Visual Poetry

I just finished my last project for the two Photomanipulation classes I took during the month of August taught by Susan Tuttle. I've posted a few of my projects along the way. The rest of them are on my Flickr Photostream. Here's a couple of my favorites:

The classes were fun and I learned a lot of techniques in the four weeks of class. Susan is very helpful and encourages students to play and try new things. Located on the classes website, was everything I needed: a video tutorial, written instructions that I could download and save for later, practice photos, a guided tutorial to follow as I worked my way through each step to manipulate my photos, a link to a Flickr group so we could share photos and support one another and even an Art Bar. Susan has written two books, Exhibition 36: Mixed Media Demonstrations and Explorations and Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art With Adobe Photoshop Elements.
Susan's artistic flare is apparent when you see her photos. You can view Susan's photos and art on her website and blog, Ilka's Attic, here and her Flickr Photostream here. Check her website for more details on classes offered in the future. I highly recommend them!

Texting

 
I had so much fun with Michelle Ward's Street Team challenge last month that I'm once again participating. This month the challenge is to cut or tear typography text and use composition techniques to place on a page or two. I made a two-page spread in my art journal as I did last month. I tend to like to cohesiveness of a two-page spread. I was a little short on newspapers and mags and such to find cool typography and so was relegated to my daughter's discarded teen mags. I found quite a few cool and very colorful, albeit youthful texts.

I noticed that the messages in the teen mags are getting more and more positive, uplifting and encouraging.  Lots of color, energy and fun with a focus on the possibilities of life.Very cool!

I just ordered some cool stencils and would like to paint and/or spray over the top of these, but will have to wait until they get here.
Thanks, Michelle! Another fun challenge. I can't wait until next month to see what else you have up your sleeve!

Train Travel

Train Travel
Originally uploaded by Kari Desi

We found an old caboose and just had to play! I played with the photo in photoshop elements using a sepia technique from Susan Tuttle's Visual Poetry class.

Flying and Feeling Free

"Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings."

~Victor Hugo

This past weekend, my daughter and I were taken on an hour long flight in a Piper Cherokee as a gift for her 13th birthday. The little plane looks like the sports car of planes with four small seats in the tiny cockpit. If it really was a sports car, I could easily picture myself enjoying the drive down the California coast, the top down, the wind blowing through my hair and a beautiful view of the ocean.

I don't have a fear of flying, but seeing that small plane and never having been in one before made me a little nervous. I have been facing quite a number of fears in the last few years and a couple of things I have learned: First, fear robs one of their joy and second, if you don't face a fear, the universe is compassionate enough to give you another chance. 

 

It seems that the more I face my fears, the more strong and capable I feel and the more fun I have. It has also become apparent to me that facing my fears shows me that whatever threat the fear is sounding it's alarm about, doesn't really exist. 

 

The flight was smooth, the weather and views were breathtakingly beautiful. The feeling of soaring was inspiring. I love the feeling of freedom I had in the air and the shift of perspective when I looked down upon the ground. I loved the look on my daughter's face as she turned around to face me from the cockpit.

When I face my fears, I am free to enjoy whatever is happening to the fullest. Thus the joy in my entire life is fuller, richer. I am free because my attention is fully on what I am experiencing and not split between my experience and my worries.We had so much fun on our flight! I would have really hated to miss it. These days I am more concerned about missing my opportunities to have a new experience than to be "safe".

Our pilot walked my daughter through checking the plane out during pre-flight and showed her the instruments in the cockpit. Then he let her fly for a few minutes. What an experience for a 13 year old girl to have! I try to teach my daughter to go for the adventure, letting her know all the time that she can fly in whatever area she wants. It's important to do the things your heart wants to do just because you want to do them. It's equally, if not more, important to find out that you are immensely capable of doing the things your heart wants to do.

Amelia Earhart said, "Adventure is worthwhile in itself." She also said,

"The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one's appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship."

 Happy Soaring,

Delight

August is turning into much delight.

 Things have been very busy around here and I have not posted as much as I would like to. I have, however, been accomplishing a great deal. At the beginning of the summer, I set several goals:

• Create a series of nine 8X8 pieces
• Send off an art submission
• Take a photoshop class
• Take more photographs
• Create a Flickr account 
• Open an Etsy shop

Many of these are being realized now! I am almost finished with my 9 piece series. I've already sent off my very first art submission! (Yay!) I am really enjoying Susan Tuttle's Photomanipulation classes. I having so much fun taking more photographs to have some more raw material to work with. If you have not taken one of Susan's classes, I highly recommend them. I've created my Flickr account and have been posting my photoshop projects to it. All of these seeds I've been planting will come to fruition very soon, I'm sure. 

Stay tuned!!

I'm currently enjoying a visit from my delightful Aunt and Uncle and will, undoubtedly be taking LOTS more pictures while they're here (if my daughter does not take my camera away from me. She's kidding. She secretly enjoys it). I will be posting more later. Until then...

 Here is one more of my finished pieces:

Freedom

Wishing you much delight in the coming week.

A Little Sunshine

"Daisies are like sunshine to the ground"

~Drew Barrymore

City Girl in the Woods

 City Girl in the Woods

She's prepared.

Her cute, vintage bag has everything she needs:

all the essentials.
She's got wilderness skills.