In a flower photography workshop at a local art gallery, I learned so many great techniques when taking pictures of flowers. Some techniques and tools include:
- Lights. It doesn't have to be fancy, examples include flashlights, desk lamp and fairy lights.
- Background. Use construction paper, wood, shiny surface and/or other flowers.
- Cooper tube
- Keep the ISO low
Below are some of the pictures I took during the workshop. ~ JM
I wanted to highlight the architecture of DC's Metro train stations and did a little fieldtrip across the system. There are many things to admire from its vaulted ceilings to the entrances displaying artwork or quotes from famous poets. To see a list of the station with artwork, click here. "Many Metro stations were designed by Chicago architect Harry Weese and are examples of late 20th century modern architecture. With their heavy use of exposed concrete and repetitive design motifs, Metro stations display aspects of Brutalist design." (Wikipedia) ~ JM
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| It is hard to see, but across the top of the Dupont entrance is a poem by Whitman. https://www.wmata.com/initiatives/art-in-transit/ait-dupont-circle.cfm |
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| The earrings - side view |
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| The earrings |
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| 1. Layer different color clay with gold leaf wrapped around it |
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| 2. After slicing into squares, place them in a 3x3 grid and roll it out. |
Happy Spring!! I used pressed flowers, glass and copper tape to make the below flower tiles. ~JM
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| The finish product. |
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| The finish product. |
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| The beginning - pressed flowers and beveled glass. |
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| Securing copper tape around the perimeter of the two glass plates. |
Artist Michael Booker led a virtual class using pen as an art medium. To learn more about Mr. Booker and his art work, his website is - https://michael-booker.com/home.html
The class focused on works by Alighiero Boetti and Sam
Gilliam who used pen in some of their work. Below is an example of Boetti’s work. Notice the movement of the lines.
Also below is an exercise I did practicing different colors and angles of pen strokes. ~ JM
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| Practicing using different strokes and colors of the pen |
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| Boetti's "Mano Libera Pensieri Sciolti", 1981 |
There is a nice plant store in my neighborhood that offer different workshops. In the latest workshop, I made a moss wall. The main materials were air plants, moss, sticks, shells, and plastic flowers, in which I pinned into a frame. Below is the finish product, along with pictures of the rows of plants and how things looked before. ~ JM
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| Moss Wall |
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| Rows of plants. |
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| In the beginning...an empty frame, air plants and pins. |
In the last few months, the National Gallery of Art virtual studio has focused on collages. Click here for information on future courses.
The artworks that drew inspiration for the collages included: 1.) "A Sunburst Restrained" by Maria Berrio and 2.) Study for "Le Tournesol (The Sunflower)" by Edward Steichen.
On a separate piece of paper we drew or painted colorful stripes, along with circular and geometrical shapes. Afterwards we cut the different shapes out and glued on a different piece of paper to create our own version of the above-mentioned artworks. Below are the collages I created. Also, below are the artwork by Berrio and Steichen.- JM
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| Collage 1 |
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| Collage 2 |
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| "A Sunburst Restrained" by Maria Berrio was used as inspiration for Collage 1 |
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| Study for "Le Tournesol (The Sunflower)" by Edward Steichen was used for inspiration for Collage 2 |