Run! There's a Tornado! My Collage for LMAC #196

The inspiration for this collage came from a children's book I wrote a few years ago. I wrote the book before I learned how to make collages. If I were to rewrite that book (which I might do), I would have less trouble coming up with appropriate images.

Below I've copied some of the narrative contained in the book. For me, the narrative is still meaningful (despite the sorry images). It tells of a young boy, Ernesto.

Ernesto is very happy with his life. He has a pig, a frog and a tree house. The only thing he doesn't like about his life is his nose.

One day he meets his grandfather in the garden and asks, "Abuelo, why was I born with this nose?"

His grandfather, whom Ernesto loved very much, answers thoughtfully, "Many years ago, before you were born or I was born, this field was a forest. The land was covered with trees and the soil filled with rocks..."

Ernesto's imagination traveled to that time.

Abuelo continued, " My father worked day and night to clear the land. He planted a garden and built a small house..."

Ernesto tried to imagine the house his grandfather described.

"One afternoon," Abuelo continued, "my father smelled trouble. The sky was clear but he knew a great storm was coming."

Ernest looked up at the clear sky.

His grandfather spoke again.

"My father called to my mother, 'Hurry, Mama! Carry the children to the basement'."

Ernesto imagined his great-grandmother running to save her children.

Abuelo wiped the sweat from his brow, and continued with the story.

"The storm came and with it a terrible tornado. The little house was destroyed by a giant tree that was torn from the ground. But everyone who was in the basement was saved: my father, my mother, the children, and all the chickens. Even Nanny Goat."

Ernesto gazed at his grandfather and asked, "How could your father smell a storm?"

Abuelo answered, "Because, Ernesto, my father had a most remarkable nose. He had a nose exactly like yours."

Ernesto opened his nostrils and breathed deeply to see if he could smell anything special. Sure enough, he smelled the soap he had washed with that morning. He smelled the dew on the sweet grass that grew at his feet.

Ernesto realized, for the first time in his life, that he had a gift. His nose did not look like any other nose because it was a very particular nose. It was a nose that could smell storms, and soap. It was the same nose his great-grandfather had.

Ernesto decided he was happy he had been born with this particular nose. He thought about the past and the future. He wondered about the adventures he might have because of his most unusual nose.

Ernesto decided, as he stood in the garden with his grandfather, that he was indeed a very lucky--yes, a very happy boy.

Of course, this collage and blog would not exist if it were not for the template image @shaka posted in LMAC's Collage Contest (#196) this week.

Template Image by @shaka

The house in this photo struck me when I saw it. As collages pour into the community in response to the photo, it's obvious other collagists were also impressed by the house.

In order to create the collage I tapped the LMAC Image Library, LIL, and some public domain sources:

From LIL

• Well
  @muelli
  https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/8259

• Flowers
  @yaziris
  https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/7646

Public domain sources:

• Storm scene
  https://pixabay.com/de/photos/sturm-bauernhof-haus-bauernhaus-5665074/

• Marble stairs
  https://pixabay.com/de/photos/architektur-treppe-marmor-stein-7784456/

• Tornado
  jplenio
  https://pixabay.com/de/photos/tornado-wind-shear-ozean-wolken-3189351/

• Storm door
  matt hanns schroetter
  https://unsplash.com/photos/an-old-stone-building-with-a-wooden-door-fE8jNut6i8A

Personal Image:

• Woman Running:
  My sketch from the children's book I wrote.

Some stages in the development of the collage are represented below:

I managed the lightning effect with a Lunapic filter. The other stages in the collage were managed with Paint, Paint 3D, and Gimp.

LMAC and LIL

LIL is not only a valuable image resource for the Hive community, but is also a way for community members to participate in LMAC. Anyone on Hive can contribute to the library and everyone can borrow from it. Learn about the procedure here.

Every week we offer prizes to fifteen finalists in the contest, but it's not only the prizes people create for. I, for example don't compete, but spend hours giving vent to my imagination. Others in the community have developed the habit of 'speaking' through collage.

As @shaka has said many times, everyone is an artist. I may not be an artist in the technical sense, but LMAC allows me to nurture my own unique artistic voice.

Thank you for reading. Peace and health to all.