Two Great New Designs from Cecilia Swatton

Disregarding original inspirations, my art-making opens my eyes of imagination.  The results? Fanciful abstract imagery and decoration. 

 

Designed to be used with acrylic paints, these masks, however, work beautifully (1) for making dry rubbings with soft-tipped color pencils or kids’ crayons; (2) for embossing color-laminated foils.

Chandelier (S971)

Because I enjoy pairing dissimilar images to achieve visual surprise, I designed my 6" x 6" mask Chandelier to dramatize a juxtaposition of line-work against beads.  I developed this design after a visit to Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY state.  There, captivated by the elegance of a chandelier, I crouched, twisted and squatted to capture handfuls of abstract photo-shots.

Diatom (S972)

 

Natural beauty greets us in many forms, including fan-shapes. One natural fan-shape exists in microalgae that form amazingly intricate patterns.  The variety that I chose in developing my 6” x 6” mask Diatomis Licmophora flabellate – a type of plankton sometimes called Seaweed Fringe since, among many watery locations, it can live as minuscule fringe on seaweed. To see its fan-like shapes, you need a microscope.

Cecilia's stencils are available now at www.stencilgirlproducts.com

New Nostalgic Designs from Cynthia Silveri

As I’ve gotten older (ah yes, six decades under my belt!) I’ve been feeling nostalgic for people and places and times past. All three of these stencils have come from my reminiscing.

She Sings Like a Bird (S917)

When my youngest daughter was born (2004) my sister-in-law (her godmother) made her an interesting sculpture of tin bird and flower cutouts, old jewelry, and stick-on stars glued to an old iron plate. The title of her piece was “She Sings Like a Bird”, which was so apt for my daughter’s vivacity and beautiful singing voice! Over the years the parts fell off and I put them away. Recently I came across it in a box and decided to reassemble it. It was the inspiration behind this stencil. I love how birds are always a heartwarming subject to work with and how the different parts of this stencil can be used in many different ways.

Madonna and Child (S906)

The design for this stencil is derived from a tapestry that belonged to my grandmother who was a devout Catholic. My mother gave it to me when my grandmother passed away in 2002. I’ve recently returned to my Catholic practice and felt compelled to create this design. Even if you aren’t Catholic or “religious”, I think this stencil is a beautiful depiction of the love between a mother and child.

Owl and Acorns (S916)

Based on a linocut design that my youngest daughter made in middle school, I created this cute stencil in honor of her official transition to adulthood—she turned 18 in January. I thought this would be a fun stencil to create an art piece for a child or to use various parts of it, like the texture of the feathers and tree bark, for other more abstract works.

Cynthia Silveri's new stencils are available at stencilgirlproducts.com

Stencil by the shore with Rae Missigman's new Seaside Harbor Series

Relax, unwind, and give your cares to the sea with 10 new stencils in both small 6x6 inch and mini 4x4 inch sizes from Rae Missigman.

A quaint view of the seaside village, Martha’s Vineyard, inspired Rae's Seaside Harbor series of stencils - from boats (Sea of Skiffs and Harbor Side) to the sea itself (Shoreline) to local vegetation in and near the sea (Sea of Grapes, Seaside Lavender, Bittersweet, and Pickleweed), to the dunes and the shore (Fort Hill and Boundaries) artistry was found as far as the eye could see. A sketched entry from her travel notebook was the catalyst for her scripted stencil (Travel Note).

Open the pages of Rae's art journal in this video using mixed media techniques with vintage ledger paper, masking fluid, Gelli plate, several kinds of ink, permanent markers, pencil, correction fluid, collage papers, and paints: acrylic and watercolor.

Stencils used in video: Pickleweed mini, A Travel Note small, Bittersweet both sizes, and Sea of Grapes mini. 

These stencils are also part of the series: Boundaries, Seaside Lavender, Shoreline, Fort Hill, Harbor Side, and Sea of Skiffs:

Are you ready to take the plunge with these stencils?

We'll share more of Rae's at times ethereal yet often playful art in the next edition of the Scoop or you can see the art work on our website.