WHAT IS IT? Ephemeral Art. Original Photography. Photoshop. Left Right Formatting.
In process. A surprise
For the first person who can tell me
WHAT IS IT? You might say an ephemeral arrangement
Stones and crystals. Feathers and flowers. Spanish Moss and shells
But, what part of the making process? And what's the purpose of this arrangement? ~Ally.
A time of wonderful synchronicity
The piece was totally impromptu ~ Although my previous work with ephemeral art had a direct bearing on its creation.
And then recent interactions I've had with three people here at Steemit, @sunscape, @carlgnash and @gillianpearce influenced the elements selected, the extended images and part of the presentation of this article, respectively.
The first influence was reading @sunscape's CARNELIAN 'Power Stone for Confidence and Action'
I AM energized & empowered to take action in my life for my highest good. ~@sunscape's CARNELIAN.
Feeling the need to have Carnelian with me day and night, triggered the wish to also include a few pieces of this earthy brownish red/orange semi-precious stone in this piece.
@sunscape also mentioned that if you want to attract the Money Fairy, leave a Carnellian stone at your front door. And it seemed only natural to include Citrine in the arrangement, as this beautiful golden crystal is also well known for attracting abundance.
Things I had no words for. ~Georgia O'Keeffe.
At this stage, I would be so surprised if anyone is able to tell me what the function of this arrangement is. So I will have to tell you a little about how it came to be in the first place. Not the whole story all at once, as that might give it away too quickly.
The first hint I can give is that the piece was being made specifically for one of the following Steemit contests that I'd like to share my work with this week:
- @petals Petals Contest: Pink Flower Day
- @melinda010100's Shadow Photo Contest
- @petals Petals Contest: Roses Open Weekend
- @kus-knee's The Mundane as Art: Door Handles And Knobs
While this piece was in process
I was over the moon to see @carlgnash's painterly and very colourful version of one of my unadorned nest's that I'd shared with him at: Life in the Nest.
Our conversation in summary
It is funny with the gorgeous flowers what I am really drawn to is the "nest" of bare twigs. Beautiful shapes there. ~@carlgnash.
I started making the nests as plant containers and hanging baskets ~ But then it always seemed to be such a shame to completely hide their inner beauty. They are more like containers these days. And this week I'm making one as a hat for Melinda's Shadow Photos: Hats. (Second hint.) ~Ally.
Here's a nest without any embellishment for you Carl ~ Except for a few sprigs of lichen at the front. ~Ally.
Oh I love it! You inspired me to do a little digital manipulation. ~@carlgnash.
In a nanosecond, your painterly vibrant image made so many things I've been seeking ~ GEL. I've always loved bright clear colour but tend to use the more subtle tones of nature in my image making now. Looking at your image ~ I can feel that being shaken and shifting. The Perfectionist has enslaved the Creative Muse for too long. ~Ally.
And concurrently
@gillianpearce in her article: Cake Fails to Cheer had asked how to code for left and right formatting.
I'd looked at how to format two or more images side by side recently, but hadn't actually applied the code yet myself. In testing the process for Gillian, I found that it worked but then it was really tricky to give her the code, because as soon as it was placed in the comment box, only the images/text were displayed ~ SANS code.
After a little trial and error, I discovered that if I replaced the text div with blue butterflies ~ The code stayed in place. So if you want the simplest explanation of how to format left and right images and text, try this code: Just replace the blue butterflies with the text div. Of course it will work with any emoji but the blue butterflies are my favourite.
<🦋 class="pull-left">
URL OF IMAGE
</🦋>
<🦋 class="pull-right">
URL OF IMAGE
</🦋>
And now: The result of my interactions with both Gillian and Carl
Ephemeral Art by @allyinspirit.
Digital Art by @carlgnash.
Experiments with Photoshop Filters
As well as inspiring me to experiment with drawing and painting in pure colour blocks/stokes side-by-side without so much blending, Carl's digital painting also pushed me closer to relearning how to use Photoshop.
The following images are the result of using a few of the Photoshop Filters
Photoshop Filter: Rough Pastel
Photoshop Filter: Oil Painting
Photoshop Filters: Edges and Grain
In this version Shadows and Black were reduced as well as Contrast in the Camera Raw Filter. The Edges Filter and finally the Grain Filter were also used.
