playtime

mouse over to see the original

***

Notes:

SETUP

teddy bear

belonging to

young Bobbie Swainson

c. 1960

+ 

wooden top and plaid scrapbook

belonging to

young Aldo Notarianni

c. 1930

+

wooden crate magazine rack

belonging to

my late sister Elissa

before I painted/distressed it 'shabby chic' style

setup

(+ tripod)

original photo

SOOC

Numerous shots in Manual mode,

playing with depth of field,

focal point

and shutter speed.

***

 In Lightroom

I cropped (4x5),

cloned away the dark corner,

played with

multiple adjustments

...

and then I scrapped it all

and started over

with Kim's

kk_oldendays preset.

Perfect!

Just the effect I was looking for.

***

In Photoshop

I added two layers of

kk_waterfront1

Hard Light 20%

and

Multiply 30%

(I lowered the saturation on this layer)

I masked the texture

off of the bear and the top.

Font:

2Peas Just Plain Little

***

Linking up with

Start to Finish 2

Be Still 52

a tight knit family

My latest layout for Dad's genealogy/scrapbook:

Aldo was an only child... the center of Greg and Della’s universe.

Right from the very beginning, it was just the three of them: Ma, Pa, and Aldo.

Each was the other's closest friend, ally, confidante.

Pa's family was back in Italy; after emigrating to America in 1920,

they exchanged cards and letters,

but he never went back...

until finally in 1981, after they were all gone.

Ma's family remained distant in a different way...

although they lived in the same neighborhood where she had grown up,

the relationship was, at best, strained.

Aldo was always very close to his parents.

Yes, he had his boyhood friends and schoolmates.

However – understandably, properly – it was always to Ma and Pa

that he turned for love and comfort

...and they to him.

***

I selected the two snapshots above from a large selection of similar photos in Dad's photo album. There seemed to be a distinct pattern from each photo shoot, whether outside their home or up in the mountains on a picnic: one shot of Aldo and Ma + one shot of Aldo and Pa.

show & share: peg 'o my heart

In honor of what would have been my parents' 60th wedding anniversary, here's an altered book I made for them over 10 years ago:

I gotta say this is my favorite way of working: gathering artifacts and mementos of a special event or loved ones, then pulling it all together and telling a story with all of it. I had a lot to work with here:

• my favorite wedding photo of Mom and Dad (Mom says that Dad had just cracked a joke as the photographer pressed the shutter button. This was so Dad!)
• photocopies of assorted newspaper clippings, plus the handwritten receipt for rent for their first apartment, in Dad's own handwriting
• snapshots from their courtship and wedding rehearsal
• bits of vintage chantilly lace from the 1950's
• crucifix

On the back of the book cover is the text of the Denver Post newspaper article.

I was greatly inspired by by Cindy Pestka's article in the Jan/Feb 2002 issue of Somerset Studio magazine. I played around with the concept, adapted it and made it my own, eventually teaching an Altered Book class at a local scrapbook shop, where I worked at that time. I later wrote an article about my books for Legacy magazine (Oct/Nov 2005). I will share more of these books later...

***

Here's a more recent photo of Mom and Dad, one which I took just five years ago at Thanksgiving - which we have always celebrated simultaneously with their wedding anniversary. I love this shot!

Have a listen to this old tune 'Peg 'O My Heart' which was a favorite of Dad's:

Peg o' my heart
I'll love you don't let us part
I love you I always knew it would be you
Since I heard your lilting laughter
It's your Irish heart I'm after
Peg o' my heart
Your glances make my heart say
How's chances come be my own
Come make your home in my heart

***

Kim's Beyond Beyond lesson for Day 34 last week happened along at the right time: making a 'magic' texture and applying it to a photograph for a subtly rich effect. It was just the right touch for the white background in these photos, which seemed a bit sterile for my tastes. Thanks Kim! How do you know just what I need at the right moment?

I used Kim's kk_waterfront20 for my 'experiment' and tried the Color Dodge blend mode @42%...just perfect for my purposes!

