May all of your weeds be wildflowers!

The word serendipity is defined as the faculity or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. Does that sound like a wildflower or what?

Frank Fandrick has been a contributor to our blog since we started in 2009. I was delighted to hear from him after a trip he had made to Austin, Texas where he had taken some pictures of one of my favorite things--wildflowers! I emailed him immediately and asked if we could use them on our blog, and he graciously agreed.

What a pleasure these images are. I did some browsing on the Internet and found quotations, music lyrics and an essay that fit right in these pictures such as:

"Love is like wildflowers; It's often found in the most unlikely places.”

Or remember this song:

Hey, I’m a wildflower, growin’ in the sunshine
Soakin’ up the way of life I was raised in
Runnin’ barefoot bloomin’ in the summer shower
Ponytail dancin’, I can’t help it. I’m a wildflower.

The next image is a repeat of the first one with the addition of some Photoshop filters--looks dreamy!

Here is part of an essay called Wild Flowers, written by Richard Jeffries:
Before I had any conscious thought it was a delight to me to find wild flowers, just to see them. It was a pleasure to gather them and to take them home; a pleasure to show them to others--to keep them as long as they would live, to decorate the room with them, to arrange them carelessly with grasses, green sprays, tree-bloom--large branches of chestnut snapped off, and set by a picture perhaps. Without conscious thought of seasons and the advancing hours to light on the white wild violet, the meadow orchis, the blue veronica, the blue meadow cranesbill; feeling the warmth and delight of the increasing sun-rays, but not recognizing whence or why it was joy...the various hues of the petals pleased without any knowledge of colour-contrasts, no note even of colour except that it was bright, and the mind was made happy without consideration of those ideals and hopes afterwards associated with the azure sky above the fir-tree. A fresh footpath, a fresh flower, a fresh delight. The reeds, the grasses, the rushes--unknown and new things at every step--something always to find; no barren spot anywhere, or sameness. Every day the grass painted anew, and its green seen for the first time; not the old green, but a novel hue and spectacle, like the first view of the sea.

Add the images to a collage with some descriptive text and it is another kind of gem!


A special thank you to Frank for bringing us this breath of spring!

Special Effects

Today we have more Special Effects and Collaging from one of my community college students here in Dallas.

Express Yourself!

Ray Bolton is one of my favorite students. He was truly ambivilent about learning an image editing program when he first came to class. But he dug in, was patient and learned the ins and outs of Photoshop Elements and what you see below is the result of his hard work.

Ray's neighbor, Vicki Agee, is actually the one responsible for Ray ending up in our Photoshop Elements classes. A little bit of nagging can be a wonderful thing--she kept after him, he relented and now he's guuuuud! Here is a collage he did of Vicki in her wonderful rose Garden with her charming little dogs!

This protrait was taken from one of the images in the collage. He cropped it out of the collage and used the Artistic Brush Strokes filter to create a painting effect. Then he added a vignette and manufactured a picture frame.

Here is birthday card for a friend of his from his gym, Kailee, who is studying to be a nurse. Florence Nightengale never had it so good!



The blue daylily on Richard's birthday card below was intended to be a joke for Ray's friend. Richard is a daylily grower in Connecticut. And guess what-blue daylilies do not exist! You can fool a lot of people in Photoshop but not this guy!

Great ideas coming from a creative mind who learned how to express himself through images.

“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successfull personality to duplicate.” ~Bruce Lee

Thanks so much Ray for letting me share your images on the blog!

Tuesday Treasures

On Tuesday's we are going to take a trip down memory lane with some "remember when" photos and stories submitted by our students. It could be photos from a high school prom; a nostalgic look at a 1950's TV program or a collage of photos that were just taken last week. If you have memories, old or new, you would like to share, send them to me at mxw8110@yahoo.com

This simple yet effective collage was created in Photoshop Elements by one of my favorite students, Kevin Rush. He visits New York City as often as possible to take in all the city has to offer plus to catch up on the many family members and friends who live in or near New York City.

He is a native of New Jersey and spent many a day and night in New York City before leaving home to attend college at the University of Tennessee and to pursue a career with Celanese Corporation.

He and his wife Linda (an excellent baker and dedicated teacher) were fortunate to live in the New York City suburbs for 13 years during which time their son Bryan was born. Kevin's career took the family to Dallas in 1992 where they have put down new roots.

The pictures in the collage were all taken on a Saturday morning between 7 and 7:30 in and around his niece's apartment in the West Village of NY City. Kevin said, “I thought she would appreciate getting to see her neighborhood from a perspective and lighting she normally would not witness. Why should she ever be up at 7 on a Saturday morning?”

Thanks to Kevin for sharing his "morning magic" of photos in this collage collection.

Tuesday's 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.

Shiver Me Timbers
and Grab My Pirate Hat!

This charmer was done by Betty Malone, one of my students at the college where I teach in Dallas. I loved it the instant I saw it!

Adding the vector graphics in with the child’s pictures gives the overall image zip. Of course it helps that the pictures themselves are great, from start to finish. What an adorable child, and that face tells it all, doesn’t it?

