New Artwork made with TANGLED PODS

To create a new artwork on stretched canvas, I've once again used my 9"X12" stencil  Tangled Pods:

Below are 2 close-ups:

Opps--this shot is sideways.  It shows the upper right corner of the canvas, where the stencil was used as a stamp.

To create this artwork, I started with my "stencil-and-stain" technique that is part of the package (as a video tutorial) when StencilClub members order the June 2015 Crop Circles set. (Details are at the bottom of this post.)

And in the upper right, I used the still-wet-with paint stencil as a stamp, turning it over and pressing it to the canvas; the result was a ghost print.

The subtractive/reductive technique has been demonstrated here.  And here.  And here.  As these earlier posts show, the basic technique is the same, but there are many ways to introduce variety.  Besides Jenn Mason, another artist who has taught me this technique is my friend Cindy Powell.

Tangled Pods looks like this when displayed on the StencilGirlProducts website: 

The view above is actually a sideways view (of the pods that hang from the Japanese Pagoda Tree) but like all stencils, Tangled Pods can be turned in any direction.

My "stencil-and-stain" technique was part of the members-only StencilClub package of June 2015. To receive this package (which includes a video showing the technique in action, as well as the 3-part stencil-set Crop Circles) just visit　StencilGirlTalk.com　-- and use　the right side bar to become a StencilClub member.　　 Once a member,　send an　email to stencilgirlproducts@gmail.com, citing the month-and-year package that　you　want to buy; then, StencilGirlProducts will provide you with a invoice through PayPal.

TANGLED PODS and FACETS Stencils used with the Gelli Plate

I have still more mixed-media collages to show, as result of the November-December online workshop I took with Jane Davies.

The art above is not finished yet, but is complete enough to be shown.  In the central oval background can be seen a print made with my 9"x12" stencil Tangled Pods, which in its entirety looks like this:

Another mixed-media collage from that workshop is this:

Its wide red-hued vertical stripe was created with my 9"x12" stencil Facets, which in its entirety looks like this:

The aqua-green background looks as if stenciled, too, but was actually was made with a different method.  I can't share the techniques we used in this workshop of Jane's, since that's her property, not mine; but I'm sure she will offer this Gelli Plate printing workshop again.
 

Last Glimpse into an Art Journal by Mary Ann Russo

Today's post is the last in a series to show the pages of an art journal made by my friend Mary Ann Russo.  Each page of her beautiful journal is made from half of a multi-layered Gelli Plate print.  Below, you see two of these pages not identical but creating a matched set:

  
In making these Gelli Plate prints, Mary Ann used my 9"x12" stencil Twinship.  The stencil itself looks like this:

  

My thanks goes out to Mary Ann for generously loaning me her art journal so I could take these photos. 

It's Already Spring Somewhere...

 
So here's a journal page background that I'm calling Ivy on a Trellis, followed by another journal page background (with a built-in frame) that I titled with the same name as the stencil that made it, Boxed Vines:

The original Boxed Vines stencil (9"x12") used in the bottom image looks like this ...

... and the top background-page was made with these 2 9"x12" stencils ...

Above:  IVY 9 stencil

 

Above:  PRAYER FLAGS stencil

 Both pages were made with multiple, layered Gelli Plate prints.  To tone them down for use as backgrounds, I gave each a topcoat of diluted Titan Buff acrylic paint with a sponge brayer.

Last but not least, I used my 6"x6" stencil Flowers Version 1 to make this greeting card cover:

It was a two-step process, first using a Gelli Plate to print the flowers on cardstock, and second, over-printing the whole surface with green-gold acrylic paint (also using the Gelli Plate.)

The Flowers Version 1 stencil itself looks like this:

Thanks for visiting! 

CROP CIRCLES and How to Order Past Stencil-of-the-Month Stencil Sets

Here is a collage I recently completed:

The top layers on this collage are papers previously prepared using my "scraping" technique.

This technique works best with thin but sturdy paper and heavy-body acrylic paint. 

It's simply a wet version of the rubbings technique; traditional rubbings are done with soft-lead pencil or crayon, whereas I use acrylic paint and an old credit card. 

With masking tape, I secure a stencil to the work surface; then I tape atop that a sheet of thin paper such as deli wrap.  After adding a few dollops of acrylic paint to the top of the paper, I scrape the paint downward over the paper, pressing evenly to pick up the patterns in the stencil.

Step-by-step photos are shown here.

As an addendum to the above linked post, I'll mention another time I used this technique, choosing thin but sturdy foil giftwrap.  (The foil base gives a nice luminosity to the finished product.)  The acrylic paint I used was heavy-body Titanium White.

