Friday, December 11
An Interview with Theresa Thompson
by Karen RobertI am awestruck by a card designer named Theresa Thompson. She has done some of the most wonderful cards of her family; I bow down to her.
The first card which caught my eye was this one:
This card shows a wonderful juxtaposition between a modern day family and the family in the classic Normal Rockwell painting, “Freedom From Want”. I love the fact that the photo is so similar, yet so different from the original painting. Instead of eating turkey dinner, the family is eating take-out chicken. Instead of a big happy family, the kids are bored and slumped down. Instead of wonderful a manners, the dogs are sitting at the table, and instead of a big hearty mom wearing an apron, mom is looking hip, hot, and wearing jeans. This card is as much a statement of our times as it is a Christmas card. During the war, families were worried about having enough food to eat. In modern times, with people going at such a frantic pace, families are worried about spending quality time with each other. In order to squeeze more time with them, we order take-out and hope for the best. But we mom’s look better for it don’t we?
Theresa, the hip, hot mom, made this photo look like a painting using a plug in on photoshop called Lucisart. I asked her how she gets her teenagers to cooperate, and she said “I intentionally come up with a concept which allows for the boys to look bored, that way I don’t set myself up for frustration. Bribery works as well, for this shot I told them they could have the chicken afterwards if they cooperated”.
Another method she used to get the teenagers to behave was telling them that cooperating was their Christmas present to her. (I made a mental note next year to try this and the aforementioned bribery). She says that this method helped her to get her boys to allow her to take the following shot:
The snapshot in the picture was a reject from a Christmas photoshoot which she did many years ago when the boys wouldn’t cooperate. The new shot is taken in the exact same place, this time with the boys cooperating with sweet resignation. I love the way the words at the top are made with an old label maker. Theresa says she didn’t actually use a real label maker, but designed it to look like she had. Placing the old picture against the new adds such dimension and depth to this card.
All of Theresa’s cards have a note of nostalgia reminding us of another place in time. For example, this Brady Bunch Card:
I have seen many Brady Bunch cards, but this one I think has been done the most professionally. Theresa went to a teacher’s supply store to buy the blue background which helped make the shot look more like the real thing (If you can call the opening credits to the Brady Bunch show “the real thing”.) Truth be told, Theresa used to be a professional photographer and her husband still is one, so they do have a slight advantage in the picture taking department. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, she used to also be a graphic designer for a sign shop. Admitted, she has an unfair advantage over the rest of us.
For this card she put all of her skills to work:
I love her leather-clad son’s curled lip, her husband’s pipe and Theresa’s perky 1950′s demeanor. She took this picture on a timer in front of a green screen so that it was easier to cut everyone out in Photoshop. She then superimposed it over an old photo she found on Ebay. Theresa has found lots old photos on Ebay and uses many of them for her work. Once again her card evokes a bygone era, when Christmas seemed to be a bit simpler and more magical. Theresa’s cards are wonderful for their poignant mixture of humor and nostalgic whimsy. Now do you see why I bow at Theresa’s feet?
I asked Theresa what her card this year was going to be. Apparently it is long since finished since she always takes her pictures in the early Fall, another indication that she is a true professional. She doesn’t want me to post it since she doesn’t want to spoil it for her friends who are receiving it snail-mail. One thing she will tell me, though, is that it involved going out and finding the ugliest Christmas sweaters she could. I am sure she had to bribe her boys more than ever this year. Theresa was lamenting that since her boys are leaving home soon, this will be their last card as a family. I suggested that next year’s card could be of her and her husband standing in an empty nest. She laughed and said, “I already have the beginnings of a concept, there is a store in our town where they sell fruitcakes and their sign says ‘fruitcakes are back’ “. You can imagine her gears turning figuring out where that will lead. I will definately ask to be on her Christmas list.
You can contact Theresa through Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/theresasthompson/
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