Doorways - First Try

This was my first go at the Doorways challenge Kate and I are doing. It's such a great theme with so many ways to go. No pun attended! I did this long enough ago that I don't recall if I had any learning breakthroughs while I was doing it. But while I was trying to explain layer masks to Kate over the phone, I realized how they get used with adjustment layers. I didn't go back and change this collage because I liked how grungy it turned out, but I'll definitely use that knowledge in the future. The grunginess occurs when an adjustment layer filters down and effects lower layers that you had no intention of effecting.

Kate keeps saying that she will just finish up and post her projects as if there were gobs more to do to them but her doorways collage here: http://katemarkey.blogspot.com/

seems just perfect to me.

Warding Off Claustrophobia

My sister and I are doing another PS CS5 challenge - this time the theme is doors. This isn't my first attempt but I'll save that one for another post. So what have I learned with this one? One thing is how to make the files float in the document window. That's not the default in CS5 anymore but it's how I prefer to work. The tab system had led to more than one time that an open file had been inadvertently closed resulting in lost work.

I'm also getting proficient switching layer order with the control plus [ or]. That's a great thing to know when you're dragging lots of little stuff in from other files.

The background here was the inside of a vat and although I loved the curved walls, I had to create corners to keep the furniture grounded. One thing I would like to learn to do is more realistic shadows.

Another memory tweek was how much I love Billy Collins. I came across this poem while hunting for one of his containing the word "home", and after a certain point in this process, the line I used kept echoing in my head.

The fountain overflow into the vat drain hole was fun too.

Antiquities Project

One reason I treated myself to a new version of Photoshp was that my sister Kate had gotten CS5 in 2010 for Christmas. For her it was a huge step and she was getting frustrated with all she had to learn so we are now working with the same version for the first time in years. And we both have a lot to learn! This project was a start. We each made a background (courtesy of some techniques I found in Digital Art Wonderland) and then each picked some images that fitted our theme of Antiquities. Her project is here: http://katemarkey.blogspot.com/

Thanks for looking!!

Meshy Mirrors

This is my entry for the Smeared and Smudged January Bloghop - the challenge is MESH IT.

I had gotten myself some nice Christmas presents, Photoshop CS5 and a book called Digital Art Wonderland by Ange Sullins and Silas Toball. So when the bloghop notice was posted, I was already knee deep in this as a learning project. The mesh idea seemed a wonderful way to differentiate their arches. I grabbed a new meshy dishcloth and an old green onion bag. Seriously, who doesn't save all of their old mesh onion bags? They were scanned into PS, given a blending mode and a layer mask (I learned how to transfer one from another layer).

Then I needed to add the undersea stamps to the sea side. They are Seahorse by Rubber Stamp Avenue, Bubbles by Impressive Stamps, and Spiral Shell by Impression Obseession. The border stamp down the middle is from Ann-ticipations, one of my favorites. I found the quote online and it seemed appropriately creepy.

If you happened upon this accidentally, check out all of the other great entries in the S & S January bloghop from the blogroll in the side bar.

The Very Dark Side of Steampunk

This is my entry for the Dark Side of Steampunk challenge at Smudgy Antics.
As I was turning over in my mind what I considered the dark side of Steampunk, I was coming up with parallels between Victorian times and some aspects of contemporary life: now the child labor laws are being bandied about in US politics, the pollution is from fracking in addition to coal burning, state supported mental institutions were closed en masse in the seventies and eighties. Okay, maybe a little too dark, until I read in the paper they are going to starting a fracking well about 6 miles up the road. So this isn't nearly dark enough!!


Even the whimsical drawing (Digital Things on Etsy) by Alfred Robida from 1883 showing his vision of the future on steam portrays plenty of pollution. Prostitute #1 and crying girl with dog are from 100 Proof Press, charitable child is ALA Art, architectural drawing is from Artful Illusions, the rest of the figures are from Dover clip art books. The quote I found online.


So....is this too dark or not dark enough??

The Empress of Useless Feelings

While playing a Big Fish game "Puppet Show: Lost Town" I came across this box man and grabbed my camera. Thank goodness I had the presence of mind to do it at that point because once you found his head and put it on, you couldn't get a close up.

I knew I had to make a box person for a good friend for Christmas. Mine turned out to be a box Empress and I made it a receptacle for some dark things I'd been thinking about.

I bought a wooden box to use but after I'd made the head, it was much too small for the original box and I found this paper mache one in a drawer of alterable containers. You know - Altoid tins in two sizes, candy boxes, interesting cardboard boxes someone will wonder why I saved! I've never used so much glue on a single project in my life.

In a nod of the hat to Big Fish Games, I photographed her on a couch and in my animal chair where she becomes a "Hidden Object".

Spinach Asiago Pizza

One day last week we were going to get a hard frost. There's not much left in the garden that would bother - kale is okay with it - but there were several spinach plants left so I decided to make spinach pizza - one of our favorites. I picked and cleaned the spinach and we only had 16 ounces but it just seemed more weighty than the grocery store stuff we ususally use so decided to go with less. If you don't like spinach, I'm sure this won't convince you but spinach fresh from the garden is like asparagus fresh fom the garden - unbelievable!! It has a hint of apple flavor and it it sweet! In our three years of gardening with this huge garden, this is the first time I've managed to get spinach planted.
Anyway, back to the pizza. I had checked and we had the asiago and some mozzarella to substitute for the monterey jack. At the last minute, we couldn't find any rosemary so had to go out to the garden with a flashlight and pick some. I made the crust from scratch with a recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. We don't eat vegetarian all the time but this cookbook is loaded with so many yummy recipes.
The pizza stone is almost brand new - Todd got it for us when he was home early in October, but you can see it's already well loved (and used).
The pizza was wonderful!! And we got an extra crust for the freezer!!