Three for the price of one.

A combination of college, Babybel and a stomach bug you don’t want to read about has made me get a bit behind with the photo challenge.

College was busy, but more productive for me personally than it has been for a while. I got my draft essay back [no problems, go away and write it], had my photos taken and, in a very positive peer review session, got some good suggestions about my 3D piece and about how I should present it in the exhibition. I don’t know whether I’ll have time/motivation to make changes to the piece itself, but the suggestion about display was easy to follow up, involving only a trip to Staples, which is conveniently close to Babybel’s nursery. All I need to do now is remember to take some scissors and our long arm stapler next week for construction purposes. The great advantage of making something deliberately grungy is that you can make the presentation grungy too…

The down side was that we were unexpectedly given more homework – the  obscurely phrased ‘Mark as stitch x 50’ – which I take to mean 50 examples of stitch used to make marks. This is on top of the [non-draft] version of the essay, and the open-ended Personally Managed Sketchbook and Personal Cloths. The up side of that is that I feel quite enthused about stitch as mark [SAM?] – perhaps because it will be nice to get back to doing some proper stitch.

I did think of stitching on used colour catchers, assuming I’ve got 50, but in the middle of an insomniac morning, decided a better idea would be to find one of my large pieces of too-multicoloured-to-use-in-a-proper-piece hand dye, and work into that, rather as I might doodle on a randomly painted piece of paper. Of course finding a suitable piece was more difficult than I anticipated – too small, too big, too dominating a pattern, too good to use for that – but I did find this, and a selection of threads which may or may not match, because I picked them out in artificial light.

So have I got started on all this homework? Of course not. After mucking around with PSE, I spent the afternoon sitting in the conservatory [pleasantly warm if not sunlit] and working on the beaded bag, which I feel I ought to finish before starting anything else. And drinking tea and listening to Radio 3’s ‘Light Music Weekend’, which is a delight for anyone brought up with the Light Programme in the 50s.

But I digress – back to the photo challenge.

Wednesday's was ‘Hands’. This started off with the Surreal photomontage effect from PFAEC, but got simplified and filtered.

 

 

 

Thursday was ‘Sunflare’, but not much sun, so I used a holiday photo which needed a bit of sun added to it.

 

And today’s is ‘Animal’, for which there was really only one choice.

Quality Control meets the Cubists – or rather the Cubism effect from PFAEC, with afterthought sepia/glow in Picasa. She really needed more cubes and more distortion, but I think I was up to 25ish layers before I got bored and gave up.

 

 

 

 

These will probably be the last photos for which I use PSE, as my student’s version of CS5 arrived today [very prompt service from Adobe, Germany to Hampshire in 2 days!] so I’m looking forward to playing with that while continuing to enjoy a nostalgic weekend on Radio 3.

It’s been a long, tiring day

and today’s photo challenge was particularly challenging – so I’m not sorry that I cheated a bit with it – well, quite a lot really.

So here’s one I made earlier.

The challenge was ‘bokeh’ – which I had to Google – and I’m still not sure if it means an out of focus background, or those circular blobs, or both, or neither.

I did try a couple of tutorials on how to make your own bokeh backgrounds but they were written for Photoshop, and I couldn’t get my brain round them for PSE – so the first cheat was to use a pre-made texture I found on the web. Well, the second cheat, I suppose, as I could have tried to take a bokeh photo with my camera instead of Photoshopping it. Yeh, right.

So this is the view of the Needles from Highlife Castle, with added blobby bits, and a darkish filter to make it look mysterious.

If I'd made it even earlier I could have cheated even more and used it for ‘silhouette’ as well…

Something orange?

It’s another colour I don’t have much of – if you know what I mean, but it’s today’s challenge topic.

Fortunately the packaging industry is much keener on orange than I am – which means that a quick glance through my litter photos and a lot of muttering and swearing over Photoshop produced this. For once, it isn’t a PFAEC effect – just an extracted image, a textured background, and a trawl through the filters till I found one I liked.

And for once – I've done some sewing. Nothing at all to do with college, and not something I designed myself, just taken from a print-out of a bag pattern I got somewhere. Not my sort of colours [mmm – a hint of orange?], but based on the Chinese brocade you can just about see in the middle. I’ve been sitting in the conservatory enjoying a sunny interval and doing a bit of beading – very relaxing.

Of course, now it’s clouded over, and we are bracing ourselves for the arrival of [grand]father’s day well-wishers, so the beading has had to be put away.

I’ve caught up…

but I expect to fall behind again tomorrow!

Days 11 & 12 of the 30 day photo challenge are ‘something blue’ and ‘sunset’: one of these was much accessible than the other.

There are a lot of blue things around here, apart from jeans – sofas, curtains, carpet, vases, crockery, towels, eyes – yes, we like blue.

So what to choose? I've already discovered that I’m too impatient to spend time arranging still lives, and carpets and curtains seemed a bit restrictive – so I pulled a few things out of the sideboard, and photographed them individually, before deciding to go with this.

In case you can’t work out what it is, it’s a millefiori paperweight – which is blue – just not this blue!

