Self Portraits

 

I know a lot of people seem to really be struggling with this lesson, but I had a fun time with it.   Many people are uncomfortable being in FRONT of the camera lens.  Too self-critical?  Low self esteem?   Yeah, I've been there, too.   Whatever it was,  I must have moved through it already ...

When I was pregnant 11 years ago, I was NOT one of those beautiful mothers who glowed.  The hormones of pregnancy wrecked great havoc with my skin.  My husband finally bought a roll of black-and-white film (remember film?) to capture those moments, and tone down the redness in my skin at the time.  That helped a lot. I felt jolly and content, but my skin was erupting and protesting.

My husband takes more of the people pics at our house.  I've been to enough funerals to know the ritual of combing through the family pics to choose images that will be in the photo montage at the funeral.  I won't always be here--I know that.  But to deny my loved ones taking a photo of me?  It's for them, not me. Will they wish we had more pics of me after I'm gone?   I wonder if Beyonders thought of it that way, they'd be more willing to allow themselves to be photographed?  Our loved ones see beauty in us that we're blind to ...  So Beyonders, when I added Kim's "You are already amazing" affirmation, I'm talking to all of YOU on this journey with me.  Do the assignment. You'll be glad you did, even if you are hiding behind something.  This is your chance to come out and shine!

I took a lot of pictures for this lesson--and deleted most of them.  Don't you love digital photography!  It was good practice figuring out the pose and spacing, lighting, etc. That in-and-of itself was a useful exercise.  In the end, I decided to go with this picture, cropped from a larger photo a few years ago.   I actually used this image in 2010 to do a 4-color fabric portrait in fabric.  So I guess you could say I was already familiar with it.   I remember it felt weird to be working on a picture of myself, but I'm over it now.  ;-)

The beauty of PhotoShop Elements is that if you don't like what you see, you can alter it.  I played around with some of the free Actions out there for PSE and came up with the different versions in the collage above.   Some of them hide my gray hair, some of them smooth out my skin nicely ...  All different, but pleasing effects.

Top Left : Pioneer Woman's Black Beauty Action
Top Right : Coffee Shop's Raspberry Tea Action
                   The image at the head of this post also adds Kim Klassen's "Amazing" brush/stamp
Bottom Left :  Coffee Shop's Irish Breakfast Tea
Bottom Right : Coffee Shop's Green Tea Action
No extra textures on these.  the b/w effect was enough, I think.

Here's the original photo the self portrait came from.
We were doing some flower pounding that day.

[The content of this post originally appeared on my arts-and-crafts blog, Sweet Leaf Notebook on July 18, 2012.]   

Ten Truths about Me

Kim Klassen's Beyond Layers class is 52 weeks of Inspiration.  This week's assignment is to share 10 truths about myself.  I don't usually do that here on Sweet Leaf Notebook, but here it goes ...

1)  I love big, black furry dogs of the Newfie variety.  Meet Maggie, my 2nd-Chance Newf.  She is the sweetest dog you'd ever want to meet.
2) I lived in a housing coop in Madison, WI, for 7 years. I can hardly believe I stayed so long!
3) I met my sweet and wonderful husband at that Coop.   We left together.  ;-)  I guess I had to stay there long enough for him to move in!
4) I'm not much of a housekeeper.  I'd much rather spend my time making stuff, than cleaning up.
5) I am an INFJ which means I recharge my batteries at home, being quiet--making stuff and being creative.  Or just reading. Or blogging. Or working on PhotoShop pics.  Or Sewing. Or Dyeing ...
6) I love a good cuppa tea, and sitting by the fire in Winter.
7) I am trained as a Hospice Volunteer.  This is one of the most important jobs I do.

 

The road to Faery Glen, Isle of Skye.

8) My favorite country is Scotland.  Love the green!  Love the accents!  Love Robert Carlyle!  Give me those ever-changing, moody skies any day over a burning, hot sun.   This feels like home!
9) I won a bronze medal for figure skating in the Badger State Games in 1996.   For many years, skating was my absolute JOY!  I didn't get to take lessons until I went to college, so no--I wasn't one of those 6-year olds dreaming of winning the Olympics.  I skated because I loved the way it felt--smoooth and fluid.  I felt Beautiful on the ice.
10) I do NOT have a cell phone, and I get along just fine without one.   :-)

About the top image :
I used one of the Ginger Pixel Storyboard templates.
Picked 4 family pictures.
Used Kim Klassen's "Dear Dreamer" Texture as the background.
Added a layer for text, using Caflisch Script Pro font.

[The content of this post originally appeared on my arts-and-crafts blog, Sweet Leaf Notebook on June 7, 2012.] 