Photoshop Filter: Watercolour
Even with the lowest possible Watercolour Filter settings the black areas of the image dominated and totally overpowered the gentle areas. Even after adjusting Exposure and Contrast as well as other colour settings, to me the image looked nothing like an actual watercolour painting. Pretty disappointing. And it was obvious that it was time to look at some Tutorial videos on the intricacies of Photoshop.
After watching a few Photoshop Tutorial videos on how to make a photograph look like a Watercolour painting, I realized there was a lot more to it all. But before following any of the multitude of videos, I tried another approach, based on a few things I'd learnt already. Combining Filters.
This time before using the Watercolour Filter, I strongly reduced Black and Shadows using the Camera Raw Filter as well as applying the Drybrush Filter. Then after using the Watercolour Filter I used Diffuse in Stylize.
Using the above image that had now been treated with Camera Raw Filter, Drybrush Filter, Watercolour Filter and Diffuse in Stylize, I then applied a touch of Paint Daub Filter and then finally Oil Paint Filter.
You can see how different the image is now from when only Oil Paint Filter was used.
Realizations
I've worked with the basics of Photoshop and GIMP before but have a long way to go to master Photoshop. Maybe I need to actually do a course? Time?
I haven't given quite enough hints yet for you to be able to tell me what the function of the arrangement in the image was. In my next article it will be revealed as the processes involved are explained. But for now a surprise will be awarded for the most creative guess or interpretation of what this arrangement was for.
SONY Mark2 A7: 35 mm:
All works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Terms of CC BY-SA.
This ShareAlike license will allow you to reproduce and/or manipulate this image even for your commercial purposes.
You are required to attribute me, Alison Lee Cousland as the designer/artist.
You also need to be willing to license any of your new creations that make use of this image, under the identical terms IE allow others to reproduce and/or build their own art upon your art, as well as granting their right to commercial usage.
a nest-hat !! =))
♥︎💫♥︎ CONGRATULATIONS ♥︎💫♥︎Luigi.
That's it. A Nest-hat. You are SO clever.
It was the first Nest-hat I've ever made and some of the processes were new and took a lot more time than I was expecting and so unfortunately it wasn't completed in time for Melinda's Photo Shadow Contest.
The Nest-hat is also being made to celebrate the Spirit of Easter. I hope even without it being finished, you and Barbara are blessed with its message of joy and uplifting energy.
I will explain this stage of the process in my next article. And for now ~ The first part of the surprise is my 100% vote.
Thank you very much for both upvote and uplifting energy my dear friend ! barbara and I wish you a wonderful week-end !
Such a pleasure Luigi. Your girlfriend Miss Giraffe is so wistfully beautiful. I hope your week-end is as beautiful as ours in Sydney. 🦋
It's a bed for Spring :) Spring sleeps in it over night, taking energy for making more green next day @allyinspirit :)
Oh, that's such a beautifully poetic and so tuned into the Spirit of Easter interpretation Dunja.
@luigi-the-gnome has just guessed what it is ~ A Nest-hat ~ But a bed for Spring is like a nest too. So you have my 100% vote as well.
I hope you have the most beautiful Easter.
You've received an upvote from @slothicorn! Click Here to Learn More
(@ghulammujtaba)
So delighted to have your appreciation of this work @ghulammujtaba. Thanks so much.
I love what @slothicorn is establishing for artists here at Steemit and it really is an honor to be accepted into this very special community.
I haven't sent you an introductory post yet, but hope to do that in the near future. My inital Steemit introduction doesn't tell of all the inspiration and impressions that I have absorbed by being at Steemit ~ And of the wonderful influences other artists here have had on my current work. 🦋
Well that is clearly a recreation of General Tzzortz' Last Stand at the Crystal Palace on Europa. Very creative use of the orange carnelian to represent the iconic orange Land Crawlers of the invading armada. That chunk of quartz really does bear a remarkable resemblance to the Crystal Palace as well. Bravo!
I should have told you more about my process, when I messed around with the nest image - I used the Deep Dream Generator, using AI / neural network trained in style of a particular painting. Check out this ridiculously detailed tutorial post I wrote on the process some months back - I have progressed in my understanding of creating art with this tool since the time of this post, but it is a great starting reference. Much love - Carl
Brilliant Carl. Yes he held back the Land Crawlers for as long as he could. Fought so courageously to the bitter end. Then totally exhausted he climbed to the pinnacle of the Crystal Place. Standing by the window, looking out over his beloved Europa, sword down, General Tzzortz surrendered.