I converted the 2008 photo of Mom and Dad to b&w in Lightroom, playing around with the duo-tone concept, and even made it into a preset. It seemed to need warming up, so I added a layer of kk_waterfront12 (Overlay 34%, and then desaturated it a bit).

Linking up with

Beyond Beyond Day 34

Texture Tuesday

Vintage Fest

***

An InLinkz Link-up

there is a season

for Dad

Aldo G. Notarianni

January 10, 1925 - October 8, 2011

This started as an iPhone photo that I captured while on my walk yesterday morning. I liked how the old, dried up leaves mingled with the still-vibrant greenery along the path, kinda like the mingling of old and new, elderly and youthful. Each needing the other: to remember from whence it came...and to realize the fulfillment of its destiny.

I admit I felt a little disloyal to the whole iPhoneography concept, but I've been wanting to play around in Lightroom and Photoshop, and Kim's Beyond Beyond Autumn Processing post was sorely tempting me.

I quickly got over the guilt and imported the photo into Lightroom, where I rotated and cropped, spot-healed and edited following Kim's tutorial. I love the coppery tones! Then I opened it in Photoshop, where I added some textures and text.

I used Kim's new DayPair texture duo (kk_wake Multiply 41% and kk_day Overlay 22%). Eventually I added Patti Brown's Rainbow Sun Flare overlay to lighten/soften the rough texture of the concrete path so that I wouldn't have to go too 'heavy' with the text font (Garamond Regular).

Linking up with

Texture Tuesday

Tuesday Muse

dad

For Dad:

I miss you.

a page from my art journal

using 'leftovers' from

the Fathers Day card

I made for Dad

2010

---

snapshot taken

on my Baptism day

June, 1960

No photo editing here;

it was just a test print that

turned out interesting!

***

 For Bob:

You continue to be

an amazing husband and father.

scrapbook pages

for Kelly (above)

and Erin (below)

April 2010

scrapbook page

for Erin

July 2009

('Ner' is the girls' nickname for their Dad)

***

Happy Fathers Day!

xoxo

day planner

I've been meaning to do something with this for awhile now, and Friday Finds suddenly seemed to be the perfect impetus.

Here is the photo my brother Greg sent me from his iPhone one Sunday evening a couple months ago, after phoning me excitedly from his garage to tell me of the unexpected treasure he had just 'unearthed.'

Laid out there in the bed of Greg's old pickup truck was a piece of Dad's history: his old briefcase and his day planners from 1970 thru 1975. You see, in preparing the family home for sale Mom had put Greg in charge of dealing with all Dad's law office stuff - shredding or saving old documents as appropriate. This brief case was found up on the rafters in our garage.

Greg knew I would be just as excited as he was at his discovery. He was right. Mom had put me in charge of dealing with family photos and memorabilia.

Here's what I did with it the other day:

I paired the day planners with a favorite photo of Dad, taken about the same time period, which Mom continues to carry in her wallet, describing it thus:

"It looks like he just got the better of somebody

and he's waiting for them to figure it out."

I added an old pen of Dad's...he always had a collection of nice ballpoint pens, and for most of his 50 year career he wrote everything long-hand. Dad had the most elegant handwriting I've ever seen!

Thank you for this, Greg!

xoxo

'Squid'

***

Linking up with Friday Finds, and Beyond Beyond - where we've been playing with Curves and Levels to get the effect of the popular Instagram 'Rise' preset. I thought it would be perfect for that 70's feel. And you know what? I think this is representative of my style (if ever I could be nailed down to just one!)...something else Kim has been talking about lately.

I did try both of Kim's recipes, and ended up with the Levels method for these particular images, as they had not much color to play with. Then I added a touch of kk_magictexture2bl (Overlay blend mode - 14%)

re-group...and a prayer

Lately I've been rediscovering my roots as a Mixed Media Artist. Which means that I am back in my studio: playing with paint and paper, fabrics, laces and trims, found objects and 'bling'...stamping, glueing, hammering and drilling to my heart's content. And, I am happy to report, my studio is a mess! Out of the organized chaos of my eclectic gatherings...I CREATE. Oh how I love this process!

