Rubbing Plates, Flip-Flops & Stencils

Soon, if not already, the kids will be back in school, but the weather, for most of us anyway, will still be warm.  So, during this ultra-busy couple of weeks that I'm having, I'm re-running a special-favorite post ...

My friend Mary Ann Russo made a series of rubbing plates using my stencils, then used those plates to make prints/rubbings on fabric.   Next, Mary Ann and her granddaughter, Marissa, cut up some flip-flop synthetic sandals and, with a heat gun,  used the rubbing plates to make rubber stamps.  I used those rubber stamps in my artwork; I also borrowed those rubbing plates to make prints/rubbings of my own -- on paper.

Mary Ann's method called for cutting matboard (sturdy cardboard) into squares and rectangles slightly larger than the stencils and coating them  with water-thinned gel medium on both sides, and along all edges.  Coating with water-thinned gel medium is an optional step that Mary Ann took because she wanted the rubbing plates to be washable.

After the gel medium had dried, Mary Ann masking-taped the stencils in place on the coated cardboards and used a spreading tool to apply a mix of molding paste and acrylic paint thru the openings of the stencils.  (Acrylic paint was added to the molding paste to make the resulting 3D patterns easier to see.)

 Above is an example of one of my stencils -- 9"X12" Twinship -- being placed onto the rectangle of pre-coated matboard.

 Above, Mary Ann is placing the mix of molding paste and acrylic paint onto the stencil, which rests on the matboard.  Notice that she had secured the stencil to the matboard with strips of blue masking tape.  This tape also holds the matboard in place on her working surface.

Above, Mary Ann uses an old spoon to spread the mixture thru the openings on the stencil.

As soon as this step is finished, she lifts off the stencil --

-- and places the stencil to soak in a water-filled basin.  It will be cleaned later, when all the rubbing plates have been created.

 My preceding post launched me into the topic of rubbing/printing plates made by my friend Mary Ann Russo.  In that post, I detailed her process, using my 9"X12" stencil Twinship. 

Now, I'm showing another rubbing/printing plate made by Mary Ann.  This time, she used my 9"X12" stencil Vases.

The difference between this plate and the one featured in my Twinship post is that Mary Ann added one more step at the very end.  She covered the surface with two coats of a rubberizing spray to make it completely waterproof.

Household fix-it-yourself types are probably familiar with Napa Performix Plasti Dip spray.  Created to provide a non-slip, comfortable grip on tools and to provide protection against electrical shock and heat, it's available at SmileAmazon.com --

http://smile.amazon.com/Performix-11203-Multi-Purpose-Coating-Aerosol/dp/B0006SU3QW/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412684997&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Napa+Performix+Plasti+Dip+spray

Originally, this spray came in red -- the color used in this project -- and now comes in black, clear and gray-translucent.  The spray is to be used outdoors and its first coat must be allowed to dry before the second coat is added. 

The finished plate can be used to make impressions on a paint-coated Gelli Plate, for pulling prints on paper or fabric. 

It can also be used in two other ways -- with a Shiva stick and fabric to make rubbings, as well as with acrylic paints to make prints. 

Today's post will focus on the last of these three options.

Above:  The work surface has been covered with freezer paper, shiny side up.  To the right of the plate are a rubber brayer and a dollop of heavy-body acrylic paint. 

Above:  I've rolled paint out across the freezer paper, rolling back and forth until the paint reached a tacky stage.

Above:  I've rolled the paint-loaded brayer across the plate.

 

 After coating the plate with this paint, I pressed a sheet of pre-painted newsprint over the plate, using both hands across the whole surface, to make sure all of the paper made contact with the plate.  Then I pulled the prints shown above and (with blue paint) below.

Another Way to Use Stencil-Prints ...

Here is an old post that I'm re-running, during this crazy-busy couple of weeks ...

I started today's project with a dark background on a sheet of 140-lb. watercolor paper slightly larger than my 9"X12" stencil Facets.  The background below is not identical to the one I used, but it's very similar.

