Tuesday Treasures

On Tuesdays we provide our Faculty an opportunity to feature the talented work of some of our students and friends. You may see a display of creative Photoshop work, their beautiful photographs or an interesting story about an individual’s meaningful contribution to his or her community, country or the world.If you have memories, old or new, you would like to share, send them to me at mxw8110@yahoo.com.


PADE Cells

You may not know what that means--I didn't! What I knew instantly was that this unique, creative process produces some marvelous images!

Valerie Jagiello is an artist who takes classes from time to time at the community college where I teach. She is generous in sharing her work with us, as well as ideas and tips for using Photoshop Elements' many filters.

I'll let her explain:

"These images show examples of my PADE cells imprinted with altered images taken from photographs shot in the upstate New York and Connecticut. The PADE cells are a clear plastic 0.10mm weight (similar to the type used in overhead projectors). The backgrounds are all different. Some sheets are scrapbooking papers, others are a paper collage, or a textured paper.

In this group of images I used four basic filters on each example...always in the same order. I started with an initial "Sharpen" to give the image an extra crisp edge. Then added "Equalize" to remove some color or correct for any camera filters that may have been used. Once a natural color was established I used "Ink Outlines" to refine, define and add texture to the image. The final fliter was the "Sharpen" again (for at least one time). By using the "Sharpen" filter more than once you can soften or reduce the color and shape even further...this helps create a mood.

Below, you will see "Morning Mist"...I was looking for a surreal Renaissance type look for "Morning Mist". The background the imaged cell was placed on was a vintage looking sheet of scrap booking paper with sepia ink written words. The combination of the two was just the Renaissance look/effect I was looking for.

"Blue Trees"....The original photo had several other trees in back of the main tree on the left hand side. After cloning out the other trees the beauty of this tree was fully revealed. The picture started to evolve. Sometimes you have to remove certain parts of an image to make it work and this is one of those cases. The background paper I used was a very free interpretative study of clouds done in oil on canvas. It you look closely at the top you can see the canvas texture.

"Garden Shed"....This original photo was processed using the above Photoshop filter steps as I was looking for an "old postcard color" effect. It was placed over a collage of papers (visible near and around the sky) with a signature from one document running along the side of the shed at the left hand side. The wonderful yellow color of the papers help to create this final piece.

"Ruby"....An original photo taken in Connecticut. All the same steps from above were followed and I added the same background from "Morning Mist" to compliment this wonderful picture. You can see that even though the same backgrounds were used the look it totally different.

"The Granny Tree'.....The original was just an interesting photo of a tree. This is an example of using the "Sharpen" filter many times. By using it the top part of the tree and the trees on the horizontal line were reduced and just the shapes remained. The background paper used was with a impasto type image that looked like scratches and it added to the mood of this piece 100%.

If you are in the Dallas area, I hope that you will come to see the entire 25 piece collection I call "A CHANGE OF SEASONS" at the Jesuit Museum Christmas Bazaar, 12345 Inwood Road Dallas Texas 75244 December 5, 2009 9 a.m. to 5 p.m."

Directions: The Jesuit Dallas Museum is located in North Dallas, south of the Galleria Mall and LBJ (635) Freeway west of the Tollway."　

A special thanks to Valerie Jagiello for sharing her wonderful images with us.