Repeating Pattern Stencils -- Readymade and Customized

At http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/category-s/1932.htm, you will find a new category-grouping of stencils:  Repeating Designs. 

A repeating pattern stencil enables an artist to lift the stencil after its first print, then place it back onto the printing surface and easily line it up with the earlier print -- to maintain even, seamless spacing of the overall finished design.  This can be done endlessly to cover a surface of any size.  It's commonly used by artists working in the fiber arts but it's gaining popularity among those into the paper arts, too.  I suspect the whole idea started back in ancient Egypt with hieroglyphic reliefs along the walls.

My stencils Quilted Flower Garden and Facets fall into this special new category.  Here's how the technique works:

Above:  Having made the first print (on the right) I've lifted the stencil.  In the upper left is the sponge dauber I used to apply the acrylic paint thru the stencil. 

Above:  I've placed the stencil down again, lining it up exactly with the first print.  I recommend using masking tape to get exact alignment.

Above:  I've lifted the stencil after making the second print.  Notice there is a space gap between these two prints.  I could choose to make the third, fourth, fifth, etc., prints with this same space gap between each print.  Or, I could approach the whole project, from step one, by eliminating that space gap.  To do that, I would simply overlap the stencil over the original print, as show below: 

Above is a distance shot, showing the stencil overlapping the original print along one edge.  Below is a close-up which shows this better.

I chose to make my second print using a color-blend that differed from the original print.  If I were to repeat this process again and again, I would continue to create color-blends across the entire printed surface, which could end up any overall size that I want.  But this is just an option, to create variety.  Repeating pattern stencils are often used with no variation in color.

Now that I've shown how the repeating pattern technique works, I'll show how some stencils easily lend themselves to customization, so they can be used in the same way. 

For example, you can create long narrow Repeating Pattern Stencils with my stencil Borders #1, simply by cutting this stencil into 3 equal strips.  Just place the stencil over a self-healing cutting mat pre-printed with a measurement grid.  The below photo, and its close-up that follows, show the stencil lined up with the measurements and grid-lines on the cutting mat.

Once the stencil is lined up where you want it, place a ruler where you want to cut the new stencil edge.  Use the mat's guidelines to keep the ruler straight and, with a Sharpie pen, draw a cutting line.  You can then lift off the stencil and cut it with scissors -- but better yet, for a perfect cut, you can leave the stencil and ruler on the cutting mat, and cut along the line with an X-acto knife.

Likewise, you can easily customize my 9"X12" stencil Wrought Iron Gate to make it a Repeating Pattern Stencil.  Just line it up on the cutting mat and cut off the "ornament" at the top of the "gate."  Below, I've used a ruler with a metal edge that will be useful in the next step, when I will use my X-acto knife to do the cut.  But for now, I'm just drawing the guideline for the cut:

Above:  I've placed the stencil onto the cutting mat, lining it up with the measuring grid pre-printed on the mat.  Those blue lines helped me place the ruler exactly where I wanted, to draw a line between the ornate "gate top" and the rest of the stencil.  This is shown better in the close-up below:

Click on the above image to enlarge it.  This will help you better see the ornate "gate top" that is to be cut off.

The above photo shows the ruler pulled away from the line that I've drawn.  The cut will be made here.

One important thing to note is that this stencil customization gives you an edge-free design.  This kind of raw-edged stencil is more fragile, but the lack of an outer border makes it easier to align prints side-by-side, for a seamless overall effect.

Stencils are tools to be personalized any way you want to achieve your unique artistic goals!

Gelli Plate Adventures

The Gelli Arts Plate got some more use recently.  I'm slowly discovering the reasons I've had problems getting prints that satisfy me.  One mistake I've made has been to press too hard with the brayer when spreading the acrylic paint across the plate.  Next time I use it, I plan still more changes to try. 

Meanwhile, here are some recent prints:

Above:  2 stencils used at the same time -- 6"X6" Cats was first onto the plate and 9"X12" Twinship was atop it.  I lifted both stencils off the plate, leaving their impressions in the paint, then pulled a print.

Above:  Barely visible on the left is an old print of 9"X12" stencil Queen Anne's Lace ; more visible, especially on the right, is 9"X12" Wrought Iron Gate.

Above:  I used Wrought Iron Gate stencil to make a print on a sheet of foreign newsprint.

Above:  I used 4"x4" Fern Fronds Silhouette like a rubber stamp to make this print, right after lifting the still-wet stencil off the plate.

 

Above:  2 stencils were used at the same time -- 6"X6" Heron was placed on the plate first, then 9"X12" Twinship was placed over it.  Next, I removed both stencils and pulled the print.

Stencils on Aluminum Tape

Masking tape isn't just for painting walls; non-stick aluminum foil isn't just for baking; and aluminum tape --

http://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Aluminum-Foil-3311-Silver/dp/B000HBOYZO

-- found in hardware stores and home improvement centers, isn't just for repairs. 

This beautiful tape, just shy of 2" in width, comes with a white paper backing that, when peeled off, reveals a self-stick backing.

Above, at the top of the photo, is a view of the tape as it comes, in a roll.  Here, I have cut off 2 lengths of it and secured them with masking tape to (left) a sheet of yellow craft foam and (right) an old mouse pad.  Underneath is more aluminum -- the non-stick kind, also secured with masking tape to my work surface.