This is the ‘silkscreen’ effect from PFAEC, which gave lots of practice in extracting shapes and using layers – and I managed to work out how to add a frame border –PSE calls it a border, who am I to argue?

‘Sunset’ was rather more of a challenge: yesterday was overcast, so no sunset, and I’ve given up expecting one today as it has been raining heavily all day [has summer come?]

So I cheated.

When we went to ‘Another Place’ last month, I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a proper sunset, although I did take some photos of the light on the water.

 

 

 

PFAEC has an effect called ‘luminous landscape’ – or in my case, seascape. 

Quite pleased with that.

Tomorrow is Babybel and gym, so I don’t know if I’ll have the time to tackle ‘Myself with 13 things’…

And last Sunday’s challenge was…

to take a photo from a high angle – while Monday’s was, perhaps unsurprisingly, to take one from a low angle. Both of which said ‘stairs’ to me. I did think of lying down in the garden and photographing the trees and sky but there was too much of an overlap with ‘clouds’ and ‘green’ so I abandoned that idea.

I took several shots from the top of the stairs but the one which appealed most was this one – my attempt at the ‘lith printing’ effect from ‘Photoshop Fine Arts Effects Cookbook’. I wanted to get a slightly spooky B-movie effect and this is the closest I got.

Looking the other way, I tried the ‘Polaroid transfer’ effect. That border isn’t quite right, but I enjoyed adding the wiggles.

That – and a bit of knitting - is about all the creative stuff that’s happened recently. I hope to get something college-related done tomorrow afternoon – although I suppose improving my Photoshop skills is college related. Wonder if I should put these in my PMS?

One down…

a few more to go. Modules, that is. I handed in Module 9 today, although I was still finding interesting book artists last night – or rather this morning, after insomnia struck again. Enjoyed it [the RP, not the insomnia], but I'm glad it’s done. The draft of Module 11 is due next week, and then there are no more deadlines until next term – apart from the end of term show.

We all had tutorials on the PMS and the Personal Cloths – or in my case the Personal Papers. Obviously, if I’m going to work in paper, there is an overlap between the two, but I suggested that the PMS would be about the structure of books, and the PCs about the contents, and that was acceptable – although it was strongly suggested that either might wander off in other directions and that would be OK.

Now all there is left of the second year of the degree is two sessions of peer review, photographing the sketchbooks from drawing studies for video display in the exhibition, setting up the display and stewarding it. Not sure where the two years have gone.

Insomnia did give me a chance to play around with some more of my photos in PSE. Challenges 3&4 are ‘clouds’ and ‘something green’. For some reason I often seem to photograph clouds when I go to Walford Mill, so I took some more when we went there yesterday.

Guess what the weather was like? I did try photoshopping this one, but it wasn’t improved by the process, so this is the original.

I wanted to avoid the obvious solution for ‘something green’ – but there are very few green things around here, apart from the obvious. I did assemble a green still life – knitting bag, watering can, water bottle, potted plant – but I am clearly no Cezanne and the result looked dreadful, so I drifted down the garden and found some cobnuts, which the squirrels haven’t got to yet.

I took some photos, one of which looked like this – a combination of the wind and, I think, a bit of stray finger on the right.] By the wonders of PSE I combined it with a better one

 

and ended up with this. OK. it’s not as green as it was, but it’s not quite the obvious solution, and I like it. [Didn't know you can get catkins and nuts at the same time.]

Day 9’s challenge is ‘someone you love’ – and tomorrow is Babybel day – so guess who that will be? [Sorry, Wensleydale.]

Just a couple of steps behind…

so no change there.

While we were on holiday I came across this, and as I’m trying to improve my minimal photography and Photoshop skills, I thought it would be something to add to the roster of things I’ve started but not finished try.

I think the idea was that we started on June 1st – and I really meant to – but we were on holiday and other things took precedence – like the aforementioned eating and drinking too much.

So I started today, but I have taken several photos in an attempt to catch up. I haven’t photoshopped all of them, photographing being quicker than photoshopping, at least the way I do them, but here are the first two.

The first challenge was a self portrait, but shy, retiring soul that I am, I ducked out of the problem of trying to work out how to take a self portrait which actually showed what I look like, and went for a reflection instead.

I’ve been playing around with ideas from ‘Photoshop Fine Art Effects Cookbook’, which, as it’s written for Photoshop rather than Elements, has been even more of a learning experience. ‘Fine Art’ in this context includes historic photographs as well as paintings and prints.

This is my attempt at a fake wet plate collodion print from the 1850s to the 1890s. It was taken in the conservatory looking into the dining room so there are quite a lot of reflections of things other than me.

The second challenge is ‘What I wore today’. Now this runs into the same problems as a self portrait – how do I photograph what I’m wearing? I could take it off – but it’s not bed time yet.

So what is easily visible? Well, the things I keep having to crop out of any photos I take of things on the floor.  Yes, my feet.

My skin isn’t actually blue, you understand, and neither is anything else – this my attempt at a cyanotype, c1840s, with a black line added by Livewriter without my consent.

