Online photo collages

I like the idea of making art and I do have a flicker of a creative impulse. But I am not good in actually making it. I am not being disingenuous. I re-read my old report card and the art teacher said in effect, 'her heart but she tries, the poor l'il thing.'

My creativity comes out in writing and in photography, but not in actually executing something in real life. When I look at a journal page and a pile of materials, I go blank. It's frustrating to have the impulse but not the skills. I yearn, but my yearning can't be fulfilled. It's a sad, tragedy I tell you.

Some of my really bad collage. I did the paste paper underneath
and that came out good. The rest, not so much.
It's called Women of the Bible

Making art is also expensive...buying glue and paper and all the other things...even scrounging them at yard sales is time consuming. I simply don't have extra money to spend on glitter when I can use it to help feed someone or buy gas for my car. Then there is the question of what to do with the finished product. Frame it? Stuff it on a box somewhere? Sell it? I only have so much space here in this studio-ish apartment.

So my art journals have languished. When I go in the bedroom and see my older finished ones on the bookshelf I avert my eyes. They mock me.

"Navigating Spiritual Waters"

I decided to try online art, or digital art. At the root of everything for me is the question, "Is it functional?" I know the concept of art for art's sake and the notion of functionality are at odds. But it's me. Function AND form must be perfectly balanced It is one reason I enjoy architecture so much. Also the HGTV Design shows.

The question for designers is how to fill a space so that it is beautiful AND functional. I love that. I remember a season of Design Star in the episode of the White Box challenge. All the contestants in the show are given a room-sized space of same dimensions, painted white, a budget, and the same amount of time. The direction is to create a room. I like seeing the results because they all had the same amount of money and the same space but the results vary so widely.

But in one of the seasons the designer put the couch upside down on the ceiling and I about had a mental break. Nooo, it's not an art installation! It's a room! Someone has to sit down in it, sometime! Well not really but you see the issue. If I wanted "Crazy Art Challenge" I'd watch that show. If it existed.

House of Broken Hearts

But I digress. I like experimenting with online collage and greeting card making. I have so many photographs I want to do something with them! Changing my Facebook homepage isn't enough. Nor is changing the banner once a year or so on my blogs. I figured there was everything else on the internet, why not a free online collage maker?

And there is. There are several. They vary in ease of use and result, but I found one I liked almost right away. PhotoVisi Collage Maker.

Making collages digitally saves me from having to scrounge materials and buy too many products, lets me use my photos, and still has an element of creativity to it, shifting from art design to graphic design. With online collage making I still need to make decisions that affect the end product just as I would as if I was making it from scratch. I have to match templates to mood, making sure the photos I use are harmonious with the template and with each other, spacing it out well, wisely choose finishing filters, and ensuring colors on the border enhances and doesn't detract. It is much more my speed. Selecting between presented options is better for me than simply creating it out of thin air while looking at a blank page.

So one of the books I got from Amazon was "The Creative Photographer."

The book summary says the author shows you what to do with photos in making them into greeting cards and other things. Perfect. I send a lot of cards. Notes of encouragement, thank yous, etc. I'm always running out. If I can combine my photography into a functional card or note, then all the better. I should stock up on ink. Then, let 'er rip!

This was my first try, and I wasn't trying, just quickly clicking here and there to see if PhotoVisi was any good at all. Featured are my travel photos from Wickford RI, Monterrenti Italy, Labrador Canada, and Big Ben in London.

Some of my flower photos

I printed the travel photo collage out on cardstock and sent it as a thank you the other day.

Here is a Christmas Card I did with some of my photos. The top photo is a close-up of a prism light I have in my window during the season, and the bottom one is a close up of the decorations on top of the prism. This wasn't made with PhotoVisi though. I forget which online collage maker did this one. I added the text.

So you can see how I will spend the rest of my summer. I've reduced my life to research and writing blogs online ministry, entertainment online, and now hobby online. Pretty soon I will be a hologram and you'll only be able to find me online.