winter textures

We have been thoroughly snowed in and iced over here in the New York tri-state area. Some of my outdoor Christmas decorations are now staying probably till the end of March as I would need a sledge hammer to get them out any earlier....

Despite the severe weather now, I love winter and am always photographing all the stunning scenery that nature provides us. And even though my usual art fodder is architecture, nature still inspires me and if nothing else gives me a reason to play around in one of my favorite mediums - Photoshop.

The following photos were all taken on the fly with my phone and then played with in Photoshop. I can't even begin to keep track of all the different filters, saturations, transformations and layers that these photos have gone through. But I can tell you that I had fun playing!

icy lichen before the snow

icy lichen after I was done with it

snow patterns on outdoor furniture

snow patterns photoshopped

beautiful snow capped trees

snow capped trees digitized

icicles into snow

icicles maximized

So what should I do with these now? The thinking cap is on. Perhaps one day you might recognize one of these in my future artwork. Or not.

PS in March I'll be teaching a Photoshop based 5 day workshop at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops. Come play with me!

fooled myself

Happy New Year! There is nothing like starting the new year with a realization that I have managed to fool myself yet again.. Natalya here and here's the story:

Back in 2007, inspired by Jeanne Williamson I started a weekly journaling project in which I explored different techniques, experimented with recycled materials and generally didn't give myself any rules except for size. I kept this going for two years and then got bored and decided to do a daily sketch journal. Sketching turned into experimenting with collage and painting and printing and doodling all on the pages of the said journal. Then in 2010 I got all fancy and did monthly diptychs based on my sketches from the year before. The following year I embarked on a very ambitious project of daily journaling on fabric. I had it all figured out: monthly prompts, experiments, binding into monthly books and then....I fizzled out and quit. Yup, quit. I thought that was the end of my journaling. Got it all out of my system, no need for more.

What I didn't even realize was that I hadn't really quit, I had just changed my media. You see, back in the beginning of  2009 I started something silly and frivolous on my blog called Wordless Wednesdays. It was really just blog fodder for when I couldn't think of anything else to blog about. I copied the idea from a bunch of other bloggers, sort of fell into a trend. Without even realizing it became a habit. Somewhere in 2012 the Wordless Wednesdays became more and more architecture based, only natural as my artwork was concentrating more and more on architecture. And they became not so wordless too somehow... In 2013 I gave myself a real challenge of making Wordless Wednesday an experiment in Photoshop using photos of NYC only.

So call me slow...but it was only this week as I planned out my Wordless Wednesday challenge for 2014 that I realized that I had never quit journaling! I just changed my journaling media... Isn't hindsight great?

So what's your journaling story? Weekly, monthly, everyday? Textile, paper or computer? And how has it morphed over time?

Butterfly play

All summer long I've been focused on taking butterfly pictures.  I've done some other outdoor work -- birds and flowers -- but it's mainly butterflies.  While I enjoy simply printing as is, I often use them as springboards to other play.  In this case, I used the above photo as a base for the digital paintings below. 

 

The above is made by taking the photo, duplicating it, adding various effects to it like noise, and then playing around.  While nothing has yet turned into fiber work, I have lots of ideas.  I had hoped to put up some work based on another photo I took of a statute.  Maybe next month ... stay tuned!

P.S. I apologize for the obnoxious copyright info, but too many times my images have ended up on the websites of others.  I certainly don't mind sharing, but I do at least want credit.  :)

From a Single Poppy

Gloria here.

I get immense enjoyment from photography and often use it as a springboard for various design ideas and the basis of new artwork. A year or so back, a new hospital was constructed in the area.  As a result of that construction, there were some gorgeous poppy fields that sprung up that I happily visited and photographed on several occasions.  Yesterday I drove over to see what the poppy fields might look like. Unfortunately, with the earth now settled, there were far more daisies and other wildflowers than poppies. Even so, I managed to find a few few to photograph. This is an example of how one poppy became the springboard to various ideas.

This is the original photo. It's not particularly good, but I like the flower in focus and the soft light behind it.

I used the "content aware fill" to get rid of the weed on the upper right, and I used the "exposure brush" to darken the left edge.

I then added a mask to the edge to create a frame. This I will print as is for my journal.

In this version, I played around with the colors, clarity, and edge to create another look.

One of my favorite things to do in Photoshop is chop up images, repeat portions, and see what happens.  I refer to them as "chop and repeats." I do this as a jumping off point to see what types of ideas might happen. It becomes very addictive, with one idea immediately giving way to the next. Luckily I recently got a new 3 TB hard drive, so I have plenty of space for play.  By the end of last night, I had a folder filled with nearly 50 variations (and I have no doubt I will be doing more, as the ideas keep coming).

