Finally, a Photo!

Well, I fell off the radar for awhile  due to what I assumed was a problem with my aging Mac.  My Photoshop CS kept quitting on me and I was unable to save any editing that I had done (Photoshop 7 has a program error and won’t even open). Bummer, big time.  I did some research on the issue and have done what I could within the limits of what I have to work with.  No disk came with this computer when I bought it at the Used Computer Store, here in Berkeley.  What was I thinking, you might ask?  Getting a computer for less than it would cost to fix the old one.  So, I ran the disk utility program Verify,and it said my hard disk seemed to be OK.  I verified my permissions and a bunch needed fixing;I fixed them. I desperately wanted to try a Kim Klassen texture, to play with the photo.   Rather than tempt fate, the only thing I did was resize the photo. Joy of joys, I didn’t lose it!

It was taken near my studio at Urban Adamah, a garden that raises vegetables and a few chickens, had summer classes for kids, and gives the food away to those who need it.  I could barely see the flower on the screen due to the sunlight ( I have a Kodak Z1485 ) and didn’t even see the bee loaded with pollen.  It’s fairly sharp, too.  Who knew?

Fabulous Friday Finds!

Here is the first installment of my new feature, Fabulous Friday Finds.  Each Friday I will post a picture of something I have found on the street, in recycle bins, in one of my stashes, you get the picture.  Then, once a month (all I can handle at the moment) I will post what I have made with my finds.

Today’s find is two different fibers found on the street.  The grey one is linen and the gold one is most likely spun flax.  It has a straw-like quality. I am excited by the many possible uses of these fibers!

Have you found something wonderful that you just couldn’t help picking up?  Leave a comment with a link and show us what you got.  (Someday when I have the time I will do the linky thing so your pix will be visible here.)

I used the blur filter in Photoshop and then used the brush tool to reveal the fibers.  Some of the background shows in a couple of places.  Oh well, I’ll get better at this as time goes on.  Have a great day!

Struggling

I can’t believe how fast this month is speeding by.  I am going to have to figure out how to slow things down!  Would that I could.  Today, I finally managed to get into the studio for about 3 hours.  It felt foreign to me to be there away from my Honey.  I am not so worried about his being home alone any more.  I know that he will take it easy.  I have been so used to being his caregiver that I  am having a difficult time adjusting to the fact that I need to be in my studio for more than 3 hours in a day.  I want to.  I have to get back on the money-making horse and give it a ride.  My own art making has had to take a back seat to everything else that has been going on.  Today, I remedied that.  Last week I took some pictures and have been playing around in Photoshop using some of the things that I learned in Kim Klassen’s Skinny Mini Photoshop class ( have to check if this is the correct title and give you all a link) as well as one of her textures(Live, Laugh,love, I think).  Anyway, here it is.  Click for a larger view.

 

Rose Unrestrained

My Last Cup of Tea

My Last Cup of Tea

This is my last image from the “My Cup of Tea” ALN challenge.  In this one I used the Curves adjustment to change the colors.  It is quite striking.  I have been enjoying my adventures in Photoshop.  I have also been creating some textures of my own and used the one I made from gluing my dried tea bags to watercolor paper on this photo as well.  I believe that I am ready to move on to other photos.  Four manipulations of this image is quite enough.

Next up is the October ALN challenge, Dia de Los Muertos… Day of the Dead.

My Third Cup of Tea

So, my third picture has been altered in a way that gives a vignette-like feeling.  I altered the saturation of the books as well.  I really enjoyed working with one photo to make several versions of the image.  I have not started with the tea bags yet.  I need to glue them down to paper, probably water color paper.  Fortunately, I still have more month left.  I am really happy that I have these in reserve in case I don’t have time to finish the new project.  I usually wait until the last minute to work on the challenges.  Not this time!

Another Cup of Tea

My Cup of Tea, Textured

Here’s another manipulation of the original “My cup of Tea” photo.  I used a free texture from Kim Klassen and had a lot of fun with it. Scroll down to compare this image with the original.  I have one more manipulation to post and then I am on to other things.  Today’s post is short, I know!  I need to get back to work after doing nothing for a few days.