An Invitation to My New Blog

I'm inviting you to visit my new blog, which I just created in addition to this one. It will house my entries for Digital Whisper's 2011 "100 Themes" challenge. We are given 100 themes for creating an art piece. We can do them at any time during the year, in any order. You can click on the "My Digital Whisper Blog" link in the left margin of this blog, or go to http://100themesin2011.blogspot.com.

Hope to see you there!

Three Challenges, Two Collages

Take a Word Challenge: Exotic

 and
So-artful Challenge: Oriental Romanticism

My digital collage. Image credits: Dover, Holliewood.

Image provided by So-artful

 Sunday Postcard Art: Double Take (use same image twice)

My digital collage. No image provided. Image credits: Dover, Holliewood, Paula Kesselring.

As an identical twin, I especially loved the "double take" theme!

Theme Thursday and One Powerful Hour Challenges

Please click on picture for best view
Theme Thursday Challenge: Flourish
Image credits: artfreebies, calligraphic flourishes by Arthur Baker, graphicsfairy.

One Powerful Hour Challenge: A Touch of Spring
Image credits: rubyblossom, joessistah, deviant scrap, obsidian dawn.

Kids Will Be Kids: Two Collages

Friday Foto Collage: Playground Theme
Image of tire swing provided

Other image credits: rubyblossom, pringle hill studios, dover.


Art Creations Friday: Frowning Child Photo
Image of child provided

Other image credits: Holliewood, rubyblossom, Martha Stewart.

Inspiration Avenue: Breathe

For this digital collage, I took inspiration from one of my favorite places, the Outer Banks of North Carolina. When we're there every July, I just look out at the ocean, and breathe.

Image credits: calliope, rubyblossom, mikebaird (flickr creative commons).

Three Muses: Time

I took more of a "minimalist" approach here than I usually do. I'm pleased with the result!

Image credits: milla, joessistah, holliewood, sherrie jd.

Collage Obsession: Spooky House Photo

original image


We've been challenged to use the photo of this old, dark house to "tell a story." In my digital collage, it looks like my house has some new tenants.

Image credits: dover, graphicsfairy, holliewood.

Soartful: Hats

original image


The image of the cute little girl in the newspaper hat was provided for this challenge. I thought she might be trying to imitate her mother's finery.

Image credits: holliewood, dover, graphicsfairy; textured pink background is my creation.

Doors and Faces

Sunday Postcard Art: Faces



Take a Word: Door.

I ended up (sort of) combining these two challenges: Sunday Postcard Art's theme of "Faces," and Take a Word's theme of "Door." Sometimes this just happens while I'm creating--the collage seems to want to go in a certain direction. I think I know what inspired the mood of this piece, though. I had just finished C.J. Sansom's medieval murder mystery Dissolution (excellent book), which took place in a creepy monastery.

The reason there are two versions of this piece shown here is that, as usual, while I was creating it, I forgot that Sunday Postcard Art requires a 4x6 size. Of course my design was much larger. So I cropped it, to form the smaller version you see above. I'm happy with both of them!

Image credits: rubyblossom, yndra (flickr creative commons), graphicsfairy, holliewood, finecrated designs, obsidian dawn.

Art Creations Friday and One Powerful Hour Challenges

Art Creations Friday: Woman by Mucha





original image


One Powerful Hour: Child's Play




The challenge for Art Creations Friday this week was to create something using an image of a woman by Alphonse Mucha, a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist. I digitally added additional art nouveau and other background images to form a larger, "framed" effect. (I love the way it turned out!) Additional images used are from Dover Design.

For One Powerful Hour (our creations must take no longer than an hour to complete), the theme was "Child's Play." No image was provided. Image credits: Google images, Holliewood, green paper, KME, Pringle hill studios, magic moonlight, artfreebies, magpie on the house, graphicsfairy.

50 Followers (One Month Later!) and a Freebie

I suddenly noticed this evening that I'm up to 50 followers! That may not sound like a lot to some long-time bloggers, but for me it's a big big deal. Exactly one month ago I hit 40 followers. I'm posting another freebie background image, to celebrate. Feel free to use this in your personal artwork; please credit me (Sherry Pollack) and/or link back to my blog. Also, please send me a link to your work featuring this image, so I can enjoy it too. Finally, please do not use the image in commercial artwork or sell it in any form.

This image is actually a scan (much altered in PSE) of parts of a fiber and bead necklace I once made. Enjoy!

Theme Thursday: Crazy

Our challenge was to create something "crazy."

Image credits: google images, dover, joessistah, beth rimmer, obsidian dawn.

Inspiration Avenue: Faded

This week's challenge at Inspiration Avenue has the theme "Faded." Inspired by the pretty examples on their blog (see left sidebar for link), I created this softly faded travel-themed piece, evoking memories of long-ago adventures. The background map is a map of London, which happens to be my maiden name. Hello to any Londons reading this!

Image credits: graphicsfairy, holliewood, artefacts, artfreebies.

Collage Obsession: Spring

original image

original image


This week's challenge was to use the two images provided, for a spring-inspired piece. Quite a challenge--one image is a softly colored picture of the three graces; the other is a hot pink wheel design. I used the wheel (well-disguised--can you see it?) as a frame for the image of the women, and added flowers for spring.