Below is a close-up of the next step I took in this project -- placing stencils over the tape.  The upper photo shows my 9"X12" Wrought Iron Gate stencil and the smaller photo shows my 9"X12" Borders 1 stencil.

I traced the stencils' line-work with an embossing stylus, the top of which appears below, but a ballpoint pen would work, too.

My next step was to lift off the stencil to reveal the embossed tape --
 

 

Below are two photos showing the embossed tapes with alcohol inks added--

 

 

I liked the colors of these inks but wasn't happy with the way the embossed line-work disappeared under them.  So I began experimenting.  One experiment was to remove most of the ink with rubbing alcohol.  I also got out my Sharpie pens, knowing that these deeply embossed lines would be easy to trace.  But to be on the safe side, I replaced the stencils, lining them up with the embossed line-work --

 

 

After lifting off the stencil a second time, I had the results below.

 

The lower strip of tape has been embossed, alcohol-inked, and wiped with rubbing alcohol.  Some of the alcohol ink remains, highlighting the embossed line-work.

I ended up with lots of decorative tape, some of which will used to embellish art journal covers.  One piece was used on the cover of a 6"X6" greeting card --

 

 

 

In Living Color!

Just finished ...

Click on the above artwork to enlarge it.



... and titled In Living Color, this artwork on a 9"X12" canvas, was built up around a homemade stencil and matching masks --

For the homemade part, I used strips of clear packaging tape to laminate an ad showing a row of three young models; after burnishing the tape to make sure the stencil and masks would survive lots of use with acrylic paints and inks, I cut out the row of young women to create the mask.  The resulting borders around the models were way too thin to be used as the three separate stencils that I would need, so I created my own stencils using cardstock and tracing around the three figures in the 1-piece mask:

Above Top:  The 3-part mask, already darkened with multiple paint applications. Bottom:  One of the matching stencils that I made from cardstock.

I started by placing the 3-figure mask over a sheet of newsprint that had been previously sealed with assorted acrylic paints.  I secured the mask with masking tape.

I colored in the background with a layer of acrylic paint, using a sponge brayer.

Above:  Clicking on this image to enlarge it, you can see narrow strips of masking tape that I used to secure the 3-part mask to the substrate (pre-painted sheet of newsprint.)  These strips were eventually removed during the multiple background re-paintings done later in this multi-step process.  The next background painting was in dark blue, as seen below.  It was to be the first of several times that the background received a new coat of paint!

After lifting off the 3-part mask, I used an assortment of STENCILGIRL(TM) 6"X6" stencils, with a variety of acrylic paint colors, to create overlapping imagery across the entire surface of the paper.

This process continued for a long time, adding new stencils and colors, one by one, with dry-time between.  Using acrylic paints shortens drying time, as long as they are not "open" acrylics.

I repeated all of these steps numerous times, allowing dry-time between each, until I was satisfied that the three figures had the look I wanted, against a background that satisfied me.  This repetition included multiple re-paintings of background (so many that they are not all shown in this post.)  The original three-figure mask, and its matching three stencils, were used over and over.

Next I used matte gel medium with a Princeton paint spreader to adhere the paper to the canvas.  I made sure to apply hand pressure to the center of the paper, as I was pressing it to the canvas, and to then work outward from that center.  This allowed the paper to gently stretch with the moisture of the gel so as to avoid wrinkles.  As a further step in preventing wrinkles, I covered the paper with a sheet of resist paper and rolled over its surface firmly with a rubber brayer. 

(Because I was working on a pre-stretched canvas -- which has a "hollow" area in the back, within the wooden support frame -- it was also necessary to brace the bottom of the canvas with some paperback books, placed within the frame.  This gave the pressure of the rubber brayer a firm supporting surface, necessary for forming a good seal between the canvas and the sheet of paper being adhered to it.)

After the matte gel had an overnight wait to dry and cure, I went to the next step, of painting the rest of the canvas with Titan Buff.  Oh yes, I should have thought to do this first -- but I didn't.  So I just plowed ahead with doing it out-of-order, and that worked fine.  Fortunately!

Over the Titan Buff, I placed the 9"X12" stencil Tangled Tribal Hand Large by Lizzie Mayne.  I used a variety of acrylic paints with this beautiful stencil, masking off one section at a time with masking tape, so keep the colors separated.  I allowed drying time between each paint application.

Above:  close-up detail of the decorated hand area of this artwork.

The last stage of the process was to use a variety of other 9"X12" stencils, along with the same decorative hand stencil, to fill in the area along the bottom left two-thirds of the canvas.  Again allowing dry-time between applications, I used one stencil after another and one color after another.

Above:  close-up detail of the 3 figures in the final version of this artwork.

Above:  close-up detail of part of the bottom area of the artwork.

 

The 6"X6" stencils that I used:

Stitch a Doily by Maria McQuire

Seaweed and Mimosa 6 by myself (Cecilia Swatton)

Fibonacci by Lizzie Mayne


The 9"X12" stencils that I used:

Tangled Tribal Hand Large by Lizzie Mayne

 

Wrought Iron Gate by myself (Cecilia Swatton)

 

Feathers and Lattice by Daniella Woolf 

 

and a soon-to-be-released 9X12 stencil of mine entitled Twinship:

The above stencil will be available soon at www.STENCILGIRL(TM)Products.com.