Finding Inspiration

I work in an after school enrichment program and one of the lessons I just gave the kids was creating art without a lot of fancy or expensive materials. I showed them how, by using cardboard and scrap paper, a few crayons and some paint and string they could make a cool collage. I showed them an example (above pic) and they peeled cardboard and tore paper to make the basic collage. Then I showed them how to drag a string dipped in paint through the collage. They had a blast bouncing the string up and down. In the end, the assignment was fun, and hopefully they can make art at home, without much of an investment.

When I brought my sample home, I took some pictures of it. I wanted to show you how a simple art project or photograph can become more than what you would expect.



I find that Photo shop can really help me to create unusual designs, which can lead me to do projects that I hadn't even thought of.


As you may know, photoshop has several filters that change the appearance of the original picture.



In all of these images, I've used different filters and combinations of filters to change the original artwork. I save each picture that I change in Save as. For instance, my original picture is called cardboard. Then I save the second picture as Save as Cardboard1. The next, save as Cardboard 2, and so on. That way I save my original art work and have additional work that I may be able to use.


The above image was done using pattern maker. I love the way it turned out. I could use this image for altered art, artists trading cards, background for a website or for scrapbooking.


The image above looks like some kind of creature stepping up onto a pile of junk. It's creepy looking, but it could lead to a great idea.





This reminds me of bark on a tree. Think how interesting this would look in a collage

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Some of the designs are so interesting, they make me want to use them! I love the color combinations.



They are uniquely different and with each new design I can see several possibilities.
These are just some of the images I made with one original design. I find this exercise to be very stimulating; it really opens my mind up to many ideas. Some times the designs don't work, but the process getting there was enjoyable. In the next few days, I'll show you some designs I made using polymer clay images. In the meantime, if you have photoshop, practice making your own creations with the help of the filter tool.