Earlier on in the day I had collected my sewing machine from the repairers – so thanks for your suggestions, Sandy, which I will try if the Teflon foot doesn't work.

We also went out to Walford Mill to see the exhibition ‘Under and Over’, which is an interesting combination of very wearable clothes and accessories, and not-really-meant-to-be-worn art works inspired by clothes. I particular liked Carole Waller’s wonderful painted clothing, Elisabeth Hamlyn’s knitwear [oh, to have the figure/courage to wear it], and Elizabeth Forrest's combinations of recycled items of clothing and poems in calligraphy.

Funny how satisfying a busy day can be…

Tomorrow is the Research Project hand-in day. I keep finding new bits to add, so my initial plan not to include any print-outs has gone by the wayside – though I have read them all.

Faffing about.

After college on Wednesday, and a helpful tutorial, I have a much better idea where I’m going with the current college work. One of my concerns was that we had been asked to research a topic without any guideline about the essay we would be writing using the products of our research – which is far too open-ended for me. And the more I looked at artist’s books, the more things to research I found – it was getting a bit overwhelming.

But I now have an idea of a title – sort of – which will help to focus subsequent research – sort of. ‘European artist’s books from Blake to Cheshire Cheese, with reference to the role of technology in the development of the genre.’ Or words to that effect. The Cheshire bit is because I was encouraged to make some books and discuss them in the essay. The next module is ‘personal cloths’ – though, as it turns out, cloths can be books. Or books can be cloths. Oddly, I find that idea quite scary – it means I will have to stop faffing around making samples and start making something with content!

I couldn’t get started yesterday because it was was Babybel and Gym day. Some art did take place, but little of it was mine.

Some art on paper ‘The sea, a beach, and a road’. Reminds me a bit of Alfred Wallis <g>.

 

 

 

 

And some of it not on paper. I know Picasso talked about trying to revert to painting like a child, but I doubt he ever painted his legs blue…

Fortunately I had already planned to put her in the bath after the painting.

 

 

I did manage a bit of faffing around with Photoshop Elements, including some disembodied dandelions, but that was all.

 

 

 

 

 

So today I was going to start thinking seriously about the essay – the first draft is due in in June, so there’s not much time.

Did I?

Of course not. And not because I was watching that over-hyped wedding. [Bah! Humbug!]

First I did a bit of ironing – I do do boring things like that occasionally. Especially when I'm procrastinating.

Then I started to tidy the workroom – which led into sorting out a file to put all the stuff I’ve collected.

Then while I was putting stuff in the file, I thought ‘don’t file that, make it’. So I did.

A couple of volvelles, inspired by a picture of a shield. One from junk mail, one from the backs of envelopes.

 

 

 

More playing around with the backs of envelopes,

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the front of an envelope, with more junk mail

 

 

 

 

 

 

and another envelope and a scrap of hand made paper. It’s based on the Turkish Map fold, but I changed it by folding the base in, curving the edges, and attacking it with a star punch. I'm sure someone has added extra folds to this structure before, but I have never seen it, so I’m quite pleased with myself for ‘inventing’ it. And I love the shadows it casts.

I did eventually get round to a bit of work on the essay.

I made a mind map.

And tonight? Mmm – more faffing around with Photoshop, I think. Or possibly Sumopaint.

Procrastinate? Me?

What a dreadful assignment!

First day back at college and what are we asked to do? Work with a partner to take photos of each other, manipulate them in Photoshop, print them off and make a book of the best, and then produce a paper based triptych on the theme of ‘Past, Present and Future’ inspired, more or less, by our images.

I’m sure you realise how devastated I was by this.

There were two drawbacks – first, that the college network was working at the speed of a paralytic tortoise, and the other that this implied that I should limit myself to Photoshop - which of course I ignored.

Fortunately I’d treated my self to PS Elements as an early birthday prezzie, so I came home and played with it.

This is the ‘Cut-out’ filter.

 

 

 

 

And PostworkShop – this is ‘Outlines with Scanned Brush’.

Hope the pictures aren’t meant to be recognizable.

 

 

 

 

And Befunky – ‘Holgaart’ . I'm in there somewhere.

The book is called ‘How to Survive Modern Art’.

 

 

 

 

 

And Sumopaint – the ‘Kaleidoscope’ filter, which does a good job of showing off my Frida Kahlo eyebrows.

I don’t have purple hair, I was wearing a hat with purple flowers on it.

 

 

 

I may get round to GIMP,  and some of the other programs I tried out in the great flower extravaganza, [just search for passion flower’ or ‘dahlia’ on my blog], if I decide the current 190 or so images aren’t enough.

Yes, I have spoken to Wensleydale in the interim, and looked after Babybel, been to the gym and done a few chores – although progress was helped by another bout of insomnia last night.

Then there are the other important decisions, like what sort of binding to use – currently thinking of a simple codex, but with flaps and holes and fold outs – and how I can wangle a triptych into a book format. 

This was all supposed to be doable in the college time left over from thinking about topics for our research project and having tutorials on it.

Fat chance.

Suppose I ught to write a research proposal too. My preferred topic? Artists’ books …