Crossing Over

Dear Reader,

My apologies for not posting much here in recently months.  I've been taking an online photography class called Beyond Layers with Kim Klassen.  When it started in April, I thought I would effectively learn to use PhotoShop Elements and that I would wind up with a year's worth of beautiful images (my own!).  What I did not expect was that the teacher would ask us to go deeper ...  I'm beginning to understand that the STORY behind the image adds powerful emotional content.  The Meaning is part of what matters.  It is essentially another Layer.

Some of Kim's assignments have asked us to reflect on the kind of personal things that I'd be much more likely to post here on Hidden Passages (HP), rather than my artsy Sweet Leaf Notebook (SLN) blog which documents my creative pursuits.  HP is sort of the family stories and personal musings, with a much smaller audience.  SLN is much more eye candy, designed to document the things I make (art quilts, hand dyed fabric, surface design, and lately, photography).  There has not usually been an emotional life on Sweet Leaf Notebook--until this summer.  Nor have I posted much of my Artsy-craftsy life on HP.  Many of the recent posts on SLN are things I felt would work better on HP because of the personal nature of the the story layer.   In fact, when the class began, I wondered if I shouldn't post Beyond Layers assignments to Hidden Passages instead of Sweet Leaf Notebook.

However, thanks to Tim Berners-Lee and Google, I can post them in both places!  Aside from my mom and my dear husband, I don't think many people out there read both.  Hence, I will be re-posting those stories that seem to fit Hidden Passages. 

Here we go ...

"Some Mukluks, Some Seal Skin Gloves and a Coat with Beads Around the Collar"

On our trip-of-a lifetime to Alaska in June,  we spent some time at beautiful Denali National Park.  At one of the eateries in the park, the Old Sourdough Studio let you dress up and be photographed living out classic Alaska scenes.  The one that really caught my eye was riding a bear while the northern lights danced in the sky above you ...

I really liked this whole idea because I was thinking about  :

1) John Hiatt's song "Some mukluks, some seal skin gloves and a coat with beads around the collar" 

Seven Little Indians (Album Version)   Listen to "7 Little Indians" by John Hiatt

2) Margaret Murie and her fur-lined ruff on her wedding day in 1925 and 

3) this whole tourist dress-up thing would have really irked my mother-in-law had she been along.  ;-)

Sitting in the Lodge that evening, I saw a promo for the chance to dress up in mukluks ...  CL knew I was thinking about this, and he caught these pictures of me looking longingly at the promos and finally deciding to go for it.  He knows I'm a goofball and this whole process was entertaining for him. ;-)

Here's a shot of the the Lodge near our cabins at Denali.  That evening it was raining on one side of the building, and sun shining on the other side, with a rainbow in between.

Here are some pictures of the dress-up stage. I even convinced Oliver to go along with me.  He was looking forward to the chance to wear a wolf fur, and hold a rifle.  He also picked the shot with the sled dog.   We'd seen and heard a lot about the sled dogs at Denali.   Though it may not sound like much, this was a big deal to me.  For the past 3 years, Oliver has been terrible about pictures.  If someone wants to take his picture, he suddenly becomes a gargoyle and is generally unpleasant.  His school pictures are awful--He actually practices looking deadpan, depressed and miserable.  Sometimes, if someone else is taking the photo, he will smile, but he won't show any teeth.

Happy Camper.

I thought it was great fun, and worth the price to get Oliver to smile.

Pilgrimage to Vancouver Public Library

 Photo from here.  

We just got back from a trip that ended in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  For more than 10 years now, I've wanted to visit the Vancouver Public Library (VPL).   What can I say? I'm a Librarian.  When I travel, I check out the local libraries.  ;-)   10 years ago, my boss at the time attended a library conference in Vancouver, and she sent back a post card from the VPL.    I still have that post card.  It's served as a beacon all these years ... until I could get there myself. 

"I'm here!  Finally ..."

The Vancouver Public Library is in a gorgeous building! Like the old Roman Colluseum, or a scroll unrolling ...  Not the usual boxy, boring cement monstrosity you might imagine for a government building.  All those curved window spaces are study carrels lining the outer walls of the building.  And they get used! 

We visited on a Saturday afternoon in June, and it was difficult to find an empty computer, chair, or study carrel. The place was hopping!   (By comparison, the public library in my own town is closed on summer Sundays because people are out and doing and not in the Library.  Maybe it has to do with the amount of rainfall in Vancouver--People are used to doing things inside--even in summer?  They only get about 6 weeks of sunshine in a typical year.)    Many English-as-a Second-Language students, some homeless people, regular people.  Lots of people using the public library.

