Photo Transfer Tiles, Part 3

(Part 2 of this series explained preparing the tiles, transferring the image, and the importance of waiting...)

18. After waiting at least a full day, spray the paper with water until fully moistened. (If you do not have a spray bottle, then soak a sponge or washcloth and place on top of the paper until fully moistened. I do not recommend soaking the tile in a bucket or bowl of water.)

19. Gently rub the paper with your finder until it rolls off from the tile. Work slowly and with a light touch until all the paper is removed. If the paper starts to dry out during this process, moisten it again. Rub the tile with a wet paper towel to make sure that all the paper is removed. Let dry completely.

20. If desired, paint the image on the tile with acrylic paint. Let dry completely.

21. If desired, scuff up the image with a nail file, to give it a weathered look. Because the gel medium is essentially a thin latex layer over tile, you may want to pull up small areas of the image. Rub the tile with a wet paper towel to make sure that all the paper is removed. Let dry completely.

22. Protect the tile with two coasts of varnish. Let the varnish dry at least overnight between coats or until completely dry.

Here's a few more from the set of 8:

Photo Transfer Tiles, Part 2

(Part 1 of this series explains how to create the transfers.)

(9) Now, it's tile to go shopping (or raid your craft closet). In addition to your transfers, you'll need:

• Golden Soft Gel (Gloss)
• Sponge brush
• 4" travertine tiles (I used beige ones. These should cost you about $5.50 for a box of 9 at your local "big box" home improvement store)
• Craft paint varnish
• paper towels
• Wallpaper border roller or standard rolling pin
• Optional: acrylic paints and paint brush

From what I've read online, it's important to use the Golden brand gel. Also,only the gloss variant dries clear. I also recommend you use your "40% off" Michael's coupon on this, as it's the most expensive part of the project.

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(10) Wash the dust off the tiles with tap water and allow to dry overnight.

 

Protecting your work surface and working one tile at a time,

(11) Apply soft gel to tile, using sponge brush.

(12) Apply soft gel to transfer, using sponge brush.

(13) Recheck tile to make sure there's an even coat of soft gel. Apply transfer to tile. You won't have much, if any, time to reposition, so make sure you line it up properly first.

(14) Place paper towel on top and use roller with pressure over entire surface to remove air bubbles and make sure that the transfer and tile are fully contacting each other. (Be sure not to "jiggle" the transfer or your image may come out blurred.)

(15) Remove paper towel and roll some more, until you can start to see the image faintly through the paper. (Again, be sure not to "jiggle" the transfer or your image may come out blurred.)

(16) Wipe off any excess gel from the sides of the tile.

(17) Wait a full day. Do not lift up a corner "to see how it's coming." THIS IS THE HARDEST PART.

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Part 3 of this series will explain how to remove the transfer and complete your project.

Photo Transfer Tiles, Part 1

I've been checking out companies that transfer photographs onto ceramic tiles (either one large tile or several tile that, well, "tile" your image.) However, they seem to reduce pix to the type one can buy as a "mural" at your local "big box" home improvement center. Worse yet, some of these companies actually ask you to transfer them the copyright to your photograph (presumably so they can sell your work to other customers!)

However, I found a number of craft web sites which provide directions for DIY photo transfers. I took the best of the instructions I found and tried it out for myself. Here's what I did:

(1) I found images I liked and developed a theme. (For this series, I used only photos of me and my husband, so arguably none of the finished products are solely "mine"). Here's one I particularly like, for obvious reasons:

(2) I went into Microsoft Word, found one of the readings from our wedding and sized it until it became a perfect square. (I also changed fonts until I found a "pretty" script I liked.) I then saved the file as a PDF.

(3) I next went into Photoshop and resized the PDF to 3.5" x 3.5" at 300 dpi, cropping the image close to the edge of the text. Next, I enlarged the ***canvas*** to 4"x4", centered which left a .25" border around the image. I then saved this file as a template, in case I wanted to do a similar project in the future. (I knew there was no way I'd be able to match fonts, leading, etc. again.)

(4) I then opened a copy of the template and saved it for this project. I tiled 4 of the images as an 8x8" image. (Still .25" around the outer edges, but .5 between the images. I then resized the ***canvas*** to 8.5 x 8.5", centered. After that, I resized to 8.5 x 11", moving the image to the top. This left me with a .5 border on the outside edges (more than adequate for a laser printer), as well as .5" between the pix.

(5) Because this is a transfer process, the text needs to be reversed. The "flop horizontal" command works nicely for this. I then saved this file as a template, too.

(6) I then Photoshopped the images, converted to Greyscale, flopped them, too, and added them, as new layers to a copy of the page template. I then flattened the image and saved as a PDF to economize file size.

Here's what the full page transfer looks like:

(7))I then printed the transfer on a laser printer, onto regular printer paper. (It's important to use a laser printer rather than an inkjet printer, because the inkjet ink may run too much. Your local copy shop can help you if need be.)

(8) After that, I cut carefully around each image, leaving a 1/4" border. Your transfer, including the border should measure 4" x 4", exactly the size of the tiles we'll be using:

(Doesn't it look like a vintage square photo?)

Part 2 of this series will explain preparing the tiles, transferring the image, and the importance of waiting...

New Photos: Killington

Thanks to the gracious Taylor and Red for having my husband Darren and me as overnight guests. Here are a few images I shot while there.... nary a white-covered mountain or ski bunny in sight....

Can't resist shooting flowers:

Fresh fruit with breakfast:

Detail of post-n-beam construction:

The mud made for a fascinating monochromatic image:

Inside of large metal bowl looked like an abstract painting:

This little guy was checking out the grape leaves, too:

And finally, the uncooked rice that may have saved my telephoto lens from certain doom after it fell into the frog pond:

New York: Kittery, ME

Possibly an offering to the God of Shopping?