 

Next I will print many of these "chop and repeats" along with the original source photos to add into my sketchbook. My hope is they will become a springboard for some smaller works in fiber.  I am already anxious to use the photo itself for some watercolor sketches.  What fun!

Architecturally Inspired ~ Delicately Stitched

Liz Kettle here with you today. I am thrilled to be able to introduce you all to new 8 That Create member, Natalya Aikens. I have loved Natalya's work ever since I first came across it on the web many years ago. We share a love of vintage fabrics, stitching and architecture. Welcome to 8 That Create Natalya!

 Natalya takes the seeming unrelated elements of Russia, recycling and photography and melds them together to create magical pieces of art. Her work is evocative of a beautiful memory, history and stories of a special place and time. Natalya grew up in St. Petersburg Russia and much of her art reflects the folklore and beautiful architecture of Russia. Natalya currently lives in New York and finds inspiration in her surroundings as she explores with camera in hand. Many of her photographs find their way into her artwork.

 

"Marrying together of the disparate influences on my art – heritage and recycling – is my greatest challenge and my greatest pleasure. It is what drives me into my studio everyday."                             Natalya Aikens     

                                                                                                                  

Natalya is passionate about recycling and likes to add bits of plastic and mesh bags as well as paper into her work. Natalya's goal is to transform trash into something treasured and sophisticated.

You can see more of Natalya's beautiful work on her website and you can connect with her on Facebook and Twitter as well as right here at 8 That Create.

 

A quick peek into Natalya's creative space

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Isn't it fun to see what is in someone else's space? I have some of those insulators too.

I asked Natalya to share 8 little tidbits about herself with our 8 That Create followers.

1. I love to experiment with many tools and materials.
2. I don't feel married to one particular set of techniques and will use any technique to achieve a desired effect.
3. I like to think of myself as rather thrifty.
4. I love to find new ways to use old materials.
5. I enjoy listening to NPR  or books on tape while working away in my studio, but only during the execution phase, never during design.
6. I need quiet when figuring out a new design, no distractions while concentrating.
7. Costume design was my first love.
8. I have an extensive library of art, design, history of fashion and film books and I refer to them all often.

If you want to hear Natalya talk about her work check out this SAQA video interview:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_zUgrnRKho&feature=player_profilepage

 

Fashion Lines

"Fashion Lines," by Gloria Hansen
21" w x 25" h

Gloria Hansen checking in.  This piece is the second I made for the upcoming Off the Hanger: Form and Surface show that will be on exhibit from October 12th through December 2nd.

The piece is based on torn images from a Vogue fashion magazine that I collaged, photographed, digitally manipulated,  printed onto silk fabric, painted, and stitched.

A detail image

An Introduction: Gloria Hansen

Hello, I'm Gloria, and I live in East Windsor, New Jersey.  My art centers around geometric pattern, visual ambiguities, and photographic imagery, and I get tremendous satisfaction from merging my love of digital tools and technologies with traditional media to express a particular vision.

My passion for digital design began in the late 1980s. At that time, there was not much information available for using the computer as an quilt/textile design tool.  Even so, I was immediately drawn to the Macintosh and experimented with early vector and pixel-based programs  to adapt them to my artwork.  As those early programs matured and inkjet printing technologies evolved, so did my ability to use them.  Prior to the digital days, I  was involved in a wide variety of crafts, photography, art and design, and was in the Embroiderer's Guild of America's master craftsman program.  It is from this eclectic background of skills that my style developed.

Today my work continues to evolve and dance among pixels and fibers, paintbrushes and inkjet printers, and different types of media  I invite you to my website to learn more about me and the art I create.

[caption id="attachment_152" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption=""Artifications" - 41" x 42" - 2011"][/caption]

After this piece returned from an exhibit, I removed the finishing and am now in the process of adding curved lines of hand stitchery for additional texture and movement.

[caption id="attachment_156" align="aligncenter" width="250" caption=""Lost In Illusion" 2010 - 47.5" x 40.5""][/caption]

Lost In Illusionis a piece that evolved from a series of work that focuses on progressively diminishing squares and an interplay of geometric shapes.  It's a subject matter that I continue to explore.

[caption id="attachment_141" align="aligncenter" width="233" caption=""The Journey" - 2010 - 40.5" x 54""][/caption]

The Journey is a piece that combines imagery of various types of transit and flight.