Anne's Creative Cornucopia: July 2009

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"Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster..." ― Friedrich W. Nietzsche

Definition of Bigot: a person who is intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group with hatred and intolerance.

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." ― C. S. Lewis

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Friday, July 31, 2009

"Tears"

This week’s Thank God It’s Friday challenge number 96 was “Tears.” The lyrics to Sting’s song Fragile inspired my piece. The words are from his song.

I’m falling behind on challenges and looking/commenting on ones I’ve entered so I’m going to try to catch up this weekend.

Technical notes to myself: The uploaded JPG image was blurry so I had to upload the PNG image. I need to look into this problem further.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

"Night Birds" - Metallics

This week’s Tag Tuesday challenge number 10 was “Metallics” (silver, gold, bronze). I used gold and a little silver. I experimented a little in creating this tag, and liked the result. As usual, my picture of the tag is poor.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

"Math and Science Teachers" - Inspirational People

This week’s Three Muses challenge was “Inspirational People.” My piece is a tribute to all of the Math and Science Teachers who inspired me along the way through school and college.

The digital stamps are from Clipart ETC which contains a large selection of clipart. The Da Vinci picture is from Wikimedia Commons. I created the background a few months ago when I was experimenting with PhotoPlus.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

"King"

This week’s Think Monday – Think ATC challenge was “King and Queen.” I made a King ATC.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

"Bathing Beauties" - fixed picture quality problem

15:53 Problem solved: I exported the file as a PNG file and uploaded that to my blog. Now it looks right. Hooray! Sorry for this long blog post. I'm leaving the below image, which some people already left comments on, because it documents the problem for me.

This week’s Gothic Arches challenge was “Bathing Beauties.” I am excited and thrilled to be a new member. This is my first entry for this challenge site. My piece consists of three sections: The background behind the gothic arch, the gothic arch itself, and the area inside the gothic arch, where the theme is. I used a B&W drawing of vintage young bathing beauties, which I modified slightly and then colored. I used a tracery window that I modified for the gothic arch, then added stars and a moon to it. I used water for the background. This is a digital creation.

Note: I’m having a picture quality resolution problem with the blue gothic arch. It looks blurry. (It looks fine on my computer, before I upload it to my blog.) I’ve had this problem before but I haven’t determined the cause of it yet. I’m leaving this on my blog but I’m not posting it to the challenge site because it is of too poor quality to enter. :-(

"Puttin' On The Ritz" - Fashion

This week’s Sunday Postcard Art challenge was “Fashion.” The song lyrics to Puttin’ On The Ritz inspired my creation. I modified all of the images I used.

The Ritz Hotel sign is, “licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Attribution: Russ London.”

Partial song lyrics:

If you're blue and you don't know where to go to
Why don't you go where fashion sits,
Puttin' on the ritz.
…
Dressed up like a million dollar trouper
Trying hard to look like Gary Cooper (super duper)

Saturday, July 25, 2009

"Amber Owl"

This week’s Soartful Saturday challenge was to use an owl and amber background provided by the challenge site. I added the moon, lightened the owl, gave him glowing eyes, and created a soft moonglow aura around him.

Friday, July 24, 2009

"The Mask" – "Facade"

I combined two challenges. This week’s Art On The Darkside challenge was, “The Mask.” This week’s Thank God It’s Friday challenge number 95 was “Using Words.” I’ve always liked the word façade and its different meanings. Since a mask is a façade (false face) I combined the challenges. I started with a white mask and created a Mardi Gras type theme on it. I used a diamond harlequin background I had created a few months ago, for the background.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

"The Moon" - Lunar ATCs

Lunar Vine

This week’s Think Monday – Think ATC challenge was “The Moon.” This was a fantastic theme and I thought of many ideas for it. All of my ATCs contain the moon (i.e. photo, painting, drawing, etc.)

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

"Icarus" - "wheeled and soared and joined the tumbling mirth"

This week’s Three Muses challenge was “Incredible Journey.” My piece shows Icarus seconds after the pinnacle of his soaring flight, when the sun starts to melt the wax holding his feathered wings together, and he begins to tumble to his death. As he rose on his incredible journey, I imagine he had thoughts similar to those in the poem High Flight.

High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, Junior

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor even eagle flew—
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

"Angels Tears"

This week’s Soartful Saturday challenge was “Angels Tears.” I discovered this challenge this week, so this is my first entry for it. I put this together hurriedly. My piece depicts an angel crying blood red tears as she laments the death of Icarus.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

"Vintage Children"

This week’s Sunday Postcard Art challenge was “Vintage Children.”

"In the attic"

This week’s Art On The Darkside challenge was, “In the attic” (of the haunted house). I googled the image and modified it slightly. Then I added the inhabitants using brushes. I’m a novice when it comes to using brushes, so I need to work on this more.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

"Fly"

This week’s Think Monday – Think ATC challenge was “Fly.” I’ve fallen behind on the challenges this week, so I made a simple ATC. I found this flying ballerina and thought she looked interesting, so I experimented with stamps and collage layers for her background.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

"The Pine Lady"

This week’s Three Muses challenge was “Word Salad.” I love Illuminated Manuscripts, old books, and poems. This challenge inspired me to combine elements from those to create book pages for the poem “The Pine Lady” by Richard Le Gallienne. The three pages are 4 x 6 inches and 128 pixels/inch.

