StencilClub Voices Create with the Shaw-Apter At the Improv Mash-Up Set

From Jewelry to Cards this month's StencilClub Voices, Sherie Weiser Eddy, Marge Taylor, Lucy Medeiros Tyson, and I, Carol Baxter, have an explosion of inspirational ideas for you!

Jewelry? Yes!
Paintings? You bet!
Cards? Quite a few.

They began with:

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Sherie's Mixed Media Take-Out, Necklace, 

and Stenciled Paper

Sherie says: First up is an upcycled Chinese take out food container. (Washed and bleached, of course!) I gessoed both sides, then stenciled it with acrylic paints in lots of layers. The last layer is gold foil: I used tacky-when-dry medium through stencils and adhered gold foil. The chain is made of Sari ribbon, fabric wrapped vintage key, vintage tag, and beads.

Necklace: This was stenciled with acrylic paints on bleached muslin. Then I added eyelets with my Crop-A-Dile, and strung 2 rows of beads. On each end of the necklace I used bits of fabric I dyed with Tumeric and machine stitched it on. The two reddish beads on the second strand are lava beads. Used for holding essential oils, which I added.

“Your Voice Matters” This is a piece of my recent eco-dyed paper stenciled with the left-over acrylic paints and some Dina Wakley gloss sprays. 

Marge's Art Journal Page and Mixed Media Tags

Marge says: For the journal page, I often tear interesting words and phrases from magazines, to use at a later time. It felt like a good time to use this particular sentiment.

I also made the set of tags, and then thought I’d like to make a card to accompany the tags.

Lucy's Vibrant Paintings

Lucy says: I love mixed media, so I was excited to get August 2020 stencils from Seth Apter for StencilClub. I love the large grid stencil with the circles interspersed at intervals, the smaller stencils have a variety of mark-making shapes you can use in a variety of ways. I used multiple products, acrylic paint and inks, texture paste, collage, Neocolor II water-soluble crayons, Posca paint pens, and Pan Pastels. I also used some extra stencils by Seth Apter Recede M285 and Valarie Sjoden Celtic Spirals L764.  

The Zen of Improv Note Card Making with Carol

My goal one recent weekend afternoon was to use cards I had started and put down and create something, either simple or complex, that was snail mail worthy.

I must say, At the Improv is a go-to set for integration.

These first two have just the dancers in orange, so I used the large At the Improv stencil to put the ballerina silhouette behind the "window" and the leaping dancer in front. Then I embellished just a bit with gel pens and the small Improv stencil.

I began with several partially painted backgrounds and one with words, which I honestly did not think was salvageable. Mary Beth knows best and when she says to keep painting. Bronze paint knocked just enough of the sloppiness from a black crayon out.

I was listening to the song Jet Lag by Joss Stone while cutting and gluing and painting these last two cards. She was singing about how love makes you feel crazy bad and crazy good. Red, black, tan, and white came together just as I hoped. I used a craft knife to cut layers.

Want to create with At the Improv? Here are the details.

StencilClub Voices take on the Suzani Set by Gwen Lafleur

Our talented and sweet StencilClub Voices never fail to inspire with the range of ideas they come up with and create. Always a treat :)

Marge Taylor, Lucy Medeiros-Tyson, and Sherie Weiser Eddy are deserving of applause and a closer look at the doll, paintings, wall hangings, and art journals they created with the Suzani Set by Gwen Lafleur. 

Marge Taylor's Art Tags & Art Journals

Marge writes: I really like the Suzani Set; they were very inspiring and I’ve been trying to make a series of tags using both stencils and stamps. I also wanted to including some uplifting images in my journal.

For the vase, I used the 4” stencil on card stock with light modeling paste. After the paste dried, I painted it and applied a gloss medium to give it a “vase” look. This is my version of a still life

Lucy Medeiros-Tyson's Dragonfly and Other Paintings

Lucy writes: When I saw these Suzani Stencils I thought they were so pretty. I set about playing around with them. The more I played the more ideas that came and soon I had several items to share with Stencil Club Voices. 

