Playing with Photos for Screens

Have you ever considered how you might use your own photos in your art quilts or mixed media work?  There are several products available to create photo transfers.  You can also print photos on sheer fabrics like organza to create a different effect.  Some people use photos as the basis for a landscape or portrait quilt, using it to make a pattern for piecing.   At PGFiber2Art we like to use photos as the basis for thermofax screens.  Yesterday we taught our class on how to use Photoshop Elements to turn photos into black and white images suitable for screens. 

When using this pink flower as a sample image for our students to work with, we were reminded of how many different ways an image can be manipulated for different outcomes, excited by the "what if"....what if we created several variations of the same image and used them together?  

Photoshop Elements is a powerful program and has many filters that can be applied to a black and white image.  Below is the black and white image of the flower with the background removed.

Once we have gotten an image to this point we start applying filters from the Filters menu.  There are lots to choose from and it just takes some time playing to see what you like best, but usually we settle on one.  Each filter also has its own options that allow you to adjust things like darkness, contrast, details, etc. so the possible outcomes are many.  Just for the fun of it we decided to apply different filters to this flower to illustrate the options for our students.  And that's when the light bulb went on and we realized that this could be a cool design element.  Here are 5 different filters applied to the flower image.

These will be made into screens in a variety of sizes, and then the fun with fabric and paint will begin.  Can you visualize how multiple variations of the one image will work together?  Hope to get to work on this idea in the next couple of weeks and will post pictures of the results.

From Photo to Thermofax Screen

Want to learn to use your own unique images in your fiber art?  We are teaching "Turn Your Photos into Thermofax Screens" at Artistic Artifacts on June 6 from 10 AM to 1 PM.  Come join us to learn how to convert a photo to a black and white image that can be made into a Thermofax screen for printing your own unique images!

We use Photoshop Elements to crop and remove background, convert to black & white, and apply filters to achieve the desired look.  Disclaimer:  We are not experts on all aspects of Photoshop, but will teach you what you need to know to work through this process. 

Using your own unique photographs not only makes your work more personal, it also takes away the dilemma of copyright, and whether or not you need permission to use a particular image.  We also talk about taking photos with screens in mind and how you can make the process easier from the start.

This is a computer based class, so a laptop with Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or other photo editing software installed is necessary.  If you work only on a home desktop computer and don't have
a laptop but are still interested in this process, contact us and we might be able to work out an arrangement for the class.  If you don't already have Photoshop Elements, you can download a free 30 day trial here. 

As part of the class fee we will make a screen of one of the images you work with in class for you to take home.  Come play with us on June  6!

For Your Inspiration

It was a perfect spring day in Virginia!  A ride home through the scenic countryside and a walk around the neighborhood revealed lots of trees, shrubs and flowers budding into bloom.  Here are a few pictures for your inspiration.  As I look at these blossoms and take photos I'm also considering what might work as a thermofax screen.  More on that in the days to come.