Using a Sponge Brayer with Stencils

Today's post parades several stencil-made prints on assorted backgrounds (mostly foreign newspapers); the first was made with my Marbles 9 stencil.  This stencil measures 9" x 12" (and has a 6" x 6" "little sister," Marbles 6.)


Having coated the background with an even layer of orange translucent acrylic paint, I gave it time to dry, then used a sponge brayer* and high-viscosity aqua acrylic paint-mix to add this complementary color thru the stencil:

Above:  Since I didn't have high-viscosity (heavy-body) aqua paint on hand, I mixed soft-body paint with extra-heavy acrylic medium gel, before loading the brayer with paint.

Here is a photo showing a sponge brayer being loaded with paint upon a disposable foam plate:

Below:  This photo shows the paint-loaded brayer being rolled over a stencil.  (This stencil is my 6" x 6" Sassy Spray.) 

 

Moving forward to make my next print for today's post, I coated newsprint with a layer of Titan Buff mixed with acrylic matte liquid medium; then, I used another sponge brayer to add orange acrylic paint thru two borders from my Borders # 2 stencil.  As you can tell below, from the sponged borders around each border, this stencil has been cut into three strips, to separate each of the three borders it contains.  It's not necessary to cut any of my three Borders series stencils into strips, but it's my personal choice; I find them easier to use this way.

Above:  My Titan Buff acrylic paint (by Golden) isn't translucent to begin with; I mixed it with acrylic matte liquid medium (which is transparent) before loading my brayer with paint.  This way, some of the background print remained visible, thus creating a layered look.

I made another orange-background print with a bright aqua foreground, following the same steps as in the first print posted today.  This print was made with two of my Trivet series stencils -- left:  Trivet B stencil; right:  Trivet C.  Both stencil measure 6" x 6" and are part of a 4-piece series that includes one 9" x 12" stencil (Trivet 9 A.)

Above:  Trivet B, on the left, always reminds me of a turning wheel.  Trivet C, on the right, makes me think of razor blades!  I didn't design either of them with these images in mind.  It just happened on its own.

Today's final image:

Too late, I realized that I should have added more solid aqua, or a solid beige, to the background of this piece, before printing it with an orange paint-loaded sponge brayer and my 9" x 12" stencil Two Vases.  If I'd had the forethought to mute out the background printing with either of those paints, the two orange vases would have stood out better. 

But there's always a next time!

To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here. 

And I thank you kindly for visiting my blog today.

* Sponge brayers, sometimes called sponge rollers, can be found here.

Today on StencilGirl Talk --

Do you wiggle when you squiggle (with a special-effects art tool)?  Check out the StencilGirl Talk post today here.

Marbling with Stencils

 If you delight in getting unpredictable results, as I do, then this is a technique to try!

http://www.interweavestore.com/marbled-fabric-surface-design-dvd , which I learned about from my friend Mary Ann Russo, goes into depth on the topic of floating stencils on the surface of marbling liquid to create a combination stencil-and-marbled look on pieces of fabric. 

I'm not into fabric arts, but I tried this idea on printing papers -- the type of paper recommended in this short online video --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J410yQ7PI1E   Please DO watch this short video, for complete directions.  I haven't included every detailed step in the photo captions below, but it all comes together once you see the video.

That recommended paper, copperplate paper, is a type of printmaking paper which can be found here (and is also available elsewhere):

http://www.dickblick.com/products/copperplate-paper/

And the marbling inks, Boku-Undo, can be found here:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/aitoh-boku-undo-suminagashi-marbling-kit/

The reason I went with this particular marbling process -- over the many others out there -- was (1) there is no need to prepare a special kind of floating liquid and (2) there is no need to clean stencils afterward.  That makes for quick preparation and quick clean-up -- leaving more time for having fun!

This method uses plain water as the liquid upon which the marbling inks float.  

I started with Maria McGuire's beautiful 6"X6" Stitch a Doily stencil ...

Maria's doily stencil created the above design.

... and the other stencils at work in today's post are mine: my 6"X 6" stencil Kaleid -- as well as Two Fans (9" x 12") and Osprey Wings (6" x 6").

Above in this close-up of water in a foil basis, the floating blue and green inks are swirling together.  These trails of ink have been added by brush tips dipped in the inks -- reminder:  the Blick video cited above shows how to add the inks to the water.  

 After these inks have been added, the next steo, shown below, is to GENTLY float a stencil on the surface of the water:

The above shot shows Maria McGuire's doily stencil floating on the water in the basin.




The following step:  Place the paper gently atop the water's surface, sandwiching the stencil between the paper and the floating inks.  In the above shot, you see the paper from its bottom while its "face" is downward, resting on the floating stencil and the inked water under the stencil.  