Next, I altered the background paper with Titanium White acrylic paint.  I applied the paint using a cosmetic sponge (lower left corner, below) thru the Facets stencil, which I'd secured with green masking tape.

Below is the background paper with the stencil lifted off.

Below is the same paper, after I added an overcoat of translucent pale green acrylic paint.

Below is a close-up of a section of this paper, where I've followed the original lines to mark off several rectangles and one circle.

My next step was to cut along those outlined shapes.  Then I assembled them to form a flower. 

I auditioned several new background papers to see which I liked best as the base of the flower collage.

My favorite is the middle one.

Brigitta Budahazi's Gorgeous Artwork

This dazzling artwork was created by Hungarian artist Brigitta Budahazi, who beautifully showed off my 6"X6" stencil Silhouette of a Wildflower Bouquet.  Thank you, Brigitta!  
 

Above:  the stencil used by Brigitta in creating the main illustration.

Brigitta Budahazi

To follow Brigitta's step-by-step process in creating this beautiful spread, visit http://www.stencilgirltalk.com/2015/08/art-journal-pages-with-brigitta-budahazi.html

Hello, from Hungary,

Brigitta Budahazi aka Gigi

Brigitta Budahazi

Title Suggestions, Anyone?

Above is a new piece, just finished, on 12"X12" stretched canvas.   My left arm isn't recovered enough yet for me to take step-by-step photos, but one helpful tip is that I used Art-C's Groove Art Tool to apply each layer of heavy-body acrylic paint as I worked my way thru the piece.

Below is a photo from an older post where I showed this tool, with its brush attachment, when I was using it with Kae Pea's 6"x6" Illegible stencil --

Above:  Before I used the red acrylic paint.

 

Above:  After I used the paint, before I lifted the stencil.

I like the tool because it helps me achieve an even application of paint, which in turn results in less bleed-under.  I also like the fact that it speeds up the application of paint, and does so without my having to apply any pressure.  The traditional method of applying paint thru a stencil means a lot of repeated pouncing movements.  That's generally not a problem for younger artists ... but things change as finger and wrist joints start to age ... enough said about that!

To create today's artwork, I used a lot of masking tape -- taping off each section of the canvas where I wanted to add paint, layer by layer -- as well as two of my 6"X 6" stencils, Mimosa

and 
Kaleid

 

About the Tote Bags at Pixels.com...

I haven't yet had time to poke around at Pixels.com to see if there is a way I can add a more helpful description of their merchandise bearing my designs.  As far as I know, Pixels.com doesn't provide this information on its own. 

Having ordered Pixels.com tote bags of my own, I can say this:  

The tote bag is made from sturdy polyester.  The fabric exterior is bonded with a layer of flexible plastic on the inside of the tote.  I suspect the inside is waterproof because it looks that way, but I haven't tested this to see.   

   

Progress...

I've been working on an old piece, a 12"X12" stretched canvas, with my Crop Circle stencils (the June StencilClub 3-part stencil set) ...

And this is the stage it's reached, at the moment --

The vertical strip of circles is paper I've collaged onto the piece.  Still have a long way to go on that one...

Another piece I've been working on, also 12"X12", used my 9"X12" stencil Boxed Vines...

... and that art is here:

And below is a close-up of one area:

   
Very hard to get good photos since I'm still doing passive exercises at PT; my left arm can't lift very high, nor can I hold it still.  But active exercises start next week.  Progress is being made!

All Art Lovers in Central Coastal NJ are Invited...

 

You are cordially invited to attend St. George’s-by-the-River 4th Annual

                       Canterbury Art Show -- 

            A Tapestry of the Arts 2015 Art Show and Sale

*********All proceeds benefit St. George's and and the many local charitable organizations to which it contributes *************

 Friday, Saturday and Sunday     September 4, 5, and 6 

$10 general admission

For further information, visit

www.canterburyartshow.com

St. George’s church is located at 7 Lincoln Avenue, Rumson, NJ 07760

Gingko Stencil Re-Visited

In taking another rewarding online workshop facilitated by Jane Davies, I had an assignment to do something in a monochromatic color scheme -- my least favorite scheme.  I floundered around for quite awhile, before my eye fell on an old Gelli Plate print that had not turned out well.  I had used my 6"X6' stencil Gingko --

-- and as you can see, the resulting blue print was anything but sharp; I have had trouble all along with the paint drying too fast on my Gelli Plates.  But I tried to improve this particular blue print by spraying it with droplets of monochromatic blue.  (You can better see this by clicking on the top image to enlarge it.)  

