PLYWERK.

darlings, remember when I first created this collage, You Are my Family, and said I wanted to see it on canvas? well, i've done something even better: i had the good people at Plywerk print and mount it on maple-birch-alder. it came with a keyhole slot on the back for easy hanging. so perfect!!

{this piece is 4 x 4 inch, and heading to my shop right now
{if you see any photos or collages here and would like them printed on Plywerk, shoot me an email at kelly {at} kellyloveswhales {dot} com for more information.
peace. & LOVE. always.
k

how to have an incredibly beautiful morning

wake up to the sound of a sweet husband making tea in the kitchen.

catch a glimpse of an errant begonia on the porch.

bring the begonia inside.

enjoy the light at 6:42am.

take a drink of tea.

breathe.

smile.

*you are alive.*

Tutorial. Digital Collage Lab

hi dears,
today's post features a tutorial on creating digital collage using Photoshop. for this tutorial, you'll need the following:

* Photoshop {or other similar software},

*A fun collection of Photoshop Brushes {there are lovely free ones available here & here},

*Photos or scans of artwork or stuff {you know how I love to experiment with the scanner--feel free to use scans & textures from my for the love of free textures set},

*The same patience you'd give your friends when teaching them something new.

ready? all right.

begin by opening Photoshop & selecting the size of document you'd like to create. {for web, use 72 dpi to keep file size smaller.}



i chose a scanned photo of my grandparents taken when they were expecting my pops. {please be kind & respect the copyright of others when looking for images. there are many creative commons images available here and copyright-free images here.}





layering is key in digital collage. by keeping each action on a separate layer, you can easily discard something if you later decide you aren't crazy about it.



this sweet brush is from a lovely pack available here.


layer styles can do so much for a piece. i often come back and back to a layer to work with the style even after i have ten layers over top.



this is one of my spring-time in seattle photos, taken on an afternoon walk with my love & our pup.


i love how this looks like they've walked in front of a projector slide show or something. very soft.


i added another layer, and used a great big map brush.

{the key is to P L A Y . it doesn't matter what it looks like. just add elements as you create a story: this one is all about the new world my grandparents were about to enter into as they welcomed a baby that spring of 1940-- oops, dad! i might have given your age away!}

now, it's your turn to try the digital collage. show me what you come up with dears! also, post questions below and i'll answer away!
xo

oh, and here is the final result!

la la la monday.

this weekend,i . . .

enjoyed life without a t.v. {we are analog & didn't make the switch.}
ate yummy seafood pasta at la rustica and watched the sun set over the Olympic mountains.
planned some communal raised beds with our sweet sweet neighbors. {you know i love to garden.}
listened to lots and lots of music. {especially loving making art while listening to yoga mixes my friend bekah made me.}
made tons and tons {okay, maybe not tons and tons, but quite a few} digi-collages.

essentially, i recharged the batteries. how about you?

LOVES it.

It is such an amazing time to be an independent artist. . . and support other artists. While browsing Etsy the other day in search of gift ideas {um... for myself...i'm turning 31 soon!}, I found the work of Mara Pollins and instantly fell in love.

Mara is an art teacher in the D.C. area. {I imagine working with kiddos every day is a major source of inspiration.} About her work, Mara writes, "My paintings are inspired by the colors, forms and patterns found in the natural world. Many of my paintings reflect patterns found in plantlife, fugus,biology and cells as would be seen on a microscopic level. I use many layers to create a sense of depth and light."
{check out her shop right here.}

{from left: Cellular, Blobular, Original collage.}

happy happy friday.

dears, you know i love an experiment, right? well... i do. and lately, i have been experimenting a lot with digital collage. i'm smitten. i made these two this week using those copyright-free images & good ol' photoshopery. what risks have you taken lately? what experiments have you undertaken?

this weekend could be the perfect time!

xo

{adventure.}

{the story of the ghost-- this one has a bunch of Phish sheet music in it, too. you know i love that.}

le inspiration.

darlings,
i'm updating my shop! i'm making new art! life is good! here are a few of the images that have grabbed me lately.
big loves,
kel

1. wayto-go-card, 2. Happy Elephant :-), 3. ME, 4. IMG_0033.jpg, 5. Untitled, 6. Untitled, 7. starting to decorate the back lawn for this weekend, 8. Citron, 9. did I tell you that I love bikes?, 10. Untitled, 11. Avis de tempête #06, 12. IMG_8619, 13. Reste Mütze, 14. Crazy Bokeh, 15. Day 222 - Pharaoh?, 16. Untitled, 17. Bibhatsa, 18. Untitled, 19. lightning, 20. Clever, 21. Blue skates, 22. [胡言亂影] 老實說 我一直很不快樂, 23. Untitled, 24. red pier walk, 25. say Yeah, 26. heart of a Japanese teenager, 27. Untitled, 28. Untitled, 29. Untitled, 30. easy as, 31. 07.27.08, 32. piesitos, 33. Yarrow, 34. happy, 35. summer towels, 36. Untitled

white hot.

