Secret Sunday - Photoshop Tip

A reminder about Secret Sunday at the Altered Page:"Join the The Altered Page every Sunday for "Secret Sunday." Here the secrets of all your favorite artists will be revealed. It could be a technique, a product, a secret source, a little-known website, a hidden shop, an inspiration, just about anything!"

Be sure to check out the other secret's at the Altered Page. They are varied and interesting. Mine is not so much a secret, but a cool Photoshop Tip:

If you want to turn an image into a sepia tone, or any monochromatic color here's a good way to do it while preserving the color of your original image. With your image open in PS select Layer, New Fill Layer, Solid Color. Select a color you like. You can change your choice later. Then, go to the layers menu and select the Solid Color Layer and choose Color from the blending mode menu. It provides a nice color overlay giving your piece any monochromatic color you wish. You can select the color in the layers menu and change it to any other color or transparency. This way you have preserved the color of the original image and given yourself many options for a color overlay.

Click photos to embiggen.

Glass Pebble Collage

Paperwhimsy digital images collaged in Photoshop.

New Digital Collage Using Paperwhimsy Images

These are made entirely in Photoshop using Paperwhimsy's new line of hybrid images. Some are available on cards at Cafe Press. A couple of them are available as prints in my Etsy shop.

On the Newstands Dec 1, 2009

Disintegration Collaboration Project Reveal

full view of final piece

top view

Here is the link to the original PRE DISINTEGRATION photos and the initial REVEAL post. Today we have the final reveal photos - the finished product.

Hop on over to Seth's blog, our gracious host, to find the links to ALL the disintegration collaboration project reveals. Now that I've done this once, I have an idea about what I would like to disintegrate next time. Some of the papers I buried disintegrated into nothing and some were aged nicely. I carefully cleaned off the papers and put them in my freezer in a plastic bag to be sure there was no wildlife left in them.

I loved the papers stacked together, so I used most of them for this bundle/collage. I sewed onto one page a fabric paperwhimsy image using a piece of cloth under the page in order to keep it together solidly. When sewing through the old paper, it can cut it into two pieces as the sewing machine makes it's perforated line.

paperwhimsy image

little book inspired by Stepanie Lee

Inspired by Stephanie Lee, I made a little book out of some of the pages which is attached to the peace and love vintage ribbon. Since I love bling as much as rust, I added a row of rhinestones to top it all off.

side view of the stacked and aged papers

Next time, I will bury more components. I'll bury some cloth, and more string. And some rusty things wrapped in cloth. I'm off to collect and gather now - what will you disintegrate next?

side view of the stacked and aged papers
Thanks to Seth for coming up with the idea and hosting the project.

New Piece and upcoming DisCo project

August 1st is the date for artwork to be made for the DisCo project

(disintegration collaboration) The Altered Page

See the sidebar on Seth's blog for the before and after photos of the participants disintegration items. I will be working on my disco piece next.

On another note,I just finished a piece today (not a DisCo piece) and I leave you with a photo:

and a link to my etsy shop where this little gal is for sale. Thanks for looking!

Happy to Announce Recent Publications

Summer 2009 Premier Issue of Art Quilted Studio

and

Published in Collaborative Art Journals and Shared Visions in Mixed Media

by LK Ludwig (available on Amazon) I was the letter X in the Alphabet Soup Book.

This is the original collage for the letter x.

May 1 Disintegration Project Reveal

The ground was too cold when I buried the papers so I couldn't dig a deep enough hole to include the metal box.

First reveal.

To check all of the links for this interesting project go check Seth's blog here: http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/

I may have taken the challenge too literally. My packages were buried in the garden and some papers almost totally disintegrated. There is enough however, to make something from the pieces. I have to figure out a way to get the underground wildlife off them before I can bring them into the house to work with. Suggestions welcomed.

The fabric did well - I will try this again with fabric - colored fabric, fabric laid with rusted metal, white fabric - this has opened good future possibilities. I need the time between now and August to clean up the papers, dry off the mold and de-bug them. Check back on August 1st for the third part of the project - displaying art made from the project papers. Thanks Seth!

May 2 - Got some of the papers laid out a little and opened up - they look promising!

After - Click to enlarge

Before and After - Click to enlarge

Postcard Pretty - Cherry Blossoms

Disintegration Collaboration

While I can't bury my papers today for the Disintegration Project I did bundle them up and place them in the rusty container where they will reside until the un-bundling in May. When the ground unfreezes I'll likely bury the whole thing in the soft garden soil when they will do what they will. Many of my papers are very old...dating back to the 50's. Many of them were rescued from a dumpster, unwanted, already aged. By burying and recovering them once again, they will have new life. I'll unbound them and use them in some new mixed media pieces.

Thank you Seth for the project!

Happy Valentine's Day

A stack of Valentines

I picked Valentine's Day as a holiday to celebrate this year. I'm hosting a Valentine swap at Paperwhimsy and I decided to give everyone who signed up a Valentine. I've been busy!

These are fabric collages roughly 5" x 7"

Brighter Bigger Moon tonight!

The biggest full Moon of 2009 - brighter and wider!

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/08jan_bigmoon2009.htm


Post script: here is a photo of my view of this moon.

Art Quilting Studios by Stampington

One of Stampington's new magazines will be about Art Quilting. I read Jenny Doh's blog and I was thrilled to see this post about the new magazine. The second Or This... - the orange one, is mine! What a fun way to discover that I was going to be included in the premier issue of the new magazine.


HERE is where you can find information about the magazine. June will be here before we know it and I'm excited about this new magazine.

I love to participate in Stampington's Calls and Challenges for their magazines. The calls for this magazine gave me the courage to start 'art' sewing and moving my collages to fabric which has been tremendous fun for me.

New Year New Work 2009

Source materials

Detail " How do I love thee"

"How do I love thee?" 5.5" x 7"

Sewing, layering, adding. These new pieces are wispy and ethereal. Silks, cottons, ribbons, beads, feminine. New work for the new year yet it feels familiar to me.