He does everything for fun

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

It was a busy Sunday and it’s already bedtime. But I wanted to show you this picture of the photographer Duane Michals (He’s second from left, approaching the desk.) at the Crocker Museum today. Decades ago, when I was beginning to study photography, Michals made groundbreaking work in series and portraits. He was my hero. Today he spoke around the corner from me. He lives in New York, but has a show here. He has a great sense of humor, and one of the best things he said is

"I do everything for fun” 

Here Michals is getting ready to sign books following his talk. That building beyond the window is where the Crocker family used to live. It is now part of the Crocker Museum, and the outdoor area between is where there are often concerts and other events. A guard told me that the first plan was to have the big window area be able to rise like a garage door, so there could be a roomy celebration area, but that proved too expensive.

Love,

k

Tape and glue: image transfer with artist Julie Guyot

Applying packing tape to an image

Here's what I learned at Tuesday's Visual Journaling class with artist Julie Guyot at the Thomasville Center for the Arts in Georgia.
There are many ways to transfer an image -- make it go from a picture on paper to some other medium, such as paper ... or wood ... or fabric... Here are two methods Julie demonstrated. When I got home I tried them, and you can see my results at the bottom.

Tape transfer method

Julie recommends 3M brand packing tape. Lower-quality tape makes the image transfer  less detailed, less complete. Julie says clear contact paper also works. 

Here are her steps: Saturate the picture in water and then gently scrape the paper off. You should end up with a picture on your tape.

Glue it to your base.

Simple! I think I get it:
1. Put tape on top of your picture.
2. Soak it in water so the picture paper kind of disintegrates.
3. Rub the paper off the tape: voilá! The ink sticks to the tape.

Right now I am having lunch and when I finish I'm going to try this. Of course, I have to stifle the obvious: Why am I doing this, anyway?

To make layers. If it works (really, I'm wondering ... ) If it works, I can put this picture on top of another image, and parts of that picture will show through the empty parts.

Soaking tape-covered picture in water

Acrylic medium method

 Use gel medium. Julie used Golden brand heavy gel. Brush it on all one way.

Brushing medium onto the image

Dry until all the tacky feeling is gone (as little as 15 minutes, but preferably overnight). 

Brush another layer of sticky stuff, going in the other direction..

Dry.

Soak. Rub it gently so the paper comes off. Again, the ink is supposed to stick to the top. You have in effect made your own packing tape with a picture on it. There are various types of medium. You can choose shiny or matte surface. 

Rubbing the paper off

In her fourth class Julie also discussed adding text to your art. Basically, write with whatever you want, whatever you can; in choosing text, consider its scale, size, style.  Options include pen and ink, paint, printing. You can use maps, letters, recipes, songs, music, poetry ... 

OK, now here's my first attempt. What didn't work for me may very well be a triumph for you.

3M tape ended up blank. That's the nearly-clear tape, and below it a mess of paper I rubbed off.
I was impatient.

 Great oak tree soaking
I brushed on two layers Mod Podge, because I read in the website below that it works like the Golden medium But it didn't
This tree turned into paper scraps

I kind of like these trees
I used Golden medium

See that texture at top right?
It's the paper I was rolling off the hardened medium

Here are two that "worked"
The little one is a sunset

Here's a website I consulted on how to make photo transfer with gel medium: 

http://stacyalexander.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-to-make-photo-transfer-for-collage.html

  

How to re-size digital images

My husband used to have this round thing on his desk; he called it his 'round to it. The joke was he'd never get around to doing certain things, so he filed them under the round thing.

For much more than a year I've been intending to learn to resize digital photographs, because shows and publications have specifications. Today I forced myself to watch this how-to video by Gloria Hansen. She is my new hero! Clear, pleasant, no hype. Of course, I haven't actually done it yet, but the video is a start. Save the link for when you get around to needing to resize your digital images. 

Deep lessons in digital photography

Sunshine Alterations
 in our neighborhood
taken for digital photography class

I took Charles Badland's digital photography class at LeMoyne Gallery so I can photograph my art and enter shows. I learned a few more basic lessons as well:

• A good camera takes better pictures.
• Take my camera everywhere.
• Take extra batteries too.
• Read the manual.
• Take lots of photos.
• All those aperture and speed options make sense if I spend time using them.
• Photos make me see. 

