CHA retreat

last weekend I spent time with a wonderful group of creative women

at kempenfelt conference centre for an artist retreat

it was the first of what I hope to be many

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 a weekend filled with workshops

resin class with carmi cimicata

brother scan and cut with joanne and Cathie

decoart painting with Debbie

powertex with brigett

coats and clark fiber with Leanne

ecstasy crafts paper arts with marilynne

also accreditation sessions

boothmanship with wendy

and ethics and standards with ann

plus a bonus gift bag from Westcott

in between classes we spent time eating

 and socializing in the evenings around the fire

i really enjoyed my time with likeminded people

learning new crafts and making new friends

 

 

o christmas tree, o christmas tree

i said it

you heard me
(for some the dreaded "c" word)

only 34 days til christmas

what are you doing to get ready??

i designed this tree pin for a class i taught yesterday

at john bead

i was like a kid in a candy store picking out all the elements

( oh, what i could do if i where locked up in this place........

like one of santa's elves, i would get so much work done)

a little wire, a mix of swarovoski and crystal beads,

and a pin to finish it off

the possibilities are endless

i think i will make one in every color

shape wire into a tree, add beads and pin

easy peasy

another alternative

since i had a few metal complex items on hand

and a wonderful letter set given to me from carmi

creative festival

this years creative festival for me was all about fiber arts

last year as i wondered the show i discover gio gaudet

and his wonderful felted coats

so this year when he was offering a class

i was excited to sign up

his work is amazing and now i appreciate just

how much work goes into one piece

------

my second class was creating texture and dimension

with christine alexiou

this is something i can do while watching tv

hopefully i will finish my sample before christmas!!

toying around

i just signed up for susan tuttle's latest class

this will be my 6th class with susan and i am looking forward

learning these new techniques

its been a while since i have taken out any of my toy cameras

since going digital i always forget about them

plus finding film is getting harder and developing expensive

but i do love the unexpected images like light leeks and double exposures

but on a flip side i do have an iphone which can replicate some of these

now if i can just get the same apps for my computer to

use in ps i will be a happy girl!!!

above left, my holga camera, photo taken on my iphone using the

camera bag app holga setting (wow !!! that was a mouth full)

right, my diana f+ photo taken on my iphone, camera bag app light leeks

bottom, my fisheye, pop 9 , action sampler. diana, holga and quad

you can see some of my photos on my flickr here

road trip

all my bags are packed and ready to head down to

woodstock and kingston, ny

i'm taking a 4 day workshop

at the center of photography and r & f paints

see you soon!!

photo magic

just a "heads up"

marie otero had a new on-line class

starting june 24

Week 1 - Photo Editing
We will cover a number of techniques for making your photos jump off the page and start with making sure they are straight, using some creative cropping, discussing rule of thirds, and how to "eyeball" a good look.

We will work with adjustment layers and some simple layer masking.


Week 2 - Fab Faces and Glamour Glow
Learn how to make your faces rock with the use of the Healing Brush and other techniques to make your up close and personal pictures look like the professionals do them.
We will work with layers, blending modes and filters in this weeks projects.


Week 3 - Creative Effects
Let's start messing around with your less than perfect images by adding layers of texture, blur, bokeh and other fun techniques so that you can learn how to make the best of even the less successful image and make it look fabulous. We will be working with layers, selection tools and oh yes, blending modes again !

Week 4 - Blog It, Share It, Show It....
This week we will focus on how to share your images online. How to create a FAB header for your blog using your own photos or images. Create a neat sidebar thumbnail or avatar. Place images into a custom made template that you can use over and over. And let's talk about text. How and when to use it, how to customize it and Embellish it!
We will also look at watermarking and custom signatures for your images.

i have taken several classes with marie and

have learned so much

she is an excellent teacher

working in RAW

that's camera raw

i'm on week two of

marie otero's

digital magic

on line class

(loving it!)

i don't shoot in raw

so i've never been exposed to it

or did i know that i could use my jpegs

marie has shown us the difference

and how to clean up an otherwise

disappointing photo

when i'm out taking photographs

first i take a lot and second i don't

like to think about it too much

my camera is usually set on automatic

(except when indoors or wheni have the patience)

and i work on them when i get home

what i do think about is

"that's a great shape", or

" that will make a great frame"

or cool grunge

"i can make a great overlap in ps"

or just " i like that"

so needless to say when i get home

i spend alot of time organizing and

cleaning up my favorite shots

------

above a shot from my paris trip

we where on the shady side of the

opera garnier

working in raw makes it so easy to

improve any photo

another before and after
the day before we went to the
cimetiere du pere-lachaise
i took a photo class with sophie pasquet
as we wondered around montmartre
it was a very hazy day
we played with my camera settings
to get some really great shots
so the next morning when we got to the
cemetery my camera was still on manual
and i took about 20 photos before i noticed
(not enough coffee)
i did try to fix them while on my trip with not much luck
and now that i know about raw......
it's a whole new world !!!
thanks marie!!
-------
if you missed out on taking this class or
would like to sign up for the next one
space is limited
so you better e-mail marie
and reserve a spot

announcement

digital magic

online class with

marie otero

this is exciting news

my friend marie

aka lost aussie on the loose

is finally teaching what she knows best!!!

i once had the opportunity of spending

4 days with marie

learning photoshop,

types of printing and incorporating

them into mixed media works

we also spent a day

wondering the city taking photos

she has a keen eye and has taught me

that things you see on the street can

be transformed into something wonderful

with a few clicks of a button

marie is a pioneer in digital work!!!

long before anyone else

she was creating wonderful works of art

she is the best teacher

class starts june 14 and runs six weeks

i've already signed up

for the early bird special

$10 off if you sign up by april 30th

quite time

finally, some quite time

i started my second

on-line digital photomanipulation class with

susan tuttle

i find it very relaxing to just sit and play with

all the techniques i've learned so far in week one

susan's class is very user friendly,

with easy to follow videos and instructions

and we have a flickr group to post and see every ones work

(you may have to take the class in order to view this page?)

you can see what i've worked on here

retro technique one


the sweet spot and the blur


vintage retro technique two
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i can't wait to get started with week two
i'll keep you posted

all ready to go

i'm all packed and ready to go

i'm off the the big apple

with my friend ludgera

to explore, photograph and take a

lynne perrella class at the ink pad

i'm soooooo looking forward to this trip

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above is a collage i created

a few years ago in a dj pettitt class

the photo was taken in nyc