altered photographs

one of the most fun techniques i've been doing lately are altered photographs. they are surprisingly addictive to do. somehow, using sand paper to scratch away parts of the surface of a photograph is rather soothing, and it's really easy too.

i spent some time at my favorite art supply/creative reuse center SCRAP. if any of you have the chance to come to san francisco, be sure to go to Scrap! Not only is the place light on your wallet, the stuff that is donated to this center is really fun to look at for it's possiblities.

i dug through their box of photographs. many of the snapshots are just that, snapshots. many of the photos were sometimes too blurry, too dark, subjects were not very good, etc. i began picking ones that were interesting to look at, that had distinct shapes - such as buildings, animals and other objects.



the photo of this bicycle wheel was originally a really bad photo. the wheel had been placed in someone's room and the lighting was dark. i began to scratch away the dark parts of the photograph, wetting the photo first to relax the emulsion. once i started to take away parts of the photo the color became yellow-ish. i began to color parts of the photo with silky crayons, and also used markers for emphasis. finally, i used rubber stamps to add some more interest.


i lightly sanded this photo, and then began to add color through markers and silky crayons. sometimes you need a light hand when altering, it depends on the photo.



it's also fun to add texture, you can use glitter, sand, beads, feathers, fabric, the possibilities are what makes it so fun.


sometimes when photos are blurry and out of focus, they can look rather ordinary. this photo was originally a very every day image, it was trees with a house and a car in the distance. once i scratched away the blurry car and house, the photo has transformed into an image with a dreamy feel to it.


here are some of the supplies i use:
acrylic inks: great for large splashes of color and drips
markers: good for details, i used tombow brush markers, faber castell pitt brush pens
silky crayons: these are wide water soluble crayons, some of them are metallic too. good for coloring large areas and great for students because they are easily cleaned up with water.
acrylic paint: i use this sparingly and/or watered down. also used for large foam stamp prints


thanks goes to angela cartwright's book Mixed Emulsions and karen michel's book the complete guide to altered imagery.

also be sure to check out milliande's video tutorial on altered photographs

journaling big

i love journals. i've used composition notebooks, spiral bound planners, a nancy drew book, a journal bought from nyc's pearl river mart with the cover made from green leaves.

lately i've been using moleskines. they can be pricey, but i've found good deals when buying on amazon. moleskine has a line of big journals, called their Folio line. i bought a A3 size journal which is about 11.75 x 16.5 inches. i love working with big splashes and large sweeps of color.

suddenly i am spilling ink everywhere on the page....

City of Stairways: a poet's field guide to San Francisco

San Francisco has my heart. i was born and raised here in this city of fog, steep hills and cable cars. but san francisco is not just the golden gate bridge or fisherman's wharf and fancy schmancy restaurants. i think sf has something for everyone.

san francisco is about getting lost in golden gate park's botanical gardens, being stuck inside the tunnel while riding muni. it's about seeing the murals in the mission and going to city lights for a writer's pilgrimage.

Riding the bus, i see all sorts of people, elderly chinese ladies with plastic bags filled to the brim with groceries, hipsters putting their bikes on the bicycle rack, students with heavy backpacks. there are all kinds of people; they are working class, artists, teachers, elderly, homeless, youth who depend on public transportation every day. Muni is about yelling "Back door"so you can get off.



San Francisco is about seeing the city through rooftop gardens and eating in sidewalk cafes, watching the pigeons near the taco trucks and going to japanese dollar stores.

i am always reminded that when you ride the buses, that's where the locals are, where they live. san francisco is a city of hills, surrounded by the sea, you can even ride a streetcar named desire from new orleans.

the city is as colorful as the stories that are contained in the streets.



The book i have been working alongside fellow youth poets is titled, "City of Stairways" and it's a book about San Francisco secrets written by youth. Both travel guide and poetry anthology, it's a love letter to San Francisco. my artwork, including the 3 pieces i have posted here and my poetry will be featured in this book!

the project has been an amazing experience, but we need your help to get this book published! on the widget below, we have a video created so you can learn more about this project. please donate, it will be greatly appreciated! all of the project proceeds will go towards WritersCorps, which is an amazing organization that has teaching artists go into inner city schools, community centers, juvenile lock up facilities and they teach creative writing.

poetry inspired my life when i was just 13 because of writerscorps. all my writerscorps teachers have been amazing mentors.

oh and in the first photo in the video below, i am the 2nd girl from the left, wearing a grey ruffly scarf. that photo was taken on a rainy day and we went to the wave organ.

sorry for the lack of updates

1. finals are coming up and so i've been writing and writing papers, one is about blogs, the other is about technology and another is about a french painting. all fascinating subjects but there's not enough time to write....

2. i had a fantastic time in monterey, when i was down there with my friend lindamay i realized how much i needed a weekend away and all we did was attend workshops, trade atcs and laugh a lot. good times. honestly it was kind of overwhelming meeting everyone at first, but i had such a good time and the goody bag was amazing! ranie and yvonne did an amazing job coordinating the event and everyone was very happy.


a lovely souvenir tag for the event made by ranie


terri working on her fabric collage workshop taught by lindamay

3. my collage packs are being sold at Little Otsu's SF Store! If you are in SF or in the SF bay area, check out their store at 849 Valencia Street which is in the mission district of san francisco. if you can't make it to little otsu, be sure to check out the online store because they have an amazing selection of paper goods by various independent artists. sorry my collage packs won't be sold there, but they are at my etsy shop