Sparking Ideas for Art Projects with Stencils and Masks

Even during a pandemic, the creation of nature surrounds us, showing that great beauty still thrives.

This thought led me to glance backward to notice anew the StencilGirl stencils and masks of my design that reflect my joy at knowing so much beauty has been created for our pleasure.

First to catch my retrospective notice is ATC Mixup Swatton # 2.  Until now, I hadn't given a second's thought to the fact that this 9" x 12" sheet of sturdy Mylar includes only one image that doesn't spring from the theme of nature's elegance:  Ornamental Iron Curls, in the upper right corner; its inspiration was my 6" x 6" mask Ornamental Iron Curls.
But, as for all the others ....

9" x 12" ATC Mixup Swatton # 2 

Above:  The penguin in the upper right corner evolved from my lifelong love for birds of every shape and size.  Ditto for the stencil-and-mask sets that fill the lower left -- an osprey and a swan, both as regal as the penguin and (almost) every other bird.  (Okay, I admit I have no plans for a design based on the image of a vulture.  They have their place in creation, so I owe them respect, but the less I focus on that bald head of theirs, the better.) 

Nature is celebrated in the central top figure in ATC Mixup Swatton # 2, entitled Sprigs, since for me it imitates sprigs of greenery that sprout row after row of rounded leaves.  The stencil's other images are, of course, portraits of flowers and leaves.

It's a huge -- some might say impossible -- challenge to create artwork as magnificent as nature itself, even art inspired by nature. 

My 9" x 12" mask Looking Up Through Trees--

-- took its original inspiration from nature, but in my hands, it quickly evolved into a tool for abstract art-making.  One example is the black-and-white painting below:

For other nature-themed projects, I've reached still further back into my stash of earlier stencils and masks.  Maybe some of them will spark ideas for new artworks by others ....

You can click on the image above to enlarge it and better see details.  Both pieces are Gelli Plate prints.  Before making that trip to the Gelli Plate, each paper was removed from an old encyclopedia page; the left one was tinted with thinned yellow-green acrylic paint and the right was tinted with a layer of translucent zinc white acrylic paint.  

The paper on the left was printed with my 9" x 12" stencil Ivy Frame 9 -

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-- and, for the one on the right, I used Ivy 9 Stencil, also 9" x 12" --

All four of my ivy-themed stencils were based on the English Ivy that we bought years ago at Longwood Gardens (Kennet Square, PA) and that has been thriving in areas of our yard ever since.

Middle left above:  two more papers printed with Ivy 9 Stencil and Ivy Frame 9.  Far upper right:  a green print on yellow and tan canvas background, made with Ivy 9 Stencil.  Top left and central bottom:  two papers embossed using 6" x 6" Ginkgo stencil.

Below:  a close-up of the Ivy 9 Stencil print at far middle right:

Below:  6" x 6" stencil Ginkgo--

The greeting card cover below is a collage that stars a background of Chinese Joss paper that I've printed with the Artist Trading Card-sized mask Fern Fronds Silhouette; as mentioned above, it's included in my 9-stencil 9" x 12" ATC Mixup Swatton # 2 ....

9" x 12" ATC Mixup Swatton # 2 

Today's final two art prints represent another inspiration from nature -- this time, mimosa trees. 

Above:  a Gelli Plate print made with my 9" x 12" stencil Mimosa.

Below:  an acrylic paint print on an old map; the stencil I used was Mimosa 6.

Thanks for taking this walk thru nature with me today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl masks and stencils, please start here.