Three Muses: Hot, Hot, Hot!

This theme was chosen by one of the Three Muses, Marie of Western Australia. It's HOT in her part of the world right now, so she wanted to share some of the warmth with us. Here's my digital take on the theme.

Image credits: Holliewood, enchanted gallery, artefacts, dover.

Sunday Postcard Art: Hearts

My entry for this challenge looks like a somewhat belated Valentine! I don't think Valentines should be restricted to February 14 anyway, do you?

Image credits: buttons-Miss Mint; background and lace-- mine.

Digital Whisper 100 Themes - January 2011

#1: HOME



#10- LEMON TREE


Digital Whisper is running a year-long challenge, with 100 themes for us to use to create art. We can complete them in any order, at any time during 2011. I'll probably be posting what I've done once a month.

Here are the digital collages I created in January. The themes are: # 1 -Home; and #10- Lemon Tree. No images are provided for these challenges. Where I haven't specified them, image credits are available upon request.

"So-artful" and "Take a Word" Challenges

my digital collage



original image

Another two-for-one challenge. So-artful gave us the image of the gothic cottage shown above, and the theme for the Take a Word challenge this week is (duh) "romance." I wasn't planning on combining them, but the cottage collage started taking on a romantic theme and I followed it through. Happy Valentine's Day, again, to all.

Image credits: google images, miss mint, graphics fairy, tumblefish studio, paree, joessistah, dkeeling digital brushes.

Happy Valentine's Day

On this heart-ful day, I thought you might enjoy seeing this paper heart quilt I crafted for an Artful Journaling page several years ago. I used rubber stamps, stencils, and watercolor for the patterns on the hearts and borders.

Enjoy the day!

Art Creations Friday and Friday Foto Collage

To end the week, I'm posting two collages today; then I'm off to enjoy other pursuits this weekend.

Art Creations Friday: Gentleman's Photo




original image

We were challenged to use a photo of an "older" gentleman. I thought he might have a fantasy of being a Cary Grant type, so I placed a "younger" version of him in a publicity photo for the movie Charade (from Google images). That's actually an image of Cary Grant's hair, cut and pasted digitally onto our gentleman. Audrey seems to be doing a good job pretending his mustache isn't tickling her cheek.

Friday Foto Collage: For the Birds



We were challenged to use the originals of some bird images (provided by Peggy Gatto) in our artwork. I made three of them into "Zetti" style birds, heralding the (hopefully not too far away) arrival of spring. Image credits upon request.

Three Muses and Theme Thursday: Two Challenges in One

I'm finally giving in to the temptation to combine two challenges. The Three Muses challenges for this week has a theme of "Quotations," and Theme Thursday's theme is "Words." Close enough! No image was provided for either challenge.The quote I've used in my digital collage is one of my absolute favorites.

Image credits: rubyblossom, joessistah, broderbund clipart, dover. Zentangle design on her outfit is my design.

Inspiration Avenue and Collage Obsession Challenges

Inspiration Avenue Challenge: Furry (no image provided)
Image credits: dover, beth rimmer, sherri jd.




Collage Obsession Challenge: Transform (no image provided)
Image credits: flickr creative commons, rubyblossom, milla, graphicsfairy, dover, my own artwork for backgrounds.

Five Challenges, Five Digital Collages

Little Girl Curtsy
Art Creations Friday Challenge; image of girl provided




Three Vintage Women
Friday Foto Collage; image of women in vintage dress provided.



Victorian Amusements
So-artful Challenge; image of horse provided



Steampunk-Inspired Art
Sunday Postcard Art; no image provided




Blackbird
Take a Word Challenge; no image provided


I've been having computer problems (internet connectivity, etc.), so to make the most of its current cooperative state, I'm accelerating my posting schedule and showing 5 recent challenge collages here. Enjoy!

Image credits available upon request.

Theme Thursday: Family

I think this is the first time I've encountered two art challenges in the same week with the same theme. I could have used the "Family" collage I posted earlier in the week for this one too, but somehow I felt like that would be cheating. (Yes, I may have a slightly over-developed sense of guilt...) So here's my new "Family" digital collage. The image is part of a poster advertising tea and hot chocolate (two items indispensable to any family).

Image credits: vintage prints (poster image and text), livE designs (frame).

Inspiration Avenue: Shine

Here's my digital interpretation of this theme.

Image credits: google images, holliewood, milla.

Collage Obsession: Family

Here's my take on the theme of "Family." As in human families, the members of my bird family look out for each other, protect each other, and help each other. They also happen to be storks, which we all know are historically very family-friendly birds:).

Inspiration credit: Robert McCloskey's classic book Make Way for Ducklings.
Image credits: wikimedia commons, joessistah (stork image), holliewood, dover.

Three Muses: Black and White

Here's my contribution for this week's Three Muses "Black and White" challenge. No image was provided.

I can't quite figure out the look on her face-- a bit annoyed, maybe? Does she crave some color in her life? Is the bird digging its claws into her shoulder? What do you think?

Image credits: Talbot's catalog (arms and dress- much altered by me); sherrie jd, melsbrushes, dover, beth rimmer, graphicsfairy, miss mint.