Next, the paper is lifted off the water, turned over to be face-side up, and set aside on a flat surface to dry -- and that's all there is to it!

Above:  This print was made with my 9"X 12" stencil Two Fans.

Above is a marbled print using my 6"X 6" stencil Kaleid.

Above is a marbled print using my 6"x 6" stencil Osprey Wings.

Above is a close-up of one of the osprey wings.  Click on any of the above images to enlarge them.

2 CAUTIONS:   (1) It works best to use fresh, dry stencils for each and every dip.  Wet stencils don't float as well on the surface of the water.  So have a lot of stencils at hand! (2) As soon as the paper gets saturated -- a matter of seconds -- immediately lift it from the surface of the water.  Long soaks are not needed, and they tend to disrupt the stencil design.

To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.  Thanks for visiting! 

Appreciation Gifts for Teachers, etc.

At the end of my Nov. 4 post, I gave a list of StencilGirl stencils and masks that offer imagery for Christmas and Hanukkah cards and giftbags. 

With those stencils in hand, you can print sheets of paper for use as giftwrap, as well as for wrapping gift containers like miniature flower pots -- something that's often given to teachers as gifts of appreciation at this time of year.

Today's post focuses on just such a gift, one that I created for one of my favorite people, Erin.  Since that happened much earlier in the year, I used paper printed with a non-seasonal pattern, using my 6" x 6" stencil Webbed Medallion.

View of one side.

View of the opposite side.

Detailed view.

My substrate for this printed sheet was an old and highly colorful map.

After making the print, I wrapped it around a cut-down cardboard container that had housed oat cereal.  I secured it on its inner side using 2-sided permanent tape.

For Christmas or Hanukkah, you might want to add a bow or other decoration.

Thanks for stopping here today!  To scroll thru the pages of all my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.

Part 3 of Making Collage Elements from Stained and Scissor-Altered Stencils

You can enlarge any of these images, to better see details.

On Oct. 16, I showed this acrylic-and-collage artwork, which I'd done on stretched canvas:

But I neglected to show an earlier version of this piece.  Below is the way it looked when I'd just started to add paint-stained pieces of stencils.

These starter pieces were cut from the 9" x 12" City Stencil -- Jamie Fingal, designer.

Now, a short recap of my Oct. 16 post on the topic of adding stained stencils (as collage elements) to substrates.  This approach works with stretched canvas and other sturdy substrates.  It would not work with thin substrates such as printer paper.

I always set aside the prettiest of my paint-stained StencilGirl stencils; then I (1) order new replacements! -- and (2) cut apart the stained stencils for use as collage elements.  Usually these pieces serve as the final step on a background of acrylic paints on stretched canvas.  Other times, they are added to an artwork as the next-to-last step, since I may decide to add more paint over them.

The one constant is that I always use heavy-body matte gel medium to adhere the stencils to the substrate.  It has the strength needed to assure that the stencils will stay in place permanently.

Painted stencils can be cut apart with scissors, or a hobby knife paired with a cutting board.  But I use Joyce Chen scissors, originally marketed as a kitchen tool for cutting apart chicken bones!  These scissors have short blades that easily make cuts in detained areas of stencil designs.  And they are sharp enough to deal with the high quality Mylar that StencilGirl uses.  

And when applying the gel medium, I work atop sheets of scratch paper, since some of the gel will end up on whatever's under the stencil-piece.

Above:  the "right" side of the stained stencil -- cut from Palm Fronds Silhouette Small (6" x 6")

Above:  the stencil piece has been flipped over to its "wrong" side.

Above:  I dip this old paintbrush (no longer used for painting) into heavy gel medium and spread the gel across the entire surface of the stencil-bit, on its "wrong" side.

The first photo below shows an artwork-in-progress.  Its background has been established with acrylic paints and collage papers.  The blue pieces of masking tape are attaching stained stencils in the places where they may, or may not, end up being added with heavy-body matte medium gel.  This step is called "auditioning."  I'm using the masking tape because I work vertically -- the stretched canvas is facing me, propped up on the shelf of an easel.  If I were working horizontally -- the way most artists do, using a tabletop -- I wouldn't need the masking tape.

Below:  A close-up of one area of this work-in-progress.  In the upper left lies part of a stained stencil that started life as my 9" x 12" stencil It's a Jungle Out There.  To its right lies a piece cut from my 9" x 12" stencil Fantasia.  In the lower left corner, there is a green-and-white stained cut-out section from my 9" x 12" stencil Prayer Flags.

Above:  If familiar with StencilGirl products, you may recognize the leafy white botanical image surrounded by reds and oranges.  This is an image I developed in Photoshop and it later became part of my 6" x 6" stencil Ferns 6.

The following photos are to show how stencil designs create shapes that become even more interesting when they're cut apart.  To my eye, in this art-in-progress has unity that's created by the way the paper shapes and stencil-bits complement one another.