First, I placed the stencil onto a flat work surface, then covered it with the foil.  I poured a little paint onto palette paper, dipped the wide edge of an old credit card into the paint, and scraped it firmly across the paper, while holding both the paper and the stencil in place with one hand.  (At other times, I've used masking tape to hold these elements in place.)  It takes several dips and scrapes to cover the entire 6"X6" design.  For me, the most effective scraping movement is to push the credit card away from myself -- instead of placing it on the far edge and pulling it toward myself.  Also, I find that best results come from holding the card at a 45-degree angle to the paper.  My Cats stencil has large openings and it lacks fine detail-lines, which makes it perfect for this technique.

Above: the foil giftwrap now imprinted using the scraping technique. 

Okay -- enough of the flashbacks!  Moving ahead to the collage I just finished, here are close-ups of the papers used in this collage that had been previously prepared using this technique:

 

In printing the above papers, I used this set of stencils:

These June 2015 stencils can be ordered by visiting StencilGirlTalk.com and using the right side bar to become a StencilClub member.  Once a member, you can purchase past stencils at your regular membership price.  Email stencilgirlproducts@gmail.com citing the month you wish to purchase; then StencilGirlProducts will provide you with a invoice through PayPal.

PRAYER FLAGS, FACETS and TANGLED PODS in New Mixed-Media Collages

I now have quite a stack of mixed-media collages on printmaking paper, some of which will become portfolio pieces to go to the Canterbury Art Festival (Rumson, NJ) this September.  Not all are going, because not all are finished, but they are complete enough to be posted here.

Click on the above image to better see the top of the vertical pink paper stripe in this mixed-media collage.  This was printed during the November-December Gelli Plate printing online workshop that I took with Jane Davies.  In making that print, I used my 9"x12" stencil Prayer Flags, which, in entirety, looks like this:

Below, this mixed-media collage was made with the help of my 9"x12" stencil Facets, which was used in printing the wide, vertical paper strip that bisects the big top circle:

The Facets stencil itself, in entirety, looks like this:

My third mixed-media collage to show today was made with the help of my 9"x12" stencil Tangled Pods, which you can see both in the foreground and in the background below --

Thanks for visiting!

Sixth Peek into the Art Journal of Mary Ann Russo

For this glimpse into a beautiful art journal created by my friend Mary Ann Russo, I'm showing, for the first time in this series of posts, two pages that don't match.  

What these two pages have in common is that -- in addition to using Random Circles Stencil -- Mary Ann used my 9"x12" stencil Facets in making these multiple-layer Gelli Plate prints. 

Facets itself looks like this:

Thanks for visiting! 

TWINSHIP and PRAYER FLAGS Stencils in Mixed-Media Collages

 Today's post brings me back, once again, to the November-December online workshop that I took with Jane Davies.  I can't share the techniques we followed, since that's Jane's material, not mine.  But I will share some of my artwork created during that workshop.   Here are a couple of mixed-media collages:

The above art was created with my 9"x12" stencil Twinship, which looks like this:

Another mixed-media collage from that online workshop is here:

My 9"x12" stencil Prayer Flags was used in printing the two rectangular pieces of orange-green paper used in the above artwork.  That stencil, in its entirety, looks like this:

Thanks for visiting!
 

Visit Number 5 to Mary Ann Russo's Art Journal

Today's post is the fifth glimpse into an art journal created by my friend Mary Ann Russo.  Each page of her beautiful journal is made from half of a multi-layered Gelli Plate print.  Below, you see the left page followed by the right (facing) page:

  
In making these Gelli Plate prints, Mary Ann chose several stencils from www.StencilGirlProducts.com.  The one she used with her white paint was my 9"x12" stencil Twinship.  The stencil itself looks like this:

  
Mary Ann's multiple-layer printing shows how beautifully a stencil's design can improved upon, in creating art that's much more eye-pleasing and complex than when any one stencil is used by itself.

More of Mary Ann's art journal pages will be posted here ... stay tuned!

BORDERS #1, PRAYER FLAGS and IVY 9 STENCIL

Today's post brings me back to the November-December online workshop that I took with Jane Davies.  I can't share the techniques we followed, since that's Jane's material, not mine.  But I will share some of my artwork created during that workshop.   Here is one of my mixed-media collages:

Above:  I used two of my 9"x12" stencils in the creation of this piece -- Borders #1 --

--and Prayer Flags:

Altho it's hard to see, a third 9"x12" stencil of mine was used in printing the yellow-green horizontal band that divides the top of the art from the bottom.  This is my Ivy 9 Stencil.  The stencil itself looks like this:

Thanks for visiting!