When this old print caught my eye, I decided in relief to use it as the basis for a new greeting card cover.  (My 6"X6" blank greeting cards come from JAM.)  

With deckle-cut Friskar scissors, I clipped off edges from the original print, before gluing it to the greeting card cover.  Then I added the cut-offs as narrow strips across the upper left of the card.  Below that, I added two more collage elements, blues in two shades, cut from old catalogs and calendar pages.

The final artwork is far from a masterpiece; I was happy enough to finally come up with something that meets the requirements of this segment of Jane's weekly assignment-list.  As many of us know, the words "masterpiece" and "workshop" go together like oil and water.  The goal of a workshop is to equip ourselves with knowledge that will serve us in the future.  

What I personally learned from this segment of an assignment is that I will most likely never choose a monochromatic color scheme for any of my artworks.  Others can pull this off beautifully ... and my hat is off to those artists!  :-)   

Before I Wash It and Erase these Colors ...

Normally I don't clean my stencils, but some projects necessitate being able to see thru the stencil, to get the exact placement desired.  So my 9"X12" Boxed Vines stencil will be dunked into a bath of Windex, which I think will bring it back to its original translucency, with the help of a handful of soft terrycloth.  Before that, tho, I decided to scan it to capture and preserve the image of this color-play ...
 

Beautiful Art ...

 ... can be seen here --

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204888051465668&set=o.299640020071507&type=1

Artist Kathy Heyboer Shaker created this lovely artwork using my 9"X12" stencil Tangled Pods.  Thanks, Kathy!  

Surprise!

I've surprised myself in having come up with a way to take photos of a few recent artworks.  I can hold the phone between my hands without lifting my arms, if I work from a sitting position with the artwork on the floor between my feet!  This way, my recovering shoulder isn't affected because I can brace it, from shoulder to elbow, against my side, leaving enough of the arm free to hold the phone where it needs to be.  I admit a lot of the photos were shaky and had to be deleted.  But here are the 3 that survive:

Above:  For this, I brought out my 6"X6" stencil Kaleid and my 9"X12" stencil Facets. 

 I used those 2 stencils over and over on this 12"X12" stretched canvas, layering with Golden High Flow Acrylics.  My last step was to bring out highlights with a white Sakura Solid Marker, a type of crayon that hardens soon after application.

Above: I used a similar approach to create this larger artwork on stretched canvas.  My main stencil was my 9"X12" Mimosa.  A granulated effect (to see this better, click on the image to enlarge it) was achieved by my having first prepared the surface, adding Liquitex White Opaque Flakes, a gel medium that contains small flakes of plastic.  After using Golden High Flow Acrylics and multiple layered stencil applications to build up the surface, I came in with zinc ("mixing") white acrylic paint to subdue the outer areas of the image.  Then I sprayed some edges of the main image with acrylic inks, to achieve a blend-into-the background look.

Above:  On this 12"x12" stretched canvas, I used my 6"x6" Mimosa stencil.  This time I added a metallic gold with other Golden High Flow acrylics.  My secondary stencil (used on the upper left) was my newly released 9"X12" stencil Prayer Flags.  Again, after achieving the main image, I came back in with acrylic paint to block out unwanted areas.  This time I chose an opaque black to dramatize the red, white, black and gold combination.

 

Ghost Print -- New Life for an Old Collage

Below is a ghost print made with one of my 3 June StencilClub Crop Circle stencils -- for its background, I used an old collage.  I call it a "ghost" because I pressed the still-wet stencil to the old collage as an afterthought, just to clean off the excess paint after having used the stencil in another project.