Book text: I based the text layout and font on the original book. I used clipart for the beginning letter O and the ending rose. The font is Palatino Linotype, which looked similar to the original, but was not exactly the same.

Book illustrations: The poem was not illustrated in the original book. All of the images I used have been modified. I used several images to create the Pine Lady. I created about 40% of the harp with moonbeam strings image.

I put the poem on my blog here.

The Pine Lady by Richard Le Gallienne

THE PINE LADY

O HAVE you seen the Pine Lady,
Or heard her how she sings?
Have you heard her play
Your soul away
On a harp with moonbeam strings?
In a palace all of the night-black pine
She hides like a queen all day,
Till a moonbeam knocks
On her secret tree,
And she opens her door
With a silver key,
While the village clocks
Are striking bed
Nine times sleepily.

O come and hear the Pine Lady
Up in the haunted wood!
The stars are rising, the moths are flitting,
The owls are calling,
The dew is falling;

And, high in the boughs
Of her haunted house,
The moon and she are sitting.

Out on the moor the night-jar drones
Rough-throated love,
The beetle comes
With his sudden drums,
And many a silent unseen thing
Frightens your cheek with its ghostly wing;
While there above,
In a palace builded of needles and cones,
The pine is telling the moon her love,
Telling her love on the moonbeam strings —
O have you seen the Pine Lady,
Or heard her how she sings?

by Richard Le Gallienne

Saturday, July 11, 2009

"Most Haunted Houses"

This week’s Art On The Darkside challenge was “Most Haunted Houses.” I discovered this challenge last week, thanks to Chris (WildGoose), so this is my first entry for it. I made the atmosphere around my haunted house spooky with some fog and ominous clouds. Most of the images were googled.

"Fabric"

This week’s Sunday Postcard Art challenge was “Fabric.” I created a piece of linen fabric, which I love. I stitched around the edges to make it look like it had been sewn.

"Art Creations Friday - Challenge 34"

I created two ATC size bilingual counting cards for the Art Creations Friday July 10, 2009 challenge (number 34). The challenge site provided the background image.

Friday, July 10, 2009

"Angel of Death" - Red Flowers

This week’s Thank God It’s Friday challenge number 93 was “Red Flowers.” I decided to try something a little different for me. I started out making the woman and poppy flower plant appear to be as one, because they seemed to flow and intertwine together well. I was originally going to put botanical information for the flower, but I took a darker turn when I found the quoted information on the Poppy. I thought she had a slightly sinister look, with her head tilted down, so I decided to make her the Angel of Death.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

"Lunar Volleyball"

This week’s Three Muses challenge was “Surreal.” I had a lot of problems coming up with an idea for this one. I know what surreal images look like, and viewed many examples, but I was drawing a creativity blank. So, I came up with this, but it’s pretty ordinary. The Earth and Moon pictures are from NASA and the volleyball net and ball were googled.

"Emboss it"

This week’s Tag Tuesday challenge number 7 was “Emboss it.” I used an art deco stamp, which I embossed using gold ink. Then I colored her dress, hair, the mirror, and mirror frame. I created the background and tag fastening point using oriental images. Everything is digital, but my embossing didn’t come out as good as I had wanted it to, so I’ll have to work on this offline, to improve my technique.

The actual print out of the tag streaked. And if anyone has any helpful hints about taking a good picture of their artwork, I’m open to suggestions. I’m thinking of trying to scan it next time, instead, to see how that comes out.

Monday, July 6, 2009

"Art Creations Friday - Challenge 33"

I created an ATC for the Art Creations Friday July 03, 2009 challenge (number 33). The challenge site provided the foreground image of the woman. I used a tracery window, which I modified and colored, to frame her in an arch. I created a water background with the sunlight coming from the upper left side. I also modified her slightly.

"In the garden"

This week’s Think Monday – Think ATC challenge was “In the garden.” I created the look of painting on linen fabric. I used several images from Antique Clipart - Free Public Domain Clipart.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

"Window"

This week’s Tag Tuesday challenge number 6 was “Window.” I discovered this challenge this week, so this is my first entry for it. I used the quote, "Eyes are the window to the soul," as my inspiration. I double stamped a tracery window over a Mucha painting of a woman with an intense stare. I used a smaller tracery window stamp that I colored for the tag fastening point. Everything is digital, except for the picture of the final tag, which I printed, glued to recycled thin cardboard, cut out, and punched a hole in.

I apologize for the picture quality. I still haven’t mastered that yet. And the white background always comes out bluish/gray looking.

Friday, July 3, 2009

"Nests"

This week’s Sunday Postcard Art challenge was “Nests.” I used several images from Antique Clipart - Free Public Domain Clipart to create my postcard.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

"Apples, Pears and Peaches" - "Peaches" - Thank God It’s Friday - Challenge 92

This week’s Thank God It’s Friday challenge number 92 was “Apples, Pears and Peaches.” We were supposed to pick one of them to use. I chose peaches, and included a Black Peach of Montreal in an oriental theme that used a peach tree and flowers.

"Say it with flowers"

This week’s Tag It On challenge was “Say it with flowers.” I didn’t realize this challenge required a, “REAL stamp on it...” so I’ve been entering it inadvertently and will no longer do so. I enjoyed doing this challenge, so I might continue following it and only posting on my own blog, like I’m doing today. For this tag, I used an art deco stamp, and a fan with flowers on it for the tag fastening point, as well as a few other images.