"The Tailor Scraps Her Maze"
Post Script:
A comment here today compelled me to 'break down' the elements I used to create this collage (posted below) and to add my own reflections on digital collage, for what its worth.
ALL of the images I used (with the exception of the background writing purchased from Kate Pertiet) are from copyright free resources published on the web. One of my favorite sites is Wikipedia because of the high resolution of their images and the Creative Commons license attached to them. Although, I have also spent several hundreds of dollars purchasing CD's and digital images through various sites as well as books like Dover's Harper collections.
As you can see, most of the images used in this collage required several color /contrast/resolution adjustments as well as, and sometimes the most time consuming part, extracting them from their backgrounds. Although digital software programs can speed this process up, they are seldom precise and it is often more time consuming to digitally cut out an image than by hand with scissors. My point being, digital collage isn't necessarily an easier method to collage. It is environmentally friendly by excluding the toxins found in some paints, pastels, adhesives and the obvious potential for more paper waste. Further, the ability to 'erase' an image placed down, and/or digitally manipulate colors, filters, etc. is impossible to replicate any other way. It can conceivably be less expensive , and you don't end up going out for dinner in the evening with paint and bits of paper and glue stuck to your hair and body, under your fingernails, elbows and sleeves. The process of layering images on the screen is initially very similar, if not identical, to the process of sitting in front of a group of paper images on my desk and moving them around by hand. Digital allows you to play with opacity however which is artistically very pleasing to me. The pitfall ? To my mind, it is the absence of texture - the dimensionality, the happy accidents, the glops of paint, the patina..... Bottom line - hugely significant. This deficit has lead me to begin using digital software programs and a scanner to explore elements conceptually and then employ these as a basis to create a paper/glue/scissors rendering. The marriage of both processes seems to be a satisfying place for me to be, today.
Your thoughts on this topic? Thanks for reading.
8 comments:
I love everything about it! Where did you find the beautiful 'airmail' sticker?
The partial postage cancelation stamp is perfect, as are the numbers going off on the side. The Chinese stamp and other symbols are mouth watering.
As you can see I am excited about this one!
Have a great day.
Egmont
Looks like you've been keeping busy. I like the feel of this one.
Absolutely beautiful. Hmmm, should I send you my address? :)Bea
Ah the digital question raises its ugly head again. It will likely never be that people recognize that a machine is only as good as its operator. Your digital work is the best I have ever seen and it is a constant source of viewing pleasure. I did wonder about that text that you mention, and I know that you would like to be proficient at lettering, but if you paid for and acknowledge the artist then that is good enough for all purposes, copyright-wise and morally-wise. So, otherwise, these eyes just love looking at your fantastic work!!!! I love coming to your blog!
LindaT.
The use of copyright free material is usually very dated and most people have the same thing, therefore one needs a very good collection and alter the material in such a way to make it more personal.
I have also been collecting my own, especially photographing textures, construction wall where posters are torn, along with gathering materials that will later be scanned.
If one paints, like I do, I even make use of the painting as a source of material, as for example the distressing surfaces I am doing to paint on. But before painting on them i have photographed the various portions of these canvases for one of a kind unique background textures for an electronic collage.
Much can be done by hand and then scanned, manipulated within PhotoShop and then used in an electronic collage.
The point Trudi makes about texture is true. Textures are mostly absent in an electronic collage, yet I find that for certain thing creating an electronic collage is fine, especially when trying out a design before committing to doing it the old fashion way.
Since the bulk of my collage work is done the traditional method, I always marvel at what Trudi creates and enjoy visiting.
Egmont
To clarify, it isn't necessary to acknowledge Katie Pertiet as as I have paid the photography license she has charged which she states entitles me to use this image for personal or commercial purposes without artist acknowledgement.
Thanks for the writeup as well as the image. I find that I have happy accidents in digital collage as well as paper and scissors - a chance filter effect, an interesting color in route to the color I had in mind, or a more pleasing placement after the fact. Like you I am always on the lookout for new images, sometimes devoting most of an art day to image hunting. Again, thanks for describing your process.
Love it Trudi! Fabulous as always.
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