она умерла в мультфильме. She dies in the cartoon.(Translated as a historical present)


In America there are a lot of animated shows that are for younger audiences such as Winnie the Pooh, Alice in wonderland and many other works by Disney. But there are also cartoon shows for adults that are usually comedy based such as Archer or Venture bros. Every country has its own form of drawing styles and techniques that are represented in the animations that they have or do. Japan has coined the term anime for their productions, many of which have become international. Japanese artist studios collaborated with Russian studios to create the animated film First Squad or Первый Отряд. Cartoons have various elements that real life motion pictures may not be able to express. “The magic of Disney” relies on the animation most of the time to present the wonders it wants to convey. In Japanese culture people are very reserved and most of the time conceal their emotions, however when one watches their anime many of the characters are given various facial expression and exaggerated body language to represent the emotions in a way that cannot be conveyed in real life.

Ласточка

by Don  

Outside my apartment here in Kazan every morning and evening a flock of swallows flies around catching the twilight bugs. They are swift flying, split-tailed avians. Every once in a while one flies into my balcony through an open window and, confused by all the glass, can't figure how to get back out. I walk up from behind, gently wrap it in my hands and release it through the one open window. The Russian word for swallow is ласточка.

SgPl
Nomласточкаласточки
Accласточкуласточек
Genласточки
Preласточкеласточках
Datласточкам
Insласточкойласточками

A swallow looks like this.

Вот летит ласточка! There goes a swallow!
— В чём живут ласточки?
— В гнёздах, сделанных из грязи.
“What do swallows live in?”
“In nests made of mud.”
Питаются деревенские ласточки насекомыми: мухи, кузнечики, сверчки, стрекозы, жуки и другие летающие насекомые составляют 99 % их рациона. (source) Barn swallows feed on insects: flies, grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies, beetles and other flying insects make up 99% of their diet.
— Ты любишь ласточек?
— Люблю смотреть, как они летают по двору, но их чириканье напоминает звук плотоядных птиц из фильма «Чёрная дыра».
“Do you like swallows?”
“I like to watch them fly around the courtyard, but their chirping reminds me of the sound of the carnivorous birds from the movie ‘Pitch Black’.”

Just as important as the birds themselves in Russia is the chocolate candy named after them, which looks like this.

So what is a ласточка?

Ласточка - это конфета с помадным корпусом, глазированная шоколадной глазурью. A ‘Lastochka’ is a fondant candy with a chocolate glaze.
В «Ласточке» — помада «Крем-брюле» с добавлением какао-порошка, цитрусовой подварки и сливочного масла. A ‘Lastochka’ has a crème brûlée fondant with cocoa powder, citrus extract and butter added.

This is a wonderful candy. There is another one on the market called серенада ласточки “serenade of the swallow” that looks like this.

This is almost the same in flavor to the ordinary ласточка, although the label specifies orange extract instead of citrus extract.

The Russians make wonderful candy. The only thing about Russian sweets that makes me scratch my head is their affection for meringue cookies. And those nasty waffle cookies. Hate them.

Акварель

by Janell  

Watercolor is Акварель in Russian.The word both means the watercolor paints and an actual watercolor painting. The word theoretically has a plural, but really it's mostly used in the singular.

SgPl
Nomакварельакварели
Accакварельакварели
Genакварелиакварелей
Preакварелиакварелях
Datакварелиакварелям
Insакварельюакварелями

У меня есть акварель. I have watercolors.
Он рисует акварелью. He paints with watercolors.
Научи меня писать акварелью. Teach me how to paint with watercolors.
У неё нет акварели. She doesn’t have watercolors.

Акваарель may come from the French word ‘aquarelle.’ Watercolor is a medium of art in the form of painting such as oil painting, charcoal, markers or colored pencils. One of the traits of watercolor is that it appears more transparent than marker or regular paint because it is “relatively pure with less fillers obscuring the color”. There are many different techniques for water-coloring from how you use the paints to how you lay them on the paper and what you do with the paper. Wet on Wet refers to the act of wetting the paper itself and then laying down the watercolor instead of working on a dry surface. Usually the surface used for water color has to be thicker to stand some of the rougher techniques used in watercolor.

As with many forms of art, watercolor can be used in therapy for patients as a way to express their selves if they feel they cannot with words alone, or a way to relieve stress in a positive way. For more information on watercolor such as its history or usage here is where I found most of my information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watercolor_painting.

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