BRAND-NEW STENCILS RELEASED AT STENCILGIRL(TM)PRODUCTS!

Two of my new 9"X12" stencils are released today at STENCILGIRL(TM)Products --



ABOVE:  BUDS

ABOVE:  NOSEGAY

 

And this post focuses on the Buds stencil.  Below are some artworks I created with it --

I used one of my prints from the Buds stencil as giftwrap --

ABOVE:  THE TOP OF THE GIFT

ABOVE:  THE UNDERSIDE OF THE GIFT

 And I used some of the printed papers to make greeting cards like this one --

 

Don't Throw Out that Used Giftwrap!

Rather than throw away that used giftwrap, I use it to make next year's Christmas cards -- or thank-you notes for gifts received this year from distant friends.  Today I'll show my way of doing this.

No giftwrap to recycle?  

Any paper can be used; in the past, I've worked from my stash of "catch-all" papers.  These are foreign-print newspapers used for off-loading leftover acrylic paint from just-used paintbrushes, before dunking those brushes into water.  (This practice is best for the environment.  The less acrylic paint that goes down the drain, the better for all of us.)  Here are two of my catch-all papers --

Having chosen an area that I like on this paper, I placed a stencil over it, using masking tape to hold the stencil in place ...

Heron (shown above) was one of the stencils I chose for today's "re-run" post because I needed a design that lets me easily trace inside its cut-out areas.

Some of my other stencils work well, too --

Queen Anne's Lace (9"X12")
Boxed Vines (9"X12")
Cats (6"X6")
Osprey Wings (6"X6")

For tracing along the cut-out stencil edges, I used watercolor pencil since it can be easily removed afterward, if desired.

Below is the Heron tracing, after the stencil was lifted --

Above:  the heron has been cut out with fine-detail scissors and placed on the cover of a 6"X6" greeting card.  On the left, atop the stencil, is the watercolor pencil I used to make the tracing.

When I used the stencil Queen Anne's Garden, I decided to place the stencil on the back of the catch-all paper, instead of working on the paper's painted side.

Above:  the back of the paper, after the stencil has been lifted off.

 

After I finished cutting out the flower, I decided to add leaves that I cut out free-hand.  I also added a few additional "rods" and "blooms" to create a greater contrast with the background I had chosen -- a pearly white 6"X6" blank greeting card, shown above.  (If you would rather not freehand-cut leaves, you can use Striped Leaves Stencil by Terri Stegmiller.)

Above:  the finished greeting card with the heron on the cover.

 

In tracing part of Queen Anne's Garden with a red watercolor pencil, I simply drew lines inside the narrow openings at the top of the flower, rather than try to faithfully trace every fine detail. 



 

Happy News

   

Today I learned that one of my abstracts won Honorable Mention in the current show at our local art guild; its title is Lace and Letters --

Clicking to enlarge the above image, you can see that I used at least one, but probably two, stencils by Carolyn Dube, the queen of letter-pattern stencil designs!  In the upper right you can see where I used the stencil Calligraphy by Mary Beth Shaw.  And in the central lower section, I've used Warped Holes 9 by Lizzie Mayne.

A Happy Surprise

Good news today ... I sold a print of one of my original artworks at Fine Arts America --

http://fineartamerica.com/saleannouncement.html?id=f442edd7de7d3e789bf534b1fe963c1c

I think that I still have the original on hand; it was created using several stencils from StencilGirlProducts.com.  What sold today is a print of the original.

 

Happy to have my art included ...

... in this December show in CT --

http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/p/five-by-five.html

Thanks, Seth!

I haven't been able to verify this, since my Internet search failed to locate the right Maggie Crawford, but I think that this lovely artwork created by her --

-- came to life with the help of my stencil Queen Anne's Lace.  If I'm wrong about that, then I can still say that it might have been my stencil.  Maggie Crawford's handling of color and text are a beauty to behold. 

Her artwork is featured in the 5X5 Collection curated by Seth Apter.

