Photoshop Final Project

So I have been taking this Photoshop class, as I may have reported. Here is my final project, a self-portrait. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, although after I finished I thought of several other things I could have done. And this wasn't the FIRST thing I tried. For me, the hardest part is deciding WHAT to do. Figuring out HOW to do it is the fun part.

Twice in one day?

Somehow I got it backwards. The Weibel painting was done with the Winsor and Newton set, and the Campovida was done with the Sennelier. Does this really make a difference to anyone but me? Why did I bring 2 travel sets in my bag? The obvious answer is I am totally nuts. Duh.

Here I am!

It seems I'm just not a daily blogger. I always think I will be, but then life takes over and I do something else instead. But last weekend I went to several wineries in our beautiful Mendocino county and was inspired. I actually did 2 watercolor sketches in plein air, with other people all around! Sketching in public!

So, here they are. What do you think? They are 6" x 10", top one with W & N travel kit and pen and ink, bottom with Sennelier travel kit. It was a great weekend.

March already!

I have been taking a Photoshop class at the local community college, and our most recent assignment was to create a magazine ad for a product, real or imagined. Of course, there were required elements to use, such as scanning, using a gradient, etc.

So I scanned one of my marbled silk scarves to use as the background, and went from there. The class critique was today. I listened carefully to the input from the teacher and my classmates, came home and modified my piece; I agree their suggestions were improvements.

So here it is: I think it's rather nice. And all true! I wonder when I'll have time to make more of those fabulous scarves?

The Ticking Clock

Since November I have been involved in a wonderful project--a theatrical piece created by a local author and teacher at Mendocino College. Jody Gehrman got a grant and interviewed (with help) over 100 women about their biological clocks and choices in child-bearing (or not), and she created a play, a series of vignettes, monologues using the interviews as source material.

Not only was I interviewed for the project, but I auditioned and got a part--I played Edna, a 66-year-old mother-in-law who thinks her artsy daughter-in-law should provide her with a grandchild. Not MY story, but I was able to get into the role, with the very supportive help of our director, Rose Bell. The cast included veteran actresses and complete novices; it was a thrill for me to meet so many wonderful women.

Our performances (only 2, sorry to say) were last weekend, and were very successful. It is hoped that the play will be picked up by other theater groups. So if you see this piece being offered in your community, don't pass it up.

And now my feet are almost back on the ground. Back to the sewing room, and classes at the college. I'm enrolled in Photoshop, Life Drawing, and Feldenkrais (awareness through movement). That should keep me busy, don't you think?

for my daughter

Out running errands late this afternoon, I saw this sky, and had to take a photo, inspired by my younger daughter's love of clouds. Pretty spectacular.

Busy

I haven't been doing much drawing or painting, but I have been busy. Yep. More baby quilts. Well, maybe I haven't talked about baby quilts here, but in the last year and a half I have made 5 baby quilts. The one pictured here is by far the most colorful, and is right up there with unique and creative, too. It actually started its life as the beginning of an "art" quilt. I had put it away, and while looking for something else found it (oh, the joys of being not-so-tidy) and thought, "Not art quilt. Nope. But maybe for a baby?" It's about a yard square, and it was a gift for a friend of mine who became a grandmother for the first time. I didn't dye the fabric, but I did everything else on this quilt. Design, sewing, quilting. I've had the chance to do more longarm quilting; in fact I even took a class from one of the local experts. Fun fun fun.

The trouble with baby quilts is they go away. But they are small enough to get finished. And now I can start something new. I hear my nephew and his wife are expecting...

And for next semester, I have signed up for Photoshop. I am going to learn how to do all those things. And print them on fabric maybe, and make them into quilts. I'm having fun. Life is good.