CLUSTERED LEAVES Stencil (9" x 12") Used in Three Fabulous Artworks

Clustered Leaves, a 9" x 12" stencil that I've designed, has found its way into the talented hands of three artists I feature in today's post.  In these artworks, other StencilGirl stencils were also used; they can be found here.

The artwork above is a two-page journal spread by UK artist Frieda Oxenham.  I'm dazzled by the combination of images suggesting, to me, that Frieda may have developed this idea during one of her walks in the scenic countryside near her home!

Today's second image, below, is an eye-catching encaustic work by Mary Marley.

The third artwork I'm featuring today comes from artist Amy Shawley Paquette --

I strongly encourage you to check out this link to follow Amy through the steps she has taken in creating the artworks above.  Well worth your time!

The Clustered Leaves stencil itself looks like this--

My sincere thanks to the three artists who chose Clustered Leaves Stencil (9" x 12") as tools in creating their masterpieces!

Note:  A more in-depth post featuring this artwork by Amy Shawley Paquette will be appearing in a future post here on my blog.

Thanks also to you, for visiting my blog today!

To see all my StencilGirl stencils, please visit here.

HERON and FERNS Stencils in Art by Jill McDowell

Back in October I posted about Mary Beth Shaw's write-up in the July/August 2017 Somerset Studio magazine.  Its focus was the use of silhouette stencils with patterned stencils.

Following Mary Beth's directions, another artist -- Jill McDowell -- came up with this:

The silhouette stencil in this case is my 6" x 6" stencil Heron.  

Mary Beth's technique, used by Jill McDowell, is quick and easy:  

(1) Secure the substrate to the work area with masking tape; 

(2) use the same tape to layer the silhouette stencil atop the substrate.  (In the magazine article, Mary Beth had also used my Heron stencil for one of her projects.) 

(3) Add a layer of acrylic paint over the stencil that's fastened to the substrate below. 

(4) After that paint dries, add a top layer -- one or more stencils with densely figured patterns; use masking tape to hold them down, for best results.

(5) Using a different color acrylic paint, go over this two-stencil "sandwich."

Lift off all stencils and you're done.

Brick Factory, by Daniella Woolf, is the stencil Jill chose for creating the domino-like pattern inside these two Heron prints.  

On the top and bottom edges of this work, Jill used another 6" x 6" stencil of mine -- Ferns.

My thanks to Jill for allowing me to use her artwork here... and my thanks to you for stopping by today!

I'm happy to say that I've designed 70 stencils for StencilGirl.  The multiple pages of my stencils start here.

Jumbo-Sized Rubber Stamps made with Stencils -- thanks to Mary Ann Russo

My friend Mary Ann Russo made a series of rubbing plates using my 9"X 12" stencils Vases and Twinship.  Rubbing plates are used for a paper-arts and fabric-arts technique that calls for placing a thin substrate over a 3-dimensional solid surface, then rubbing the top of the substrate with a soft medium (think crayon or soft graphite pencil or charcoal.)

However, rubbing plates are also rubber stamps -- jumbo in size!

Mary Ann's method called for cutting matboard (extra-sturdy cardboard) into rectangles slightly larger than the stencils and coating them  with water-thinned gel medium on both sides as well as 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 matboards 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 3-D patterns easier to see.  When doing this yourself, there is no need to add paint.)

The photo above shows my 9"X 12" stencil  Twinship as Mary Ann places it onto the rectangle of pre-coated matboard.  Her next step will be to secure the stencil to the matboard with masking tape.

Above, Mary Ann is placing the mix of molding paste and acrylic paint onto the stencil, which rests on the matboard.  By clicking on this photo to enlarge it, you can see that she had secured the stencil to the matboard with blue masking tape.  The 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.  To get a more evenly spread surface -- needed when creating a rubber stamp -- Mary Ann would instead use a spreading tool like the one shown above in the lower right corner of the photo above.

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

-- and places the stencil to soak in a water-filled basin.  The stencil will be thoroughly cleaned to remove all the residue yellow mixture.

In the series of photos below, I'm showing another rubbing/printing plate made by Mary Ann.  This time, she used my 9"X 12" stencil Vases.

The difference between this plate and the one made with my Twinship stencil 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.  This is an important addition if your goal is to create rubber stamps.

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 AmazonSmile.com and some hardware stores.

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. 

The plate can be used in two other ways -- (1) with a Shiva stick and fabric, to make rubbings; (2) with acrylic paints, to make prints. 
When used with acrylics to make prints, it's actually a rubber stamp -- jumbo-sized! 

The following photos focus on the the last use, making prints with acrylic paints:

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.

Above:  my first print.