Outside Kittery Trading Post, Kittery, ME, one of the few stores where you'll hear over the store intercom: "Shooting Sports Department Associate, Dial 911." (A bit of hyperbole: the extension was actually "511".)

New Work: Nubble Light, Revisited

(and for those of you who like their lighthouse location photos more traditional:)

New Work: York, ME Jail

The "Old Gael" served as a prison from approximately 1719 to 1860. Now a museum, it is one of the oldest British public buildings in the US And is recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

New Work: More Flowers

Yes, flowers again. I am still enamoured with Prescott Park (Portsmouth, NH), even though I had absolutely zero motivation to shoot today. Here are a few of my favorite shots:

New Work: Shadows

As a child, I could stare at my bedroom wall for what seemed like hours at the time, watching the patterns of light change as the day progressed. At night, I would watch the headlights of cars driving down my street "travel" against the walls as they passed the house. A brand-new series of nine photographs both attempts to recreate the peaceful, "at-one-with-everything" feeling I felt then and also serves as an experiment with the contemplative photography elements of light, simplicity, texture, and space.

Here are a few of my favorite shots:

See more of the "Shadows" series and examples of my other photographic work at sabeanphotos.webs.com

Art as an Expression of Hope

This past year, I participated as an artist volunteer in “the Art of Recovery,” a collaboration between the NH Art Association and the Seacoast Mental Health Center (Portsmouth, NH.) Over several months, I met with “K” and shared our love for photography… and life.

Check out my blog archives (see right) for other entries about the project.

What I didn’t tell anyone at the time was that only a few weeks after I agreed to participate in the program, I had just been diagnosed with DCIS, an early form of breast cancer. So while it may have looked on the outside as if I was somehow “helping” K heal and providing her hope for persevering over her medical condition, she was unknowingly doing the same for me.

Few of us take the time to appreciate fully the synergy between art, healing, and hope. Doctors generally understand the connection: that’s why they practice “Medical Arts.” Others of us feel that some magical potion is simmering below the surface, although we may not how to put into words. For example, we often make ourselves feel better by immersing ourselves in the arts. We enjoy works of art that others have made: we watch a movie, read poetry, listen to music, or visit a museum. Or we do something creative ourselves: whether it’s planting a tree, cooking, or woodworking. We may not always be in awe of the communicative and healing powers of artistic expression, but we sense that it somehow “makes us feel better” and helps us put one foot in front of another for even just one more day. Oftentimes, that is enough.

A month or so, I attended a fundraising event for the Art of Recovery, where the patient participants auctioned off some of the masterpieces they created during their collaborations with Art Association members. K, accompanied by her mother and sister, beamed with pride as attendees complimented her on her work. She deserved it: she's a natural talent. She may not have fully conquered her condition yet. But that night, I had the honor of watching her spirit soar to the evening sky and waltz with the stars. Moreover, the voodoo spell that DCIS cast on my own life was temporarily broken, too.

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The following is a collage I made last weekend at a retreat for cancer survivors (both patients and their loved ones/caregivers):

Each time I look at it, I'm hypnotized by its ugliness: it makes me feel like I'm staring down "the C beast" and refusing to give in to fear. Physician, heal thyself.....

Here it Comes, Here it Comes.....

{You may have heard the expression "tortured artist" before. Ironically, it's usually the artist himself who catalyzes his own creative meltdown. Read on to learn what my "19th nervous breakdown" feels like...)

I've been producing more images in 2012 than ever before. I should feel happy about that. I don't.

The new work I've been creating feels extremely derivative of other people's artwork that the public deems to be "good." For example, I've been trying to produce contemplative pieces that directly express the true nature of the subject. But all I manage to do, it seems, is "ape" the work of other artists/practitioners who are trying to do exactly the same thing.

My desire to somehow impress the founders (and keepers of the flame) of contemplative photography is making the situation worse. I thought I'd figured out the "game": just submit work that looks as much like theirs as I can find. It backfired: the work was accepted, but I felt like a fraud. (Even though contemplative photography has become one of my main --and most authentic-- forms of meditation these days.)

Speaking of "feeling," I've been hankering to create something "unique" while still respecting the tenets of Contemplative Photography. I don't have an answer on how to accomplish that yet. No surprise there: I still barely understand the problem.

Whining and self-pity are counter-productive. Taking the camera out for some "visual brainstorming" is better to do. I've been revisiting the theme for which my work is recognized -- closeups, especially of flowers -- any trying to "push the envelope" further. I'm experimenting with compositions which are more abstract and exploring color choices which are less expected. I'm also embracing the bokeh.

Here's a shot I took only a few days ago to show you what I mean...

I haven't decided yet whether I like it. (That's a good thing, because it's means I succeeded in stepping out of my comfort zone.)

Almost Lost a Toe....

...during this impromptu photo shoot in Vermont yesterday afternoon. Snapping away merrily in sandals near a pond SEEMED like a good idea at the time. However, I made a speedy retreat after he spotted a mid-afternoon snack at the bottom of my legs:

This next photo is my favorite: it looks like he's saluting the flag!

More Growing Things.....

I still have lots of images to edit from my weekend away, but here are a few more teasers....

Say Ahhhh!

After the Rain

 

This final image was inspired by my husband's amazing lilacs photography, posted here a few weeks ago:

"Flutterbys"

Chasing butterflies is a great way to spend the middle of a long holiday weekend! My husband thinks they pose for me: I think they were just "thirsty" for some nectar. I especially like the motion in the second pic.