Selecting & Adjusting using the Inverse Function

I wanted to use two different effects with this photo.
I thought a diffuse glow action would soften the flower petals and a sharpening action would bring out the muted leaves that are lost in the background.

The color (and my overall interest) was lacking in this blah photo.

After boosting the saturation and the brightness of the photo, I used my ‘magnetic lasso’ to draw around the hydrangeas.
The magnetic lasso has become my new best friend. It makes it so easy to draw around crazy objects such as these flower petals.

After my whole hydrangea bunch was lassoed, I chose the diffuse glow function under the ‘filter’ tab.

I toned down the ‘glow amount’ so as not to overpower the photo with too brightly lit flower petals.

I boosted the saturation on the hydrangeas to draw out the details of the petals.

Happy with the look of the hydrangeas, next I focused on the background. With my magnetic lasso still active, I right clicked on the picture and chose to ‘select inverse’.

This makes the entire area, minus the hydrangeas active. Now, I can adjust anything in the background, separate from the flowers.

Under the ‘filter’ tab, I clicked on ‘sharpen’ and over to ‘sharpen’ again.

I wanted the leaves to stand out a little more, and so I boosted both the brightness and the contrast of the background.

And here is the final product.
Below is the before. If you’re into that ‘comparing’ kind of thing.

The Making of a Bear Costume

What do several yards of faux fur, margaritas and sewing machines all have in common?
They are all needed to make a bear costume.
I wasn’t surprised when Biceps had this unusual need for his band’s video. Nor was I surprised that my brother would be wearing tighty-whiteys and extracting a fish from the river with his teeth in said video.

This is all very normal in the Greiman household.
(I haven’t even delved into the numerous amount of sock puppets I made for their first video. Another day, my dears…another day.)

Baby brother made the head from chicken wire, plaster of paris and a hard hat. Yep, a hard hat.
We then covered it in a faux fur they found online. The fur really flew. Literally. It was all over my house.

Baby brother also made the nose and teeth from modeling clay, baking them in the oven.
He hand painted the nose a glossy black and yellowed the teeth to make them as realistic as possible.
Cowboy did not like this bear head one bit.

Sister-in-law and I cut up an old sheet to simulate the fur, padding Biceps’ body in the appropriate places to try and make him look more bear-like.
He was thrilled with this procedure, as you can tell. I think he was just trying to get into character.

The boys made margaritas while Sis and I began sewing. Have you ever tried shoving 2” thick fur through a sewing machine?
It’s fun.

Sis got really into being a bear, modeling the arms for all of us with many bear-type dance moves such as this one.
I believe this dance is called, ‘Showing your bear biceps to the other bears.’

Biceps is wearing one of the bear legs as a skirt. Boy, am I going to be in big trouble for this.

We used an old man onesy (jumpsuit) underneath the costume to attach the stuffing to. Biceps is inside the costume, sweating profusely, wearing the jumpsuit covered in stuffing and underneath the 2” thick fur.
No wonder bears are grouchy.

By the end of the night, no animals or humans were harmed in the making of this bear costume. We still needed to add eyes and claws…but we decided to end on a high note and go to bed.

If you would like to see the bear costume in action, here’s the final video:
Man Vs. Man Video, Bruder
Please don’t judge our weirdness….

Recycled Wood Art

A bag of hardwood flooring bits have been sitting in my shed.
For awhile.
The last time they fell from the shelf and hit me in the head, I decided it was time to show those bits who’s boss.

I love making ironic pieces. And I really love it when they cost me absolutely nothing.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own variation of Recycled Mod Art:
Hardwood scraps-ask a flooring man to save a bag full for you
Plywood scrap (mine was about a 2’x3’)
Stain
Polyurethane
Foamy Brush
Sand Paper-forget the palm sander–not needed
Oops Paint & roller
Nail gun w/ appropriate nails or gorilla glue
Table Saw & Chop Saw
Level
Hammer
Sharpie

Paint your plywood scrap with a bold color. I chose red because we had it on hand. But I really would have preferred orange.
Oh well. That’s the way the paint chips crumble…

Set up your table saw and create a ‘push stick’ for yourself if you don’t already have one.
Cut the tongues off of your wood bits.
Sounds gruesome, I know.

Using your chop saw, cut the lips off of your wood pieces.

Your little wood bits should look like this when you are finished hacking them to pieces.

Hand sand any little burrs from your wood bits using a very masculine and furry hand model for the occasion.

Stain your wood bits with your choice o’ color and let dry.
I would suggest wearing gloves, unless you like the street urchin look.

After deciding what pattern you like, you can either use your brad nailer to shoot your wood bits to your plywood scrap or attach them with gorilla glue.
I was tempted to go with a box that became smaller and smaller, or a random flowing line of wood bits…but ‘The City’ called to me and I wouldn’t deny it.

If you do opt for gorilla glue, I would recommend doing this ghetto method, or getting fancy and using real wood clamps to hold your bits into place overnight.

I drew my title for the piece freehand using a sharpie.

Use your foamy brush to apply a thin coat of polyurethane on the entire piece and let dry according to the manufacturers directions.
Or in my case, until it no longer sticks to your fingers.

Behold….

…your masterpiece beckons to be hung on the wall.

Recycled Art, Steel Drums and Free Food

(All that you need to throw a good party.)
My brother was asked to participate in the Tulsa Young Professional’s Art Show.
The entire show focused on using recycled materials. My brother submitted five pieces and was allowed to show them all.
I was allowed to eat free food.

The show was held downtown in the Living Arts Studio in the historic Brady district.
I want to live in this building. That is, if everyone would clear out and give me some dang privacy.

Light-hearted, fun and not too pretentious, the steel drums and acoustic guitar set the mood.

Here is the man of the hour, next to my favorite piece he’s ever created.

This piece is called, ‘Facade’ and I want it back in my living room.
It once was there, and then my little stinker of a brother took it back.
Meany.

My brother created this piece after studying in Korea. He named it ‘DMZ’ for the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.
I respect his political viewpoint, but of course, I gave it ‘pounds’ more than once.
Is that wrong?

My brother found these masks in an abandoned gas station in Illinois and turned them into ‘Me Minus Fifty’.

This piece of my brother’s, ‘Moniker’, was the winner of the ‘Best 3-d Design’. He almost threw this away when it didn’t turn out as he expected.
He promptly sold it thirty minutes into the art show.
I guess we’ve all learned a little lesson, haven’t we?

This is not my brother’s, but I loved it so much, I just had to show you. Aptly named ‘Heartbeat’, the bulbs would light up in sync with your heartbeat when you put your finger in this little clampy device.
How cool is that?

This was done by another local artist, Kris Atkinson. (He also did the scissors you see in the first picture.)
The vivid colors from his pieces mesmerize me.

This is my baby brother’s piece, ‘Captured Nature’.
The blurry thing in the center is a real working fan, recycled from a walk-in cooler.
I have tried capturing nature before…and let me tell you, it bites.

Look at this man that I refer to as my ‘baby brother’. He has grown up before my very eyes.
The world needs more men like this guy. What a stud.