After coating the plate with this paint, I pressed papers (one at a time) 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 below.  This can be thought of as reverse rubber stamping because the jumbo-sized "rubber stamp" lies flat on the work surface while the paper (or fabric) is pressed down onto the surface.

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Fellow Stencil Designer Karen P. Johnson Honoring My Blog with her Art Today!

Today's featured stencil is my 9" x 12" Vintage Script. . .

I used this stencil when developing the collage below --

And artist Karen P. Johnson has delighted me by including this stencil in her stencil-tool-box when she created the two-page art journal spread below:

Karen and I ended up using the same basic color schemes.  Great minds think alike! 

Also included in Karen's StencilGirl.com collection is the StencilClub's June 2015 Stencil-of-the-Month 3-piece set, which I had the honor to design.  She used that -- along with other StencilGirl stencils -- in making the gorgeous two-page spread below.....

Be sure to visit Karen P. Johnson  to see her line of stencils!

To check out StencilClub, please go here. 

And to see the pages showing my full line of stencils, check here.

Thank you for taking time to come here today!

Easter Greeting Cards and More

My StencilGirl stencils include two that feature feathers -- one is 9" x 12" and the other is 6" x 6".  It's the smaller one that I'm featuring in today's post.  

Some time ago, at an estate sale, I had bought a collection of pre-1929 encyclopedias.  For the first segment in today's project, I decided to take out a page with an illustrated bird in one of the background illustrations.

The traditional sponge-daubing technique would have worked for this project; likewise, a Gelli Plate could have been used.

But I chose the method easiest for me -- loading a sponge brayer with a heavy-body acrylic paint and running the brayer over the stencil (while holding the stencil in place with my other hand.)
  

The print above is part of a series that emerged from the idea of using these old papers with theme-related stencils -- using this as a first step in creating collage papers for art journal pages.  After these prepared papers (used whole, or torn into pieces) are collaged into journal pages, more artwork is layered over them.

Following along in the same path, I decided that some of this year's Easter greeting cards could be made the same way...

After making these prints on floral-themed papers, I cut them out and collaged them onto the covers of 6" x 6" blank greeting cards (JAMPaper.com)

Stencils highlighted today include:

Feathers 6 Stencil (6" x 6")

Silhouette of a Wildflower Bouquet (6" x 6")

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To check out the multiple pages of my other stencils for StencilGirl, please visit here.  

Easter Greeting Card made with BUDS Stencil

 I used the 9" x 12" stencil Buds to make a full-page print; my substrate was a sheet of "catch-all" painted paper...

... then, I cut out part of the print, using Fiskars decorative-edge scissors, and used it in a collage on the cover of this Easter card --

"Catch-all" paper is what I call sheets of newsprint that I use for removing excess acrylic paint from my brush, before placing the brush into water.  This minimizes the amount of acrylic paint that ends up being washed down the drain...which is bad for the environment.

I save my "catch-all" papers for use as backgrounds, as today's post shows.

Buds stencil, in its entirety, looks like this--

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6" x 6" Stencil BAMBOO WALL (and 6" x 6" TRIVET C)

One of my pet-favorite stencils is 6" x 6" Bamboo Wall.  It's one of the stencils in my Asian series, which includes Tiger Lily, Bamboo Wall Stencil, Bonsai Tree Stencil, Two Fans Stencil and Ginkgo 6 Stencil.

Bamboo Wall was based on an ink drawing that I did, using a Chinese calligraphic brush.  

Below are some prints I made with my sponge brayer, loaded with heavy-body acrylic paint:

Above:  I used the brayer with brown paint to make the lower print.  Then I flipped the still-wet stencil over and pressed it to the old map right above the first print -- using the "inked" stencil as if it were a rubber stamp.

 

Above:  This print was created with Bamboo Wall, over an earlier print that I'd made with another 6" x 6" stencil, Trivet C.

Trivet C stencil, by itself, looks like this:

Above:  This is an example of how I load a sponge brayer with heavy-body acrylic paint.  For me, this method works better than a pouncing tool.  But it did take me some time to learn the right "touch" -- to add just enough paint thru the stencil, and to avoid adding too much.  

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 The multiple pages of my StencilGirl stencils start here.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Part 2 of 2 -- Hit-and-Miss Techniques with Stencils -- Dry-Brushing Thru Stencils, and More Ideas

I learned a  new-to-me stenciling technique when I took an online class with Joan Fullerton.  All credit for this idea belongs to Joan, not to me!

To demonstrate, I'll use the same artwork recently featured in Part One of this two-part set.

The first color photo below shows part of my 9" x 12" stencil Blooming Where Planted.  (I had cut across this stencil to separate the large image from the two smaller images.)

Above:  I'd cut along the vertical line that separates the large image on the left from the two smaller ones on the right.