That's what he wanted the Armada to believe anyway. The true story goes. A replica of himself, medals and all, was positioned at the window of the highest pinnacle of the Crystal Place. General Tzzortz then made his way down to the secret tunnels beneath the Palace.
Just as the Land Crawlers were nearing the Palace, the General's men opened the curtains with a set of elaborately constructed pulleys. Everything went as planned. The invaders spent a few hours trying to negotiate the maze of stairs that encircled the interior of the Palace to reach the pinnacle. And of course by this time General Tzzortz and his men had escaped through the tunnels.
About to read your 'ridiculously detailed tutorial post' now. I have a few collages that I'd like to use as reference for pastel works, and interpreting them digitally may really help the freeing up process for me. Really appreciate the sharing Carl. ♥︎♥︎🦋♥︎♥︎
Yes! I love that you ran with it :) What a gripping story!
So pleased you liked it Carl. Haven't written stories or anything remotely imaginative since I was a kid. It was fun taking those cues from you.
Some of the details, like a maze that spiraled as an internal staircase, and the pulley system releasing the curtains from far below ~ Ideas I've never thought of before ~ I could almost see as being part of a movie.
Just looked at Dreaming of the Dreamer Carl. What an incredibly creative piece. How amazing to be able to let AI work with your own different styles of painting, drawing and then photography.
I'm reading your Deep Dream Generator Tutorial now. 🦋
Combining the original image with another image: Seed of Life.
Way to go and will be fun playing with it now Carl. ♥︎🦋♥︎
You have designed an embroidery pattern for a meditation cushion. I'd love to have one! (Otherwise you are going to make it big in the Yoga-accessory business and simply print the pattern onto the pillow, in large quantities.)
An embroidery design for meditation cushions is such a beautiful idea Sukhasanasister. I haven't thought of doing that before ~ But I love the idea. I'll see what I can come up with and share it with you. Just give me a few days.
Wishing that the Spirit of Easter graces your being over this season. 🦋
Hi Alison... It's been awhile since I've seen you here...
Hope all is well with you! Look forward to your return one day soon...
I know ~ Time has absolutely flown. I hope all is really well with you as well @ackhoo.
I've been experimenting with the Deep Dream Generator and drawing just a little now too. I'm looking forward to sharing some of the images I've been working with, with you ~ Soon.
@allyinspirit <333 sending you lots of love Alison :) Been stopping by to see if you've been around as well. Glad to see this recent interaction. Totally made me smile. Have missed you SiStar, looking forward to your return. Reiki Hugs!
This comment was made from https://ulogs.org
It's great that one work is multiplied and new ones are born. The content of the nest is very genuine, and the colors have delighted me. The magical arrangement has experienced a beautiful transformation by applying effects. New Challenges and Inspirations. Many, even too many effects, take time. Sometimes it's difficult, it's impossible to choose the best solution. I need to use open source, GIMP, in my work, but in Windows? We used IrfanView earlier.
Thank you very much @allyinspirit for the great combination of arrangement and inspirational post.
I really love the clear orange and how it changes according to the PS Filters @zoricatech.
I've been playing with the Deep Dream Generator for the last few days ~ Since @carlgnash referred to it in his comment. Even more effects to experiment with.
Learning a lot from reading Carl's tutorial. Looks daunting, but once you go through it ~ It's not all that hard. Just takes time before you can get the right combination of images. Some amazing work at Deep Dream ~ Think you would like it too. 🦋
Thanks so much @pixresteemer
Wishing you an abundant and joy filled Easter. 🦋
It is a snack barbecue that is commonly known as this dish
Thanks so much for your visit and comment @yasmin3. But no, you can't eat the things in this arrangement ~ Stones and crystals, shells and feathers. Although some people do eat flowers and the paler orange shapes are flowers. 🦋
And it actually looked like a snail
I didn't understand your answer before Yasmin. But now I do. And I'm the one who needs to say sorry.
The shells are very very very old. When I found them they no longer housed any sea creatures. Although at one stage they would have housed actual sea slugs or snails.
I used the shells for part of the energy I wanted to impart into the Nest-hat so you gave part of the answer. 🦋
If you have a facebook account you can give boss
I do not understand you boss
oh sorry dear
No need to be sorry Yasmin. It was wonderful that you looked at the image and tried to see what it was. 🦋