StencilClub members can still order the Crop Circle set; to become a member, just check out the right sidebar here:  www.stencilgirltalk.com.

I've worked on a number of stenciling projects over the last 5 weeks, but since I'm recovering from shoulder surgery, I can't take any photos yet.  It requires being able to lift both hands, to use either my phone or my camera.  That's beyond me, now.  But around mid-September, maybe sooner, I will be taking photos of these projects and posting them.

MORE NEW ART

   
My Aug. 3 post, below, is the first of a series that I created in similar ways.  The background for the Aug. 3 print was an old watercolor.  The background of today's image is a print-out of a photo I took several years ago; the photo showed one of my old collages.  This new print was created by adding white acrylic paint to random areas of my 9"x12" stencil Boxed Vines, then pressing the painted stencil to the print-out.

BOXED VINES

 

NEW ART

June's StencilGirl StencilClub featured my Crop Circle stencils:

-- which can still be ordered by anyone joining the StencilClub ... (to join, see the right sidebar here -- www.stencilgirltalk.com.)

I used these stencils in making this new artwork --

This is a print made with the paint-brushed stencil.  The background supporting the print is an old watercolor painting created with the spill method ... which is exactly what it sounds like ... spills of wet color allowed to blend, then set aside to dry.

  

Artist Tommy McDonell ...

 ... created this lovely print with her Gelli plate --

-- using my 9"X12" stencil Buds --  

 Tommy also used a 6"X6" stencil of mine, Silhouette of a Wildflower Bouquet. 

Thanks for choosing two of my botanical stencils, Tommy!

Drop Me a Line ...

 
...or draw me one.  And make it 3-dimensional!

 The 2 greeting cards below were created in several steps, using my new 9"X12" stencil Prayer Flags.  The cards were created on 6"X6" greeting cards blanks cut from dark bronze cardstock (available at www.jampaper.com.)     

Click on the above image to better see the 3D lines -- yellow on the left card cover and copper on the right card cover.

First, I  used masking tape to secure the stencil Prayer Flags into place over the covers of the 2 greeting cards. Clicking on the photo below to enlarge it, you can see that I'd lined up the greeting card blanks, side-by-side.  This way, I can use 1 stencil to do the groundwork for 2 cards -- at the same time.

Note:  In these photos you see a pale blue stencil being used.  This is an advance prototype sent to designers at StencilGirlProducts.  When you order your own stencils, they will be white.

Next, I used a plastic artist's spatula to spread thick white metallic paint thru each of the stencils.  

ABOVE:  A CLOSE-UP OF THE WHITE METALLIC PAINT STILL HELD ONTO THE CARD COVER WITH GREEN MASKING TAPE (AT TOP OF PHOTO.)

 While the paint was still wet, and while the stencil was still in place, I sprayed one of the cards with a water-based paint.  Keeping the stencil in place during the spraying step is important to prevent the spray paint from landing on areas where I didn't want spray to land.  See below:

Quickly but gently, I lifted off the stencil and -- since I had used thick paint -- I cleaned the stencil.  (When I use thin media, I seldom bother to clean a stencil after use.)

ABOVE:  A CLOSE-UP OF THE GREETING CARD COVER THAT WAS ALLOWED TO REMAIN WHITE; THE STENCIL HAS JUST BEEN LIFTED OFF.

Once the 2 greeting card surfaces had dried, I placed translucent resist paper over them, and got out my dimensional paints in squeeze bottles.  I used deli wrap paper, but plain wax paper would have worked.  

Holding the deli wrap in place with one hand, I used the other to start drawing lines along the lines of the stencil design.  I was careful to keep the dimensional paint flowing, leaving no gaps in the network of lines. 

When the dimensional paint had dried, I carefully lifted it off the resist paper, pulling the networked lines free just a little at a time.

I painted both greeting card covers with a coat of gloss gel medium.  While the medium was still wet, I placed a network of dimensional lines across the surface of each.  I used copper paint for the still-white card and yellow for the blue-sprayed card:

Click on the above image to better see the 3D lines made with dimensional paint from a squeeze bottle.