After separating this part of the stencil from the rest, I used masking tape to secure it to the canvas I was working on, as shown below.  Clicking on this image to enlarge it, you can see, on the left, the top of the brush I  used.  For dry-brushing, I always choose a brush with extra-stiff bristles.  Then I daub it into a little paint.  Before taking the paint to the canvas, I brush scratch paper or palette paper to take off most of the paint just added.  What I'm left with is very little wet paint; hence the term "dry-brushing."  The brush tips aren't totally dry, but very close to it.

The photo above -- especially when enlarged -- shows that dry-brushing means to move the brush across the stencil openings in a hit-and-miss way.  Not all of the underneath surface is covered.

When the stencil is lifted (see below) the results are unique; no other method of stenciling, as far as I know, achieves this look.

But there are two other ways to get hit-and-miss effects with stencils ...   I've yet to try them; they sound like fun.  One is to place a stencil on a substrate, then mist it  -- lightly -- with water.  The next step is to hold fine-grain sandpaper and watercolor pencils right over the stencil.  Now, rub the tips of the pencils against the sandpaper.  This should result in a scattering of color particles that will settle down onto the stencil.  The open areas of the stencil will allow those areas of the substrate to receive the color specks.  Any kind of powdered pigments probably would work just as well.  Brusho is one brand; other powdered pigments are available, too.

Returning to the topic of dry-brushing --

Above:  the stencil has been lifted off (it's still hinged with masking tape on the left side of the photo.)  It has left behind a hit-and-miss image across the canvas (on the right.)

This is not a perfect example of dry-brushing; a perfect example would show even less paint on the finished surface.  But I hope this suffices to get the general idea across.  Below is a close-up.  

The close-up was taken after I had later added a subtle layer of white over the dry-brushed area.  This addition was achieved with zinc white (translucent) acrylic paint that I had spread across the same stencil.  While the stencil was wet with this paint, I pressed it, wet-side-down, onto the surface.

Below is another close-up, showing a wider area of this artwork that was more fully explained in Part One of this two-part post. 

Below is a shot of the entire work -- while it was still in progress.

The photo above shows that dry-brushing was used in three areas -- upper left, far right central, and lower middle.

As shown (and explained) in Part One, this is the completed project --

Above:  final version.

The pages showing my full line of StencilGirl stencils start here.

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Part One of Two: Learning Something New with 9" x 12" Stencil BLOOMING WHERE PLANTED

Something interesting happened when I was working on this art (on stretched canvas)...

Above:  an early version.  Please click on it to better see detail.

The early version was developed in part with the dry-brush technique, which will be explained fully (with photos) in Part Two of this two-part post.

Another approach, in developing the early version above, included collage, using red and gray paper scraps previously printed with Ornamental Iron Curls stencil (6"x 6".)  The narrow vertical paper (red and gold) had previously been printed with a 9" x 12" stencil, Blooming Where Planted.  This latter stencil was used again in making layers of patterns across the upper left of the canvas, as well as at the central bottom area.

Shown below:  For the third time, I used part of the same Blooming Where Planted stencil -- this time, as a collage element.  The stencil was already stained from earlier projects.  I felt the stained stencil added more interest, as well as an area of flow-thru yellow.  I added it to the stretched canvas with extra heavy matte medium.

Above:  final version.

The interesting thing happened later, after the matte medium had dried.  For some reason that I can't explain, I decided to see what would happen if I were to pry off the stained stencil.  This wasn't hard to do.

To my delighted surprise, the acrylic paint that had stained the stencil remained behind on the canvas.  That's what you see in the image above.  

The stencil itself came cleanly off the canvas -- ready to be used again!

Feeling adventurous?  Try this yourself -- you may be in for a happy surprise!

Important note:  This will not work if you're using an art journal or any other kind of flexible, fragile surface.  The best substrate, instead, would be stretched canvas or any of the hard-board substrates sold at art supply stores.

Stencils used in today's post:

Blooming Where Planted (9" x 12")

Ornamental Iron Curls (6"x 6")

The pages showing my full line of StencilGirl stencils start here.

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To subscribe, please use the email option on the upper right.

GINKGO 6" x 6" Stencil

One of my older stencils, Ginkgo, remains a favorite.  Recently I made a new print with this 6" x 6" stencil ...

... using a sponge brayer loaded with heavy body orange-yellow and pale magenta acrylic paints.

My substrate was an old sheet of foreign newsprint that had already been used for a couple of paint experiments.

Now I plan to use this color combination more often!

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To follow this blog by email, please use the option in the upper right.

I'm happy to say that I've designed 70 stencils for StencilGirl.  The multiple web pages of my stencils start here.