The last picture in this collage brought to mind an image by John Singer Sargent at the Dallas Museum of Art that I've always loved. It is called Dorothy and is of a child who I do believe was waaaay past being overjoyed by sitting for this portrait!

I know how hard I try to hit the moving targets my grandkids are with my camera at the right time. Imagine trying to paint one of them!!

Information about painting:

Portrait of Dorothy (Dorothy Williamson)
John Singer Sargent -- American painter
1900
Dallas Museum of Art, Texas
Oil on canvas From Dallas Museum of Art (9/5/08)Dorothy Williamson was the granddaughter of George Millar Williamson, one of John Singer Sargent's first American patrons. Sargent painted Dorothy's portrait in London in 1900 and exhibited the work the following year at the Society of
American Artists in New York.

A special thank you to Betty Malone for sharing this fun image with us.

Tuesday's 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.

Award Winner

My kids and I often participated in the State Fair of California when they were growing up. They both rode ponies in the 4-H Horse Show where they won much appreciated ribbons for their efforts. Also, one year we did a rather disastrous garden that was great fun but didn’t win anything.

Well, one of my Photoshop students at the junior college where I teach in Dallas won several much deserved ribbons at the Texas State Fair.

Janice and Monroe Roden have attended Photoshop classes with me over the years and I’ve always admired Janice’s talent. She is especially good at creating artistic, interesting collages.

One day in class she opened up the following picture. My reaction was, “Wow, where did you get that!” Turns out she created it for competition in the Texas State Fair and won second place with it!

In this image you see her grandfather in the upper left corner. The watch in the middle of the collage, the brass knuckles and the spurs were his when he was a ranch hand on the Lazy S Ranch in Paducah, Texas in early 1900s. The doll was handmade by his wife who was also cooked for the ranch hands over an open fire.

This gem is an image of Janice's parents at the State Fair in 1930. When they were married she was 15 and he was 25 (he said he was 22 though)! The button and the pin came from the 1934 fair. The cup came from the 1940 fair.



Here are some familiar faces from the Texas State Fair and they won an honorable mention as well.



Here is the collage she won second place with in the 2005 Daughter’s of the American Revolution contest.



What a fun, wholesome way to share pictures about days gone by, our country, or the county fair itself! Of course, it helps to be a great hand at working with images the way Janice is!

Thanks Janice for sharing with us. These collages are as big a treat as county fair corn dogs, roasted corn on the cob and cotton candy!

Tuesday's 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.




Our Heart Felt Thanks!

William Shakespeare said, “I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks, and thanks.”

I was just watching the movie Pearl Harbor, and it brought to mind the enormous debt of gratitude we owe the men and women in our armed forces, both then and now. Elmer Davis said, “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”

Below is a collage project I did for one of my Photoshop classes of pictures I found of my father who went to war over Pearl Harbor. He was the Captain of a B-17 crew who flew 35 missions during World War II.



He would never talk much about his experience in the war, but I do have these pictures which speak for themselves.

A pilot's life would include...

The family you have to leave behind so you can fight to protect them. While my brother, Roger, and my sister, Libby, were not yet born, he fought for their future as well as mine.



Loaning your gear to your kids...I still have this hat and the dogtags, 65 years later!



New work clothes...



A new place of business...



A new workgroup...

And a place in the history of our country forever...

Lieutenant Jarrot McCord, Jr.
8th Air Force Division
United States Air Force

Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny."

And it is still so with today's generation. We pass on our gratitude for the sacrifice, strength and bravery of our armed forces in the Middle East and around the world. We offer our prayers for their families waiting at home for their return.

From the bottom of our hearts,
thank you.

Mimi

Tuesdays Treasures

On Tuesday's we are going to take a trip down memory lane with some "remember when" photos and stories submitted by our students. It could be photos from a high school prom; a nostalgic look at a 1950's TV program or a collage of photos that were just taken last week. If you have memories, old or new, you would like to share, send them to me at mxw8110@yahoo.com

Traveling Partners

I met Jane Kennedy and Linda Baker several years ago in a class I was teaching. They are two of the finest examples I know of lifelong learning. Their keen interest in the world around them makes them good company and quick learners.

They met in a piano (keyboard) class they took after they retired. They started talking about a fellow student's trip to Machu Picchu and discovered they both had wanted to go there for years but couldn't find a travel companion that wanted to go. So, they made plans to go to Peru and Bolivia in September 2001.

Their trip was canceled because of 911 travel restrictions but they finally made it in June, 2002. They struggled with the high altitude in Bolivia and a transportation strike in Peru, but it was a great adventure.

They discovered they were great travel companions and had a lot in common. Since then, Jane and Linda have been to China, South Africa, Zambia, Egypt, Jordan, Croatia, Russia and the Balkan states.

This colorful, creative collage contains photos that Jane and Linda took on their trip to South Africa and Zambia in 2004.



Jane says, “We started taking classes at Richland College in Dallas, Texas where we discovered Photoshop. It provided us with a venue for editing and preserving our travel photos as well as restoring old family photos. This has turned into a hobby and given us the skills to impress our computer savvy grandchildren. (If you have teenage grandchildren, you know how difficult that is!)”

Mark Twain said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."