photo as art medium

Lately I have been intrigued by the idea of using photographs as an art medium. Sometimes I get the undeniable itch to create something with my hands, something tangible and 3 dimentional. That spark is often ignited by a simple material or found item that begs to be used. But the truth is that I am most comfortable with photography these days. I've been out of practice in every other art medium for so long, and photography is currently my biggest inspiration. So rather than deny that fact, I recently asked myself: "how can I integrate photography into a painting or drawing?"

The result was messy and experimental. The end product was an accident and nothing like I had imagined. But I loved the process and surprisingly the piece itself. It all started with a thick piece of chipboard that came off the back of a little notebook. I had been eyeing it for days, wondering how I could use it. So I painted it while I thought about my options. Then I found a photograph from my archives of a grassy field under a blue sky filled with white puffy clouds. After digging through my bins of paper, I found a piece of semi transparent vellum and printed the photo on the paper. Next, on a seperated piece of vellum, I sketched a rickety barn (modeled after another of my photos) and layered it underneath the photo. Last I glued the two pieces onto the board and covered it with Mod Podge. I didn't realize how the glue would warp the paper, but I kept going. The photo above doesn't show how wrinkled and worn the paper looks. Somehow it just seems to fit with the subject matter and comliments the foggy imagery. If nothing else, the process was refreshing and allowed me to think about my photos in a different way.

I would encourage all of you to think of ways to experiment with your photographs as an art medium. Print them on unusual materials, cut them up, rip them and glue them. Hold them in your hands and let them speak to you. I think you will agree that the experience will awaken a part of you that may have been hiding.

father's day photo card

Each June, I head down the greeting card aisle and look for a Father's Day card for my dad. But I rarely find one that "fits" him. He doesn't love sports and lawn mowers. He's not obsessed with tools and grilling (although he is handy and a great cook). And the funny cards don't always fit his sense of humor. In the end, I often end up leaving the card aisle and going home to create my own hand made card for my dad. He always appreciates receiving something I created and it allows me to personalize it to his taste.

As photographers, we have art at our fingertips that easily allows us to make personalized greeting cards.  This year I created the above photo card for my dad and I'd love to share the Photoshop template with the entire Shutter Sisters community. The template allows you to insert your own photo, and I hope the design is basic enough that it will fit any dad.

Click HERE to download the card file.

Custom Photo Valentine's

I love paper and cute cards. I love photography. So anytime I can combine the two, I'm a happy camper. And since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I created a fun Photoshop template to share with all of you! These cute little enclosure cards fold up to be 4"x4" and because they fold up they don't even require an envelope! You just choose your own photo and drop it into the template. Then print it, cut it out and fold it up.

I chose a piece of scrapbooking paper that had stripes on one side and was white on the other side. Then I printed my finished card onto the white side, cut it out, folded it up and sealed it with a sticker. You can choose any patterned or colored paper as long as it's white on one side and any fun sticker you have lying around.

I hope this template inspires you to spread a little photo love this Valentine's Day! XOXO

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE.

Friday's Featured Resource - Aaron Brothers

 

My family and I moved into our house over six years ago and  it wasn't until last week that we hung a photo gallery on our family room wall. Six years. And it was actually my husband's idea!

We have artwork and photos around our house, don't get me wrong. But an actual true photo gallery, we have never had. And I (like many of you) have THOUSANDS of pictures.

Just over a year ago when Oprah came calling, some friends and I hurried to hang a few great shots. Yes, it took a visit from the Oprah show to get me to enlarge, frame and hang my photos. I vowed I would take that lead and run with it. Did I mention that was over a year ago? And in case you're freaking out about my Oprah comment (really long story short) my clip was never on the show and although I made it to the show, I was never on the show either. You can exhale now.

Back to our photo gallery; I LOVE it. And I can't believe how easy it was to put together and hang.

Consider this your gentle nudge, your sisterly reminder that your images were taken not only for YOU but to share. Honor your yourself, your family and your creative talent and pick a few of your favorites to get up on your walls.

What's the rush? The Aaron Brothers Semi-Annual 1 Cent Sale is happening right now (buy one, get one for a penny)! It's one of my favorite stores of all time anyway but when the sale is happening I'm giddy with possibilities! And what perfect timing with all this creating we're doing around here, don't you think?? Even if you're wanting to branch out and dabble in painting (like we're doing around here) the canvasses are also buy one, get one for a penny too. Even my kids are excited. No, I'm not kidding.

In other words, there's nothing stopping you from creating your own gallery!

If you've already got some photos framed and on display then you're ahead of the game and in that case, you've got to share what you've got. What photographic treasures have you surrounded yourself with? Inspire us!

You can keep up with all things Aaron Brothers at their website, their facebook page and on Twitter.

angel

I'm lucky to have a spouse that is often a willing participant in my artistic endeavors. Occasionally I have a slightly off-the-wall idea and John is usually the one I turn to for help. In this case, it went something like this..."so I was thinking that we should go in the backyard and take pictures of each other making snow angels in a foot of snow. And by the way it's 5 degrees outside" Not only did my husband gladly take part in my little project, but also climbed over the railing of our deck and jumped backwards into the yard so he wouldn't make any footprints in the unmarred snow. But what we didn't really realize was that this particular snow had a thick layer of icy crust on top. So when John fell backwards to create his snow angel, his limbs just sort of stuck there all bent in every direction and he reminded me of the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. I think our whole neighborhood heard my laughter. Eventually he was able to break through the crust and make the classic snow angel. And while my vision didn't exactly match the outcome, it ended up being a memorable moment and a I got a pretty cool souvenir. I ended up turning this little diptych into to/from tags for Christmas gifts this year and they seemed to be a big hit amongst friends and family.

Do you have a willing model? Someone who will humor you when you have an idea for a photo?