Modeling Paste and Other Dimensional Media with Stencils

Another re-run today, as I continue working in an online class taught by Jane Davies ...

Here is my "modeling-paste-with-spray-paint technique," complete with step-by-step instructions and photos.  In addition to modeling paste, I've tried other dimension- building media, as you'll see below.

In this photo sequence, I show how I made several 6"X6" greeting cards with my newly released stencil Quilted Flower Garden.  First, I taped the greeting card into place (over a sheet of freezer paper, shiny side up.) 

 Next, I spread a layer of modeling paste over the stencil --

While the modeling paste was still wet, I sprayed it with liquid watercolor as shown below.  Click on this image to enlarge it -- and take note that, with the spray of liquid watercolor, the stencil has suddenly become a mask.  Its presence masks off parts of the design so that the color-spray can't reach them.

Right after spraying, I lifted off the stencil and placed it, wet side down, on another paper, making a ghost print. Then I washed the stencil before the modeling paste could dry.

 

I did this project 3 times; the first time, as shown above, I used modeling paste ... and got these results:

Click on the above image to enlarge it.  The enlargement better shows the 3D look achieved with the modeling paste.  It also shows the areas that were masked off by the stencil during the color-spraying.

 On the next go-'round, I used Titanium White heavy body acrylic paint with the same stencil and the same sequence of steps, with these results --

 On the third greeting card, I used Blended Fibers Texture Gel Medium to get the results below --

And now I'll show the ghost-prints I made when I flipped the still-wet stencil and pressed it, wet side down, to other papers:

Another Re-Run ... While I take a Class under Jane Davies

I used two stencils to create this image -- Warped Holes 9, by Lizzie Mayne, and my 9"X12" Branching Blossoms Silhouette, available at www.StencilGirlProducts.com. 

And I used an idea that has been presented by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.  I tweaked Julie's process, starting with the same basic steps she did, but then launching into another direction, after asking myself,  "What if ...?"

In going thru the process, I made the happy discovery that Branching Blossoms Silhouette is ideal for this technique because its design automatically divides the image-area into vertical halves.  I took advantage of this by making a shift in hues between the vertical left half and the vertical right half.

I started with a sheet of 140-lb. hot press (smooth) watercolor paper, securing it to my work surface with masking tape and using the same tape to align my Branching Blossoms Silhouette stencil in the center of the paper.

Starting with an Ink Sweeper and ending with a cosmetic sponge, I daubed acrylic paint thru the stencil openings and across the paper.

This was what I saw when I lifted the stencil --

Next, I taped Branching Blossoms Silhouette back onto the paper.  I could have aligned it perfectly with the original print, shown above, but instead, I decided to take a risk and line the stencil up just slightly off-register with the original print.


Above:  Placing the stencil off-register creates these uncovered white areas.

Above:  a close-up of the off-register placement of the stencil over the original print.

Then I taped Lizzie's stencil over mine...


Above:  Lizzie's stencil still bears the multiple colors of acrylic paints from the last project!

Below:  a close-up of Lizzie's stencil over mine.

...and starting applying color thru both stencils, still using the daubing technique with acrylic paints.

My last step was to remove both stencils; here are the results:
 


My 9"X12" stencil Branching Blossoms Silhouette is available at  www.StencilGirlProducts.com ... enjoy! 

Origami

 

The origami bald eagle above was made by my friend Claire Murphy and enclosed in a birthday card sent from her new home in upstate NY.  Claire was always clever with her hands -- unlike me -- and I consider myself an origami drop-out.  But seeing this eagle made me think of my growing stack of Gelli Plate prints as well as other prints, all made with stencils.  In my imagination, if not in reality, I can see these papers being folded into clever shapes like this one of Claire's ...

 

 

 

 

Just scroll thru my jillions of "Older Posts" to see how the above papers -- and many others -- were created.

Stencils used in making the above papers are available here:

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/category-s/1832.htm