So how does my love of photography and photo editing fit into all of this? If I remember correctly, it has its roots in a desire to use my own images in my art...which makes sense since I make art about my life.

A few years ago I took this online course with the delightful and talented Karen Russell, which started me on the road to 'serious' photography. I have spent the last year or so with Kim Klassen, happily immersed in the study of Photoshop and Lightroom, blogging and creativity.

It is time to stir these skills into the melting pot of my repetroire of methods and media.

I also recently discovered Pinterest, which has ignited an inspiring creative fire in me as well. You can follow me on Pinterest by clicking the gadget in my sidebar. You can also visit my Flickr page, where I will be maintaining a gallery of my work. Warning! It's a bit of a shambles there until I finish reorganizing things. There will likely be other changes to my blog as I grow as an artist, so stay tuned.

***

For now, I just want to share a special piece I made two years ago for my Dad, just months before he passed away. A devout Catholic, he always carried a rosary in his pocket, and prayed the rosary on a regular basis, usually at night before falling asleep. He found it especially comforting in times of anxiety, sickness or grief. I made this little shrine for him, recalling the roadside shrines seen 'round the world.

Dad bought this ruby-colored rosary for his mother when he was away at Catholic University in Washington D.C. She treasured it, and prayed with it until her death in 1968. Dad gave it to me a few years ago, and I have prayed many a time with these beads.

***

I made these two images last year, for Kim's Beyond Layers class...same rosary + my grandmother's prayer book.

***

I, along with countless other students will keep

Kim Klassen and her family

in my prayers.

xoxo

Cindy

diligentia

mouse over to see the original

Diligence is a very great help,

even to a mediocre intelligence.

There was lots to play with this week in our Beyond Beyond class (nicknamed 2B). Shooting from above; Kim's brand-new Cloth & Paper Collection of textures (I used Bamboo, Cameron, and MagicFilm); another preset in Lightroom; and Kim's own brand of heartfelt wisdom. I am being sufficiently challenged...and enjoying every minute of delightful diligence!

You gotta make art with what you've got around...with what's in your heart and what's on your mind. At least that's how it has always worked best for me, whatever the medium. I had to remind myself of this yet again as I tried to make something happen with this assignment. And then I slowed down, stopped worrying about what it was finally going to look like (i.e. what other people might think), and just went with my own instinct.

So, I dug into a box of my father's old school books, and chose three Latin primers. Young Aldo's photo was tucked in amongst them (honestly...that part was true serendipity!). I included his old typewriter, and rounded it out with some artificial greenery that provided a little "organic" contrast...and just felt right. I arranged everything on a piece of white foamcore board, got out my camera and a stepladder and the rest is history.

The precise arrangement of it all was a process that I found meditative, relaxing and oddly rewarding: achieving just the right compositional balance via the placement of elements, the amount and use of negative space, noticing every little nuanced line, shape and color. I learned this years ago by studying - and imitating - the work of British textile artist Janet Bolton. You know you're having fun when you look up at the clock and realize that it's been hours - not minutes - that you've been playing around with this stuff...and that you'd better wrap it up or you're gonna be late for work.

All the while I was remembering Dad, the diligent scholar, and his love of languages, especially Latin and Greek. As I paged through his Latin books, I remembered my own high school Latin class back in 1978, which I took just for fun my senior year. It was the best class ever. Far from a "dead" language, studying Latin helped me learn much about the roots of my own language, got me translating bits of wisdom from Cicero, Virgil, Seneca, St. Augustine.

Tell me again why we stopped teaching Latin in our schools?