There are shops in the atrium--even a Library Flower Shop!  There's also a conference center.  It's even been featured in movies!

My husband and I signed up for free internet access at the VPL.  I got a card that's good for 1 year!  You would not believe how proud I am of this card!  I got to take a little piece of VPL home with me. ;-)  I know what you're thinking : Geek!  Well--I'm proud of that identity, too!

We liked Vancouver so much we are planning to go back some day, and then I will renew my internet access there!

Want to know more?  Here's the Wikipedia entry.
See more pictures from the architect's website.

Grappa Stories by Eddie Smitmajer : Part 4

These are recordings of my grandfather's stories as he told them around his kitchen table one day in 1988.  I have fond memories of sitting around their kitchen table and listening to these stories.  I'm so glad we got some of them recorded.  I remember his accent, and just the way he talked ...

This is an interview Mande Matucheski (my sister) did with Grappa Eddie Smitmajer for a school project.

10 Travels [Link to Audio]


11 WW2 [Link to Audio]


12 World's Fair [Link to Audio]


13 Violet  [Link to Audio]


 



14 Fishing in Canada  [Link to audio]






 

Listen to more :
Grappa Stories : Part 1

Grappa Stories : Part 2
Grappa Stories : Part 3
Grappa Stories : Part 4

Grappa Stories by Eddie Smithmajer : Part 3

  

These are recordings of my grandfather's stories as he told them around his kitchen table one day in 1988.  I have fond memories of sitting around their kitchen table and listening to these stories.  I'm so glad we got some of them recorded.  I remember his accent, and just the way he talked ...

This is an interview Mande Matucheski (my sister) did with Grappa Eddie Smitmajer for a school project.

07 Dynamite   [Link to Audio]

08 Truck Driving [Link to Audio]

09 Flying [Link to Audio]

Listen to more :
Grappa Stories : Part 1

Grappa Stories : Part 2
Grappa Stories : Part 3
Grappa Stories : Part 4

Grappa Stories by Eddie Smitmajer : Part 2

These are recordings of my grandfather's stories as he told them around his kitchen table one day in 1988.  I have fond memories of sitting around their kitchen table and listening to these stories.  I'm so glad we got some of them recorded.  I remember his accent, and just the way he talked ...

This is an interview Mande Matucheski (my sister) did with Grappa Eddie Smitmajer for a school project.

04 Questions [Link to Audio]



05 Candy by the Ceiling [Link to Audio]



06 School  [Link to Audio]



Listen to more :
Grappa Stories : Part 1

Grappa Stories : Part 2
Grappa Stories : Part 3
Grappa Stories : Part 4

Grappa Stories by Eddie Smitmajer : Part 1

These are recordings of my grandfather's stories as he told them around his kitchen table one day in 1988.  I have fond memories of sitting around their kitchen table and listening to these stories.  I'm so glad we got some of them recorded.  I remember his accent, and just the way he talked ...

This is an interview Mande Matucheski (my sister) did with Grappa Eddie Smitmajer for a school project.

01 Fish Hawk   [Link to Audio]


02 Languages  [Link to Audio]


03 Missionaries and Cannibals  [Link to Audio]




Listen to more :
Grappa Stories : Part 1
Grappa Stories : Part 2
Grappa Stories : Part 3
Grappa Stories : Part 4

Pictures from France : Dinner at Genevieve's in St. Flour

 

Here's the storyboard version which I'm learning to do in my online Photoshop Elements Class.  For an explanation of what and how, go here.

 The old city of St. Flour, on the hilltop.  

We elected to drive up to the top rather than walk up the goat path.

 One of the towers in town.

 We decided to have dinner Chez Genevieve.   

This is some of the decor on the wall around our table.  

A bouquet of silverware is quite appropriate for a restaurant.

 The view out the window at our table.   

 I love these chimney tops and roof tiles.  

 My dinner partner, CL.  Oliver was there, too, and not at all happy that I wanted to eat here.  It was a tiny restaurant with 2 floors.  The kitchen, the chef, and the bar were upstairs.  It's amazing what wonderful meals are made in such tiny kitchens in France.   Genevieve's was filled with local people--which is a good sign of good food!

 The sun was setting as we ate, and offering a magnificent light show on the fields in the distance.  Every time I looked out, the fields were a different color, from greens to golds and finally to gray.  It was remarkable.    Then there's this slate tile rooftop that made me think it was the skin of a big slumbering dragon ...

 More of the decor.

Coquilles Saint-Jacques, or scallops, with fresh basil pesto on the noodles, and I forget what the vegetable in the cup was.  Delicious and light!