I still need practice photographing my art. Here are two sites that will help:
Shoot that quilt
Artcall for entries. Tells how to resize photos using Photoshop and has basic photo guidelines from Maria Elkins

I want to help Mary, who makes window treatments. Her photos tend to emphasize the bright window more than the lovely drapes. When I see her we'll explore:

HDR
High Dynamic Range -- a setting that takes three photos of the same subject, then combines the results into a single photo with the best light balance. Badland said he thinks the newest iPhones have this option.

Photo show at Capitol Building

Looking down Apalachee Parkway from the 22nd floor of the Florida Capitol Building

I've been meaning to see the view from the top of the Florida Capitol building, and when our digital photography teacher, Charles Badland (what a great name!) mentioned he's participating in a photo exhibit there, it was the perfect time. Go to the 22nd floor -- and you get a beautiful view. The exhibit of work by FSU MFA in photography graduates closes Oct. 31.

Barber, Deland, FL
M. Laine Wyatt
Archival digital inkjet print
(The blue sky is a reflection, not part of the photo -- but I love what it does! It is hard to avoid reflections because the gallery has generous windows to view the city. So the beautiful day is from over my shoulder and out the window, reflected on the protective glass of the photo.)

Photo class: Making background blurred or detailed

Who dares call this butterfly common?

Upside down on the cardinal guard plant in our backyard

Shallow depth of field achieved through wide aperture and luck

Fast shutter speed stopped rivulet  running down  the blacktop where Miller Landing Road meets Lake Jackson
 

Same rainy morning at Lake Jackson
Fast shutter speed stopped the waves made from raindrops
(above and below)

I'm not sure how I got this, but I like the shadows, reflections, and underwater grass
It's a closeup, obviously, and probably fast shutter speed
It's hard to make notes while shooting

More water stopped with fast shutter speed on the way downhill

Pine trees at Phipps Park, via wide-angle lens and fast shutter speed.
This looking-through-the-wrong-end-of-a-bottle distortion may be a cliché , but I like it

Homely wildflower: shallow depth-of-field through wide aperture

Detail all the way back through fast shutter speed
(above and Lake Victoria, below)

Pictures close to home

I showed these photos at the digital photography class at LeMoyne Wednesday.

Grapes on our table

I set out to take pictures last Saturday and the first person I saw was out taking pictures on Saturday

Road kill on our street

Another kind of road kill,  thrown into the street and then run over

Not sure -- might be weeds

Looking out the front window before sunrise

Through the trees as the sun comes up

Dancing in the street

Watch out, neighborhood! I'm carrying my Canon everywhere... and losing my shyness.

Graceful moves
Work on electric line slowed traffic along Meridian Road this morning.

Leaves along the way

Icon or eyesore?
Making way for sidewalk on Bradford Road

I've got my own age lines, not as beautiful as these.

Grapes from above

Grapes from above

I've been carrying my good camera (got to remember what kind it is...  ) to capture inspiration.

This picture, from just a second later, not as big a file. 52 kilobytes. The above is 4.4 megabytes... I'm not positive which is bigger ... See?? I'm still confused. OK, m-w.com says kilo is 1000. Kilobyte means 1,024, because it's the power of 2 closest to 1,000. Term first used in ... take a guess... 1970. There were no kilobytes by name before 1970. Thank you. Megabytes means a million bytes. Now I've got it.

Quilt Photography

It looks like I'm a serious photographer here. It's the tripod and the lights. No -- it's me! I am serious about taking good photos of my quilts. Shoot that quilt is my favorite how-to site. They convinced me to get the lights and tripod. (Well, I already had the tripod. The lights came from eBay.) Because of this site, I'm waiting until dark to take my photos, for true color reproduction. And I just finished a photo course via QuiltUniversity. I didn't take full advantage of the instructor, who was always available for feedback, but I did learn some basics, including how to resize and organize my images, and also the importance of reading the camera manual. (Duh, why didn't I think of that?)

A better shot

Lake Jackson
applique
8" x 10"

Photos from my iPhone 3GS are snappy, but not always exact in either color or shape. I want to enter my art in shows, and I have to send pictures of my work.  So I've been learning -- slowly! -- how to take better photos. Shades of Dr. Peterson, my photojournalism professor at Ohio State! I still hear him insisting that pushing the button is NOT what taking photos is all about. It's the preparation. Background, distance, lighting ... Shoot That Quilt is a good introduction, and I'm taking photographing your quilts with Janice Baehr at Quilt University online at the end of September.

Gold Cone Flowerapplique
11" x 14"

Balance
collage
11" x 14"