Getting the hang of it

Someday I hope to unwrap a bundled article of clothing

and have it 

not

look like an old paint rag.

Assembling the right combination of ingredients isn't the key ...

choosing the right fabric doesn't seem to be the key either ...

nor is how I roll it up, tie the string,

the cooking time or whether the vegetation was frozen or fresh

or how long I've let time be my friend afterwards ...

and shoot, I may have forgotten to pre-mordant.

None of these is  the  key

because

ALL

of

them

are.

So

that's the main thing I'm learning about this natural dyeing process,

the reason why it's so critical to keep practicing, work steadily, experiment,

build a knowledge base one step on top of the other.

Luck will only get ya so far.

Then

there's that no-small-matter of

 intuition ... 

often just a quiet fluttering off to the side,

a barely noticeable nudge

 towards a choice I wasn't going to make.

Am I listening hard enough?

I will concede that

some paint rags are prettier than others

but

I've got miles to go before

purple blobs are gonna be skillfully arranged into a

worthy item of clothing ...

at least

that's how it feels today.

But I am a bit cranky.

Maybe I should just blame it on the Super Moon ...

I feel a bit like that button !

Tis one good thing tho:

thrift store stuff is cheap

and fairly plentiful.

Oh.

TWO good things ...

nothing in the world like having the fine company of Her Fluffiness 

when I'm a tad grumpy ... 

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Not just like old times...

...hours in the darkroom manipulating an image till it's juuuuuust so.  Cross-eyed from dodging & burning.

Nostrils aflame from hanging ones head over chemical soup of the unsavory kind.

Nope.

Black dog in white snow might have taken hours in days gone by

but now...

ok, it's no secret, this

 loveHATEloveHATE  relationship I've been having with digital photography.  I've had the odd rant or six on that

tired & worn subject.

Sometimes it's best to just not give up...so here's some news...

{{{{  drumroll  }}}}

I think I might be getting over it.

I hope my fiber & stitching friends are hanging in there with me during my recent photo madness...

it's finally gelling and things are falling into sensible places - that's my hope anyway.  Winter has been

such a good time to put nose-to-Photoshop.  Soon enough it will be spring again

and I'll be out in the garden, under the umbrella,

with a basket of threads and a pile of scraps...

In the meantime, I'm in the digital darkroom.

I'm participating in a couple of online workshops simultaneously ~ it's so great,

these teachers who teach this way.

The best perk as a student...what could be better than practicing an assignment in your pajamas???

Susan Tuttle is teaching Toy Camera...how to replicate toy camera & old fashioned film processing effects

using Photoshop (or PS Elements).  Remember the Diana cameras, pinholes & Holgas?

Oh, it's such a blast!

The black & whites above started out as color, which you remove & tweak & add a layer of milky texture, 

mimicking the silver gelatin process on glass plates...

My fine feathered friends up there were  willing  suitable subjects for a vintage polaroid effect.  Years ago,

I probably would have taken their picture with my really clunky SX-70 Folding Land camera anyway...

 what a fortune I spent on that film!  These are residents of my local historical museum...a western screech owl

and a (very rare) albino red-tailed hawk.  I normally never prefer to see birds in this way

but in this instance, they are a kind of teacher as well.

I've recently learned that the Samish (one of our local Native American tribes) say

we shouldn't display night birds and day birds together...

I'd like to know more about this...if anyone can tell me, please do.

Till next time...

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If you can't beat 'em...

...bend a little.

Been gnawing on a very important issue for a couple of weeks now...

this seemed as good a time as any to make a few changes, be more

proactive

about the ownership of my images here on the Path.

So I'll be adding an extra *voice* in the form of a watermark,

just to let people know it's proper birthright...the true maker.

Now when people steal my photographs ~ and this they will do, without a doubt ~ for their Pinterest boards,

or their own blogs,

or their own projects,

without even the courtesy of a polite, "may I?"

at least I'll know my name sailed away with it.

I've been resistant to add watermarks...don't really like how they interfere and

draw ones attention away from the real subject matter,

but now it's become more important to sign the work than worry about that.

I'll just have to try and make them pretty & palatable.

Painters have been signing the face of their paintings for eons...

do we ever say, oh why did he put his signature on it?

Enough ranting about that.

If you want to hear some hair raising personal stories, we can email privately :>]

Today's photo was previously seen on my December 15th post, but since it met with all the criteria for

Kim Klassen's challenge this week in her Beyond Layers workshop, I decided to roll with it...

considering my mental state and all.

The challenge was to think of a single word and then create a photo around that theme.

I used one of Kim's FREE textures, called Simplicity, which has a lovely, old newsprint feel.

The additional challenge for me was learning how to add a layer of type...

and another layer for that dang watermark.

What do you think?  Can you live with it?

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