For Dragonfly, I used the stencil and it's parts to compose a garden scene. I also used a multitude of mixed media supplies ie; acrylic paint & ink, crackle paste, collage, clear gesso, and more. I also used stencils by Valarie Sjodin's Swallows take Flight S614 and Rae Missingman's Frazzled and Ruffled Feathers M073. 

In Purple Rain and Turquoise Dream, I switched it up and used Dina Wakely acrylic gloss spray first on watercolor paper. When dry I then used the stencil on top filling in with black gesso. 

In Watercolor Splash, I used a technique I learned from Mary Beth Shaw. I applied heavy black gesso on watercolor paper with a spatula through the stencil, removed the stencil, then let dry completely. I painted watercolors in and around the design, I loved the results.

Sherie Weiser Eddy's Doll and Fabric Wall Hanger

Sherie writes: The doll decorated with the Suzani Set is a small, recycled dish soap bottle(body). Made using; Seth Apter’s acrylic sprays on copy paper, a vintage tv fuse, and a polymer clay face (I used a mold, and painted it) The wings and necklace also has bits of stenciled paper. Her hair is also dyed sheep locks. Also some doodling with a gold Sigma pen.

The fabric wall hanging was made using Seth Apter’s iZink Ices and acrylic sprays, dyed sheep locks, hand-beading, along with some slow and machine stitching! The acrylic sprays and Ices work well on fabric too! 

Don't you think these projects are fantastic?

Ready to make your own art with the exclusive Suzani Set by Gwen Lafleur and get all the perks of StencilClub membership?

Join here by 7-15-20.

StencilGirl® Steampunk Fish Sculpture by Marge Taylor

Hello! Marge Taylor here, and I am delighted to share a recent project with you!

Like many artists, I’ve bought all sorts of supplies over the years, some of which got tucked away to languish on a shelf. I realized I had some things for years and recently made a resolution to try and use some of these supplies. I had purchased the wooden fish years ago and don’t even recall my initial plan for it. After it resurfaced, I contemplated several possibilities. I also had supplies I had picked up over time with the vague idea of doing a steampunk project someday, so I decided to do a steampunk fish.

Materials used: Unpainted wooden fish

                          Paint primer and assorted acrylic paint

                          Liquitex Flexible Modeling Paste

                          Craft foam sheet

                          Metallic seed beads

                          Assorted metal gears

                          Liquid Fusion adhesive

                          StencilGirl® stencils

I sanded any rough spots on the fish and applied a coat of primer and a coat of metallic paint.

I wanted the fins to have texture, so I applied a thin coat of flexible modeling paste to the fins.

I used a craft stick and a comb to etch out fin lines.

I decided I wanted a raised panel on the fish back to contribute to the steampunk look, so I cut a strip of craft foam and glued it to the back. I painted the entire surface in a neutral metallic color.

I washed a thin coat of green paint along the back and belly to give the fish some color.

I sponged paint on the back panel in several grey tones to give an industrial look.

I lined up the Circles Layer Me Stencil on the spine and painted a line of circles, then lined up and added the coordinating smaller circles.

I put a line of paint dots along the edges using a paint brush handle. 

I glued a metallic bead in the center of each circle.

This gave the look of bolts and rivets that steampunk requires.

I shifted to the sides of the fish and used the Connected Eyes Layer Me Stencil to give the look of scales. I added some small circles from the Circles Layer Me stencil along the belly. I decided the Border Circles Stencil could be adapted to give the look of gears. I placed them along the back spine and stenciled them in. I added hand painted circles to them.

I had a collection of gears I was able to glue to the sides. I used an adhesive called Liquid Fusion, which works on non-permeable surfaces. I used a combination of gears and a flat back bead for the eye.

I hung the fish. I was happy that I was able to achieve a steampunk look with stencils that could be used in many other ways. I was also thrilled to finally use some supplies I had on hand. This was my first time using the flexible modeling paste, and I found it easy to use with excellent results. I will definitely use it again.

Thanks for checking out my project! Come visit me!

Marge Taylor

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