Full-size art-in-progress:  stencil-printed papers and paint-stained stencil-pieces, taped in place with masking tape since I work vertically, on an easel.

Close-up no. 1

Close-up no. 2

Close-up no. 3

Below are the original stencils that were cut apart for use in the abstract-in-construction above; notice how different they become, when paint-stained and cut into pieces as shown in the photo sequence above --

Mimosa Stencil (9" x 12")

Ski Lift Works (6" x 6")

More examples:

Prayer Flags (9" x 12")

Prayer Flags and It's a Jungle Out There (both were 9" x 12" before being cut down)

It's a Jungle Out There

 Prayer Flags


Thank you for coming to see my blog today!

To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.

Part 2 Using Stained Stencils as Collage Elements

Please click on any of the images below to enlarge it and better see detail.

The above artwork, on stretched canvas, was created with stencils designed by these StencilGirl designers --

Curves (6" x 6") by Mary Beth Shaw

Undulating Line Waves (9" x 12") by Trish McKinney

For the art above, the technique I used is on a video that's included with the May 2019 StencilGirl StencilClub 3-piece stencil set.  After that paint had dried, I used one of the stained stencils -- Curves -- as a collage piece.  It's glued to the canvas at the middle left edge. 

I used the same approach in developing the artwork below.  But this time, I glued the stained stencils to the canvas first. Then I painted over them.  Stencils used:  Valerie Sjodin's 9" x 12" Spirit Wind Mask and Trish McKinney's Criss-Cross Ribbon Swirls (9" x 12/".)

Below is an artwork created with several of my stencils, including my Palm Fronds Silhouette stencils (which come in 2 sizes -- 6" x 6" as well as 4" x 4".)  Those two stencils were the stained ones that -- as a last step -- I cut apart and added as collage pieces, one in the upper left and one in the middle left.  The background had been created with acrylic paints, molding paste and pastel crayons, using my 6" x 6" Mimosa stencil, my 9" x 12" Mimosa stencil, and my 6" x 6" Kaleid stencil. 

The next pair of photos show a diptych I created using 9" x 12" Soulful Scribbles stencils by Traci Bautista.  My final step was to cut a pair of columns from two of Traci's paint-stained stencils, then to glue one onto each piece in the two-piece set (entitled Rainbow.)

In the above artwork on stretched canvas, the background was created with a 9" x 12" StencilGirl stencil --Letter Mania by Suzi Dennis. The acrylic paint-stained stencil filling the bulk of the area is my 9" x 12" Branching Blossoms Silhouette.  To use my stained stencil as the centerpiece, I cut it free from its border and pressed it into a still-wet layer of heavy-body matte medium gel.

Regarding the complex abstract below:  My first step was to lay in a background using acrylic paints and acrylic-painted collage papers.  Many of those papers had originally been printed with stencils.

Then I went into a process of auditioning  a lot of paint-stained stencils, all of which I cut into assorted shapes before adding them as collage elements.  These stencils included:

(1) my 6" x 6" Sassy Spray  

(2) my 9" x 12" Prayer Flags

(3) my 9" x 12" It's a Jungle Out There

(4) my Palm Fronds Silhouette stencils (which come in 2 sizes -- 6" x 6" as well as 4" x 4".)

(5) my 6" x 6" Mimosa

(6) my 6" x 6" Small Dangled Pods  (part of my 4-piece Pods series)

(7) 9" x 12" Web by Mary Beth Shaw

(8) 9" x 12" Soulful Scribbles stencils by Traci Bautista

(9) 6" x 6" MB Makes Marks Pipette by Mary Beth Shaw

Above:  this artwork was juried in to the 2019 Open Juried Show at the Guild of Creative Art, Shrewsbury, NJ, where, in addition, it received the award for Best Abstract.

Thanks for coming to see Part 2 of my examples of stained and scissors-altered stencils adhered to artworks!

Part 3 will follow.

To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.

Using Paint-Stained Stencils as Collage Elements -- Part 1

Do you own a collection of beautifully stained stencils -- souvenirs from past trips into the happy land of mixed-media adventure?

Once upon a time I was reluctant to cut my own growing collection into pieces -- but I kept seeing opportunities to use these gorgeously colored designs in new ways -- so I grabbed the scissors and never looked back!  (Mind you, I've ordered replacement stencils and masks!)

Ready to read about it?  

Tangled Pods (9" x 12"), Small Tangled Pods (6" x 6") and Small Dangled Pods (6" x 6")were used not only in creating this background, but also, in two places, as collage elements (after being cut apart.)  The substrate is a 12" x 12" stretched canvas.  The technique is demonstrated as part of the May 2019 StencilGirl StencilClub package.)

