A more traditionally-styled collage. I think I started this collage hobby by trying to say too much, and it mostly ended up convoluted or cheesy. So I’m going simpler, with a style that’s more common, as found on various blogs. This took me only an hour to complete, compared to my older collages, that took anywhere between 4 and 8 hours.

Title: “Tiger Marines”
License: Creative Commons BY-SA-NC 3.0/US. Click for a larger, printable version. Credits in the EXIF metadata.

The media, insisting on focusing at the event itself, rather than also analyzing the cause.

My worst collage so far. It just doesn’t work, no matter what I try with it.

Title: “Poisonous Invasion”
License: Creative Commons BY-SA-NC 3.0/US. Click for a larger, printable version. Credits in the EXIF metadata.

When you love someone, but you can’t tell him/her so, the pain inside is unbearable. Eventually, the dream becomes a fantasy, and it’s very difficult to escape its tentacles.

Title: “Love from Afar”
License: Creative Commons BY-SA-NC 3.0/US. Click for a larger, printable version. Credits in the EXIF metadata.

The inevitable time when our planet will be almost barren, and basic needs would be acquired via transportation, dug in objects found in our solar system and beyond.

Title: “Teleportation of Goods”
License: Creative Commons BY-SA-NC 3.0/US. Click for a larger, printable version. Credits in the EXIF metadata.

The tragedy of being “farmed” and modeled under society’s mold, holding us back from what we could become if we were born truly free. We are all born as diamonds in the rough, but most die as black carbon.

Title: “A Dozen Newborns”
License: Creative Commons BY 3.0/US. Click for a larger, printable version. PNG version available on request.

So much beauty around us, but so many people choose to become anonymous and lonely, living stacked in a big city, ultimately losing their authenticity.

Title: “Rush Hour in New York”
License: Creative Commons BY 3.0/US. Click for a larger, printable version. PNG version available on request. Picture credit.

The commercialization of the Olympic Games in a society that endorses enjoyment and consumption, with the professional athletes willing to do anything in their power to deliver. The Olympic spirit serves as nothing more but an excuse.

Title: “Olympic Games”
License: Creative Commons BY-SA-NC 3.0/US. Click for a larger, printable version. Credits in the EXIF metadata.

My first collage artwork ever, is done. Took about 8 hours of work in Photoshop, learned a lot in the meantime. My first collage subject is about the philosopher and my favorite indie artist, John Maus, and his need to “appear”. More explanation about the subject here.

Title: “Can’t Wait Till Next Year”
License: Creative Commons BY-SA-NC 3.0/US. Click for a larger, printable version.

Textures and shapes used were freeware, only the sky and the ground are using other pictures as source. Tutorial soon!

Update: My collage board at Pinterest!

I’m making an 180 degree turn, and getting myself into collage art. I decided that a couple of days ago. Funny thing is, for most of my life I hated collages, I found them to be some kind of art-cheating. But after seeing the works of Julien Pacaud and Jeffrey Meyer, I’m convinced that collage art is one of the coolest, versatile mediums out there. I started following the tag “collage” at TumblR lately too, and there are more updates for it than any other type of art right now. Hipster times…

“Ministry of Disasters” by Julien Pacaud. Possibly my most favorite collage artwork ever

The kind of collage I want to do is inspired by the two artists I mention above, but I want to show more contemporary elements in the composition. Collage artists are mostly using very old, usually copyright-free photographs, and this creates a fashionable, surrealistic world of nostalgia. But I feel that by not using more modern items (e.g. TVs, cellphones, modern cars etc) there’s an inevitable restriction in the work. Sure, the actual element used in an artistic work doesn’t have to be a factual representation of the object, but by only using old objects, a constrain arises in the spectrum of influence and interpretation. At least that’s my take on it, and I hope to do something about it.

In order to use modern objects I’d have to either pay for stock photography (no money for that though), or use pictures from FlickR. Unfortunately, Creative Commons-licensed pictures are not that high in numbers in order to create the best collage possible, so I might have to use copyrighted images too. Credits will be given for each picture used, the resulted PSD file will be offered as “open source” for educational purposes, and a tutorial will be written too for new, aspiring artists (update: tutorial is here). My works will be generally licensed under the CC-BY-SA-NC license (unless all elements are coming from CC-BY images, in which case my work will be CC-BY too), and at least for the collages using copyrighted elements, I won’t use commercially. With these precautions, I believe my work will fall under the “Fair Use” clause.

I wrote it before, and I will write it once more: The (proper) dairy is my No1 point of disagreement with mainline Paleo, with lentils being the No2. Lentils have too much iron, manganese, and folate, nutrients that are sorely missed when going too-low carb. They are essentially the best kinds of legumes in terms of nutrition. Unfortunately, they also have a lot of anti-nutrients: loads of lectins, to be exact.

In the olden days, beans would only be eaten while they’ve been previously fermented (soy too). But in the fast-pacing modern days we live in, convenience rules, so people stopped fermenting foods. According to an experiment carried out by researchers, a 24 to 36 hours fermentation of lentils gets rid of most of the lectins! At the end of the fermentation, the lectins and anti-nutrients surviving are not more than the ones found on a carrot or spinach. So in my opinion, Paleo fanatics who are adamant about the no-legumes rule, need to ease up. Just like with dairy, there are exceptions to the rule.

Lentils and Peas by Photobunny Earl. Licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.0.

So, how to ferment lentils? There are two ways to do this, either via pickling, or via lacto-fermentation (preferred).

Common Steps (for 1 cup of lentils):

A. Lentils are usually cross-contaminated with grains (since they grow in grass fields), so you must go through your raw lentils and remove anything that doesn’t look like a lentil.

B. Wash the lentils thoroughly using your palms, and sift-strain them.

Acidity Fermentation:

1. Place in a bowl, and add double the amount of water than that of lentils. The water must be slightly warm, around 30 C. For this type of fermentation, any kind of water will do, but filtered is best.

2. Add 1 tablespoon of raw vinegar, or the juice of a small lemon into the water. Stir, and cover (but not air-tight).

3. After 12 hours, strain the water away, and repeat steps 1 & 2 (every 12 hours). Ferment for 24 to 36 hours.

Lacto-fermentation:

1. Place in a bowl, and add double the amount of water than that of lentils. The water must be slightly warm, but no more than 25-30 C. For this type of fermentation, non-tap water must be used. Use either filtered, or bottled water. The good bacteria we will use to ferment, can’t survive on tap water.

2. Add 1.5 tablespoons of plain yogurt, or preferably, 1/4 cup of home-made goat kefir. Stir, and cover (but not air-tight).

3. After 12 hours, strain the water away, and repeat steps 1 & 2 (every 12 hours). Ferment for 24 to 36 hours.

Drain and wash them again, then cook your lentils according to your recipe (although probably they will require less cooking time).