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?

Five Questions (and answers!)

 

This week is week 4 of the Behind the Scenes class.  Speaking of behind… I am way behind.  In any case, I have completed the 5 question survey instead of trying to catch up.  I had multiple answers to some questions because I have a hard time choosing one thing out of the many I like!  Oh well…. Anyway, here goes!

1. What makes you happy?….. in 5 words or less….?   Playing with my art materials.

2. Which talent would you most like to have?  Speaking without getting tongue-tied.

3. Which words or phrases do you overuse most?   Idiot!   (used while driving);  awesome, and bits.

4. What is your favourite movie, book or both?   Movie: Jaws.   Book: Out of the Silent Planet, C.S. Lewis.

5. If you could go anywhere in the world for a creative retreat where might it be?  Someplace warm, near the ocean such as Bora Bora, San Diego, Santorini.

In spite of being behind, I am really enjoying this class!

My Timeline

My Timeline

Well, here it is.  I hope that you can read it.  I created this in Image Ready and Photoshop and really flew by the seat of my pants.  My Photoshop gear was a gift and I have not really done much with it.  I guess this non-arty generic timeline will just have to do!  Click on the image to get a larger view.

Why I Blog

Our first mission in the Behind The Layers class is to tell why we blog.  Originally I started my blog to promote my quilting and quilt restoration business.  From there it morphed into a blog where I also showed my artwork and talked about  things going on in my life.  I am not sure if I need a dedicated blog for my business or if throwing everything into the mix will give my readers a better idea of who I am and therefore I will become more “real” to them.  I hope that this class will help me clarify this.

Taking a class

I am taking an online class called Behind the Scenes given by Kim Klassen and Xanthe Berkeley.  It’s about blogging and finding your passion and along the way we will learn some techniques as well.  There are so many talented people “out there!”  I have been browsing the blogs of a number of the students in the class and find that they are really wonderful, well thought out and visually a feast!  The class is full.   I tried putting a button here so you could find out about the class, but failed.   Looks like I have to figure something else out.  All my widgets are used up, so I can’t put it on the sidebar.  Oh, bother!

Now, go make some art!

 

Anniversary

It has been one year since I started this blog!  I can’t believe it.  I know that I could post more often and that is a goal of mine for the second year.  I like the fact that my posts are varied, although, I don’t know if that is the best approach.  I see a lot of blogs that are very focused on one thing.  I find that my interests are so many, I don’t want to limit myself.  Perhaps some day I will create a blog that is dedicated to quilting, or making artist’s books, or painting, photography, etc.  Sounds like I would need more than one!  For right now, I will continue to make my blog a place where I can jot down my thoughts, show my latest work, or pictures of my grand kids.

Here is the first manipulated photo for the ALN “My Cup of Tea” challenge.  I used  a “vintage-look” Photoshop recipe from Kim Klassen.  It is the first one I tried and the one I had the “Aha” moment with enabling me to create the effects that Kim gets seemingly so effortlessly.

Vintage, My Cup of Tea

My Cup of Tea

Unedited Challenge Photo - My Cup of Tea

Well, I have made a good start on the next  ALN challenge :  My Cup of Tea.  In fact, I have edited the photo in Photoshop and will be posting the three  images that have resulted over the next few weeks.  I got some great information from photographer  Kim Klassen’s blog and found out how to edit my pictures and also use textures that she makes for great effects.  I will post a link when I can get it, which I can’t right now while I am composing this post, evidently.  I should have thought of that before I started this post!  In any case, she is a wonderful person who generously helped me through a problem I had due to the fact that I have an older copy of Photoshop.  She gives away awesome textures; just sign up for them.  Check it out!