6" x 6" masks Webbed Medallion and Tiger Lily were likewise used not only in creating this background, but also, in two places, as collage elements.  The substrate is a 12" x 12" stretched canvas.  The technique is demonstrated as part of the May 2019 StencilGirl StencilClub package.)

Be aware:  To use stained stencils as collage elements, I advise using sturdy substrates (for example, stretched canvas.)  This idea would not work well with thin substrates such as printer paper.

You can enlarge any of today's images, to better see details.

Usually, my paint-stained stencil and mask pieces step unto the spotlight as my last step in developing a background.  Two examples of this last-step approach are at the top of this post.  In the second example above, the masks were left in their original sizes -- being 6" x 6" masks, they were perfect for creating a quadrant design on the 12" x 12" canvas.

Other times, my stencil or masks pieces are added to an artwork as the next-to-last step, so I can add more paint (or other media) over them.  One example is below; this a close-up of an artwork-in-progress shows part of my 9" x 12" stencil Prayer Flags, adhered to the canvas before fading a bit into the background behind a coat of translucent white acrylic paint (often called "zinc white" or "mixing white.") 

Since StencilGirl creates stencils and masks using the highest-quality Mylar, I need a "glue" with enough strength to permanently keep these sturdy stencil-bits in place.  So I always use heavy-body matte gel medium to adhere stencils to my substrates.  

Painted stencils can be cut apart with scissors, or a hobby knife paired with a cutting board.  But I use Joyce Chen scissors, originally marketed as a kitchen tool for cutting apart chicken bones!  These scissors have short blades that easily make cuts in detained areas of stencil designs.  And they are sharp enough to deal with the high quality Mylar that StencilGirl uses.  


And when applying the gel medium, I work atop sheets of scratch paper, since some of the gel will end up on whatever's under the stencil-piece.

Above:  the "right" side of the stained stencil -- cut from Palm Fronds Silhouette Small (6" x 6")

Above:  the stencil piece has been flipped over to its "wrong" side.

Above:  I dip this old paintbrush (no longer used for painting) into heavy gel medium and spread the gel across the entire surface of the stencil-bit, on its "wrong" side.

The first photo below shows an artwork-in-progress.  Its background has been established with acrylic paints and collage papers.  The blue pieces of masking tape are attaching stained stencils in the places where they may, or may not, end up being added with heavy-body matte medium gel.  This step is called "auditioning."  I'm using the masking tape because I work vertically -- the stretched canvas is facing me, propped up on the shelf of an easel.  If I were working horizontally -- the way most artists do, using a tabletop -- I wouldn't need the masking tape.

Below:  A close-up of one area of this work-in-progress.  In the upper left lies part of a stained stencil that started life as my 9" x 12" stencil It's a Jungle Out There.  To its right lies a piece cut from my 9" x 12" stencil Fantasia.  In the lower left corner, there is a green-and-white stained cut-out section from my 9" x 12" stencil Prayer Flags.

Above:  If familiar with StencilGirl products, you may recognize the leafy white botanical image surrounded by reds and oranges.  This is an image I developed in Photoshop and it later became part of my 6" x 6" stencil Ferns 6.

Below is today's first example of my acrylic-and-collage art in a completed piece.

Above:  This art on canvas, entitled Meet in the Middle, was accepted into the annual Open Juried Show at the Guild of Creative Art, Shrewsbury, NJ. 

Above:  stencils used include ...

my Prayer Flags (9" x 12") 

Warped Holes 9 (9" x 12") designed by Lizzie Mayne

City Stencil (9" x 12") designed by Jamie Fingal 

Above:  part of my 9" x 12" stencil Blooming Where Planted,  stained with acrylic paints, then collaged over a background printed with my 9" x 12" stencil Prayer Flags.

In developing the artwork above, I used my stencils ...

6" x 6" Pavilion Shadows 

6" x 6" Palm Fronds Silhouette Small (also available as a 4" x 4" mini)

6" x 6" Kaleid

6" x 6" Trivet A (also available as a 9" x 12" stencil)

and the 6" x 6" stencil (borders removed) from the May 2019 StencilClub 3-piece set.

The following 2 photos show abstract compositions created on backgrounds that are fairly tame; my goal in creating them was to have the stencil-pieces and stencils star in each of the pieces:

Above: 6" x 6" Kaleid  (left) and 4" x 4" Palm Fronds Silhouette Mini (right)

Above:  orange-and-yellow pieces are cut from 6" x 6" Palm Fronds Silhouette Small  and the central purple-green stained stencil is cut from my 9" x 12" stencil Blooming Where Planted 

My next post will show more art samples created with acrylic paint-stained stencils serving as collage elements.  Thanks for stopping by here today!  To scroll thru my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.  To follow this blog by email, please use that option in the upper right sidebar.