Stencil Girl 2 ...

... is the title of this artwork, finished just today, on Yupo:

I used liquid watercolors and gouache (a thick, opaque form of watercolor).  My first step was the stencil-and-stain technique which I showcased in my March 4 post.  My four 6"X6" stencils were two of my own design -- Kaleid --
http://stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-6x6/view/705
and Grid
http://stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-6x6/view/696

-- as well as Wendy Aikin's Intersections --
http://stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-6x6/view/551

and Wendy's Crazed Stencil --
http://stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-6x6/view/537

After my stencil-and-stain step had dried, I used masking tape to block out a freestyle but geometric-shaped border, filling in the outer edges with white gouache using a sponge applicator.

To add the two top-layer yellow shapes (small upper right triangle and lower left geometric shape), I used more masking tape and brushed in a yellow-white gouache mix, then stamped both shapes while the paint was still wet, using a homemade rubber stamp.  This stamping step lifted out some of the yellow-white paint, enough so that some of the bottom layer shows through.

This close-up shows the upper right triangle; click on the image to enlarge it.

 After creating the two yellow-white shapes, I added the focal point area (part of which is visible in the two photos below.)  For this I used a sponge-topped applicator, masking tape, Wendy's Intersections stencil and three layers of gouache -- gray-white, purple and white -- allowing dry-time between each layer application.

 

Another Happy Surprise

I had another happy surprise today when I opened the Stencil Girl Talk e-newsletter in my Inbox --

http://www.marycnasser.com/2/post/2013/07/new-work-wednesday-nature.html

Clicking the above link, you can see that artist Mary C. Nasser came up with a very creative way to use my 6"X6" stencil Seaweed, available at StencilGirlProducts ...

http://stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-6x6/view/716

I speak with total sincerity -- not modesty -- when I say that every time I see one of my StencilGirlProducts stencils used, I'm surprised:  the reason being that, when I look thru the large selection of stencils available on that website, I see work by other designers that has me completely in awe.  I never knew stencils could be so exciting!  Every abstract artist (and many representational artists) should own the whole collection!  I often find in my own work, as I move thru the process, that I suddenly wish I had bought such-and-such stencil as part of my most recent order.  Bottom line:  if I don't have it on hand, I can't use it -- so I need to grab every design that catches my eye, even if I have no immediate idea as to where I will eventually see a need for using it.  And I need to check the SGP website often, because new stencils continually pop up there. 

Making a Rubber Stamp-Type Printing Plate using a Stencil

Mary Ann Russo, an artist in the field of fiber arts, has invented -- and as far as I know, it IS a new invention -- a method for using a stencil to make  a rubber-stamp-style printing plate (similar to a collograph printing plate -- but using synthetic material much like what is used in making rubber stamps.)  Here she has used my 9"X12" stencil Vases ... http://stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-9x12/view/714
Fiber artists like large stamps, and I have a feeling it's possible to make a stamp/printing plate that's even larger, simply by starting with more than one stencil, side-by-side.  These printing plates are not used like traditional rubber stamps.  They are placed face-up on the work surface, then coated with fabric-coloring ink; and, when fabric is placed over them, pressure is applied evenly across the top side of the fabric.  Mary Ann has used a rubber-like material so sturdy, in creating this tool, that it can be used with endless repetitions.

I've emailed a query to Cloth Paper Scissors to ask whether that magazine is interested in my writing a full-length article, listing supplies and detailing each step of the process (which actually produces two art-making tools, not just the rubber stamp/printing plate.)  It's been a few years since my last publication there, yet I'm happy to say I received another warm reception, this time around.  The only hitch is that Mary Ann can't commit right now to going thru the process of creating another stamp/printing plate, so I can't take step-by-step photos of her process until her schedule opens up again.  I'm hoping someday to take this project forward. 

In the meantime I'm happy to report that another design of mine is now listed, as a brand-new stencil, at the StencilGirlProducts website; it's a 6"X6" version of my already-listed stencil Mimosa...
http://stencilgirlproducts.com/new-stencils/view/926