light. transparent. unexpected. white intrigues me.

all of these images are owned by their individual creators. click on the links to visit their amazing work.
1. Untitled, 2. White sands - spring 1999, 3. To the Blue Caves, 4. ufo, 5. melted lines, 6. 235/365 - Touch - GTW*L*, 7. the curtain call and the satisfied bow after a good performance, 8. Untitled, 9. WHITE, 10. super macro moth, 11. IMG_0004, 12. Untitled, 13. in bed, 14. White days, 15. 06182008, 16. Saskatchewan, 17. Untitled, 18. shooting assignment 02 - e, 19. Unforseen?, 20. bloom., 21. routine, 22. sometimes you just need an extra pair of hands...or finger, 23. Follow Your Heart, 24. Untitled, 25. Untitled, 26. angel, 27. ringwood, 28. Untitled, 29. Untitled, 30. Amazing Grace - Buddhist monks chant at Pongour Falls, the largest waterfall in Dalat, Vietnam., 31. SCREENS, 32. saffron, 33. whiteballoonsandalightswitch, 34. alitastar, 35. Wonderfalls & 014/365, 36. could use a curve

big breath in. and then back under the water.

dudes. you know i'm totally psyched about the one year birthday of this blog. and pretty introspective about it as well. i'm taking the afternoon to think about where we've been and where we are going, and i promise to write all about it on monday. for now, i'll leave you with a little inspiration collage that i made yesterday afternoon. i'm LOVING these colors right now.

peace.
love.
joy.

hark!

the new scanner has arrived! hoorah. here's a new-ish collage in celebration!

illustration friday: theory

This week's theme for Illustration Friday is theory. The word theory brings up so much in me, but I finally settled on String Theory. I created this piece by first collaging with tiny scraps of colors I sliced from magazines like LUCKY & Yoga Journal (there's a juxta, right?). I then photographed this piece and altered it using Photoshop.

In a major nutshell, String Theory is a mathematical modality of theoretical physics that supposes the particles making up the universe are vibrating strings, rather than the point particals (that's standard partical physics). One of the coolest aspects of the vibrating string constituent of reality is that under it, a unified theory of quantum gravity (!!!!) is possible. Alright, I said major nutshell. If you want to know more, I suggest reading The Elegant Universe, or at least watching the NOVA special on The Elegant Universe.

A little background on why this is important to me:
Reading A Brief History of Time changed my life. I never had a very personal, spiritual or deep connection to science before I read Stephen Hawking's book, and had what I would call a moment when I first really connected to the concept of space-time. When I say "a moment," I mean when you start to think about things in a way that causes your whole universe to kind of teeter. If you know what I'm talking about, you know what I'm talking about-- regardless of the impetus behind the moment. Anyway, cosmological physics has a way of really making marrying the science and spirituality behind the mystery of our existence.

P.S. Want to see more submissions for this week's topic? Click here.

I hardly need a new hobby.

I found Polyvore. Holy awesome. It's my newest obsession. This is my idea of the perfect look to ease into spring.

Custom Valentines.

Dears, I am so happy to be offering custom valentines in the shoppe. Here is how it works, after purchasing the valentine, email me a digital photo (or not, it's up to you) and I will craft a special valentine for your special someones.

Here are a few examples of what you could expect with this purchase.

Happy Monday!

Flame.

Dears, Wishing you a lovely weekend. This piece is called flame. He might make his way into the shoppe one of these days.

Illustration Friday: Backwards

Dears,

I had such a lovely time putting together this week's illustration friday submission. The topic is "backwards." Since we get lots and lots of moisture this time of year (and right around the solstice, I begin to need a little reminder of why the rain is so wonderful), I thought it might be fun to turn the water cycle on backwards and let the flowers and foliage give back to the clouds for a chance! I made this by first painting all of the components with watercolors, then cutting them out and collaging them on a watercolored background.

I do hope you are enjoying your Monday!

Inspiration Friday.

It's been awhile since I have posted one of these collages, and today seems like the perfect day to get back into the habit of sharing collages with you, dear readers. I made this one while perusing the new Sephora catalogue, then I manipulated it a bit using good ol' Photoshop. The colors really captivate me. Yum.

For Peace. For Love. For Potential.

Even though inspiration has come quickly and kindly lately, I keep my inspiration-practice going. I make the collages, I listen to the music, I watch the films, I sweat, I breathe, I try to sleep, I move into asanas, I offer all that I have to something greater than myself. All of these rituals keep me going whether the inspiration strikes or not. For these rituals, I am so grateful.

This particular collage is inspired by the wonderful and amazing Amma. She has inspired me lately to take my yoga practice and my teaching practice to a new level.

Truth is LOVE.

I whipped up this little mixed media journal-ish page last night thinking about the state of affairs in Myanmar right now. Thinking about regular-Joes & Jills creating a protective barrier around the monks. These people are so courageous. I am praying for them with all I have.