I am linking up with February's Photo-Heart Connection 'cause I did most of the "work" last week. Thanks Kat for reminding me what it's all about.

xoxo

Cindy

cash for junk

Kim's challenge this week for our Beyond Layers class was almost - well, beyond me. It wasn't until a couple days later, when I had shelved the idea...fortunately not too far in the back of my mind, that I found my subject. That's usually how it works for me.

The assignment was simply this: bring the indoors outside, and shoot something with that in mind. Well, I have driven past this little second hand store hundreds of times over the years, and have often thought that I should stop and do a photo shoot. There is always an interesting, random collection of odd things on display in the parking lot out in front; some you might even call "antiques."

I had found my assigned subject matter! It dawned on me as I was spinning at the gym early last Friday morning while studying photographer David Duchemin's book Within the Frame. He was talking about shooting on location, and capturing how the place feels to you, as opposed to just recording what it looked like. With only my cellphone camera on me, I decided right then and there to stop on my way home and shoot as many photos as I could before rushing off to work. There was a blanket of fresh snow on everything, heightening the drama of these "relics" which now exist out of context...exposed to the elements. What I felt was the rather forlorn quality of a place where the personal possessions of assorted nameless people - quite likely gone from this earth - are unceremoniously dumped onto the pavement, to be sold to some sharp-eyed, thrifty shopper.

I don't have anything against thrift stores or antique malls, having frequented them myself in years past, both to buy and/or drop off something. But with the recent passing of my father, and the heart-rending but necessary distribution of his possessions, I feel a little bit saddened by this sight. Dad (the ever-pragmatic lawyer, who handled many estates over the years, and himself an avid antique collector) would be the first to tell me that this is all just an inescapable part of life.

All of this has, in recent months, caused me to re-evaluate my own state of affairs, so to speak; I can't help but think about what will happen to my things one day. These ruminations have unexpectedly influenced my recent creative endeavors: what used to put me off about digital art was that you couldn't touch it...it existed only on your hard drive or on some blog server somewhere. For many years I have felt the need to make a tangible creation. Now when I ponder creating something I can't seem to avoid thinking, "What am I going to do with this when I finish it?" At least a digital file it won't end up in some thrift store or tucked into a box on a shelf.

all photos shot with my Samsung 4G cellphone

The best things in life aren't things.

***

I emailed the pix to myself and saved them to my hard drive, then did some basic photo editing in Lightroom. I applied a RadLab filter - 60's Beach Recipe - before moving on into Photoshop, where I applied two texture layers (kk_crackerjack/Multiply 60% and kk_mary/Soft Light 50%) and then a Photo Filter (Cooling Filter #80/Normal 100%).

Linking up with Beyond Beyond and Texture Tuesday.

xoxo

Cindy

humble beginnings: part 2

Here is the scrapbook layout that started with my recent post about Dad's birthplace...

...and on the facing page is the story of Dad's birth:

"Della was at work in the box office of the Star Theater, which she and Greg owned and operated, when she went into labor. She went home and later that night she gave birth. One week later she returned to work with baby Aldo in tow."

The three snapshots were likely taken on the occasion of Dad's baptism. The wonderful portrait was probably done around his first birthday...the baby shoes have a real sole, but are clearly not worn yet, so he was probably just beginning to walk; and he's sporting a nice haircut. I think he looks like my brother's son, Danny...this photo reminds me of a favorite picture of him as a baby. Although that little half-smile is reminiscent of my Grandpa. Oh how I love these old photographs!

Did you notice Dad's unusual middle name, Giacinto? It means "hyacinth." Dad once told me that they chose my name, Cynthia, because it sounded like hyacinth. (I looked it up once a long time ago..."Cynthia" actually originated as Kynthia, another name for the Greek goddess of the moon, Artemis). I like Dad's etymology better. It's like I was, in a way, named after him! How cool is that?

I love mixing it up and playing with papers, ink, stickers, embossing powder, chipboard, paper punches, silk flowers, brads...and my computer too! They call it Hybrid Scrapbooking. I just do whatever it takes to get me there.

xoxo

Cindy