Wild Dreams was inspired by the vivid dreams she has, as a little girl she would wake up and tell her mom of all the adventures that she had been on during her slumber. She still has dreams almost nightly and she can recall a good many of them. She often wakes up and sketches things that she has seen, shapes, images, and people. These organic shapes were inspired by a few of those sketches.
Our hands hold history from all of those before us. Tiffany comes from a long line of makers and she often thinks of how their work has infused her own, even though there are many she never met. This stencil represents the power of what we create within our hands as well as the layers of history, hours of work all crafted into our own styles. It is also symbolic of the inked expressions, the love, and the path where our hands will take us. We can see this stencil being used in so many different and personal ways for a variety of makers.
Hi, everyone! Kathy Cornwell here! For
several months now, I’d been toying with the idea of doing three-dimensional
collage on wood blocks. I like the idea that this two-dimensional medium can become
a 3D, interactive work of art!
First,
I enlisted the help of my sweet husband. He bought some wooden planks at the
hardware store and used his saw to cut a few shapes. Once I saw the shapes and
started playing with them in different arrangements, I started getting very
excited.
The
wood pieces needed to be prepped. Over the course of a weekend, I applied two
layers of Golden GAC 100 and then two layers of gesso (drying between all four
of these layers). Here’s what they looked like at that point:
Then
I painted the sides of the shapes with two layers of neutral grey acrylic
paint. I didn’t want to collage on the edges, so I thought that the neutral
grey would be less jarring than white or black. Finally the shapes were ready
to accept collage.
I
chose these particular stencils and masks because they represented a wide
variety of imagery and would push me to use techniques that I often shy away
from (I’m kind of an all-masks-all-the-time kind of artist, but as well
all know, variety is so important).
I
grabbed my gel plate and my favorite paints and got printing!
Golden OPEN Paints Lead to Fun Results
I
love using Golden brand’s OPEN paints. They have a very slow drying time, which
allows me to take my time while gel printing. The slow drying time can also
allow the stencils to transfer paint from print to print!
For
example, in the photo below, you can see how the stencil transferred quite a
bit of pink paint as I printed a layer of grey paint. The OPEN paint transfers
from the stencils or masks have a unique, mottled texture that I really like.
Did I Discover a New Stencil Technique???
In
recent months, I’ve been having fun making marks with a chenille stem,
otherwise known as a pipe cleaner. Using Golden High-Flow paint, you can use
this tool to paint delicate, thin lines. I just had to try combining this
technique with stencils!
As
you can see in the video below, I placed the stencil down on top of a dried
print that I’d made using that stencil already. I was careful to place the
stencil exactly on top of the print of the shape. This way, the plastic stencil
was serving as a barrier. I painted swirling lines with the chenille stem. When
I removed the stencil, I was very happy to see the results!
Carolyn Dube Would Be Proud
I’m
a big fan of Carolyn Dube. Not only does she help us see that mistakes are opportunities,
but she designs some really cool StencilGirl®
stencils. I was super excited to try her “Arches” stencil and masks.
First, I used the masks in the way that I had
envisioned, and that I had seen in other artists’ projects:
But then one time, the masks all stuck together
with paint as I went to place the arches onto my gel plate. They fell in a
jumbled mass! At first, I thought this was a problem. But once I saw the cool
shapes created by this “random pile of arches” and the negative space that it
creates, I was hooked! Carolyn Dube would be proud of how this OOPS became an
intentional study that I found verry rewarding:
Mixing Things Up
I worked with the intention of creating some
variety. For example, I used some papers that already had some marks on it, I
used music sheets as a base paper, and I alternated opaque paints with
transparent paints.
Putting it All Together
In
the end, I had pages and pages of fun collage fodder. I set out to create
collages for the front and back of each wood shape. Again, I made sure to have
a variety of colors, stencils, and techniques so that the collages will each be
unique—and yet still be cohesive.
I
had a ball creating these collages, and I’m happy with the results! Which one
is your favorite? I’d love it if you let me know in the comments!
Now
I’m having fun arranging and rearranging my collage blocks. I’ll enjoy watching
my studio visitors play with this interactive work of art.
I
hope you’ve found this post interesting and inspiring. I’m a printmaker and
mixed media artist based in Virginia, USA. Come say hi on Instagram @kathy.cornwell.art or visit me at www.KathyCornwell.com.
It's Nancy Curry back on the blog with my first projects for 2023. Even when I've worked with a medium for a long time, I love to find new (to me) ways to apply that lend themselves to different outcomes. This week's exploration was applying watercolor with a household sponge. Using a sponge through a stencil helps to control the amount of water leading to less seepage and adds an interesting texture as well. The three pieces in the top photo were all done with the same palette of colors. All are done on craft paper that had an application of gesso, but you can also do this with watercolor paper or even a good mixed media paper.
M A T E R I A L S L I S T:
artist grade watercolors
gesso
household sponges cut into parts
plate
watercolor paper or paper treated with gesso
black gouache, acrylic paint or permanent black ink
I like to use a large stoneware plate that I found at Wal-Mart for my palette. It is non staining and the flat surface is good for a number of different applications. I bought a few and let the watercolor dry on them so I have palettes ready. I transfer the watercolor with an old brush a few minutes before I am starting to paint. Its surface area can hold a nice array for colors. You'll see me use it often in my Instagram videos. I also prepped some craft paper with gesso. I generally apply it in a thick and thin manner and leave some areas bare for a distressed look. Complete coverage is also fine.
I spritzed the dry watercolors with a light fine mist of water and pressed my sponge into it. I then used a light-medium pressure to pounce through the Paperwhites stencil. If there are areas that you want to use different palette colors, place a piece of printer paper in those areas. In this case, I did the leaf areas first and later returned to do the flowers in purple. I decided the flowers needed centers and added them with a brush.
To finish, I mounted it on dimensionally striped cardstock.
I had paint left over so I continued playing. For the second piece, I chose a rectangular format and parts of Capture the Journey. I began by using washi tape to mark off a place for a wordand then sponged on the background florals and leaves. Originally, I was going to add a word in the masked area directly onto the background, but changed course and did it on a separate piece of paper. I finished it off by sponging black gouache with Emotions & Feelings #3 and attached to the background with a glue stick.
I mounted the background on coordinating green cardstock
My final piece was a stencil I'd been dying to use, Twisted Forest. I cut paper into a 3.75" square and sponged into the stencil. Once finished, I attached it to tumbled stone coaster, cut out letters from a National Geographic, and used a glue stick to affix.
I had a great time playing with kitchen sponges. They clean up well, are reusable and easy to find. Be sure to use highly pigmented watercolors for the best color. Acrylic ink will also do well if you're looking for something else to try. Just don't leave it on your sponge overnight! As always, it's a pleasure to share my projects with you. For more of my work, head here, or my main website where my store is.
Hello! Tina Walker
here today with my latest Collaboration Column Post. This
collaboration is a little bit different than my past collaboration or
challenges in that YOU, StencilGirl® followers and friends provided the
challenge to me.
For seven (7) weeks, I shared a 'THIS or THAT'
question. These questions, and your votes, were used to create and
develop an art journal spread. Each layer (or question) built upon the
previous votes (layers) to complete a finished spread. I did not wait
until each question was posed to complete my art journal page, instead
creating each week and playing along. I must admit, several of your
votes really threw me, but I buckled in and gave it go. In the end, I
really enjoyed the process and it stretched my thought process and
removed any doubt or hesitation on what to do next. You made that
decision for me.
I was also surprised by how both pages came
together as a unified piece in the end, even though the prompts were
opposites. I'll walk you through each THIS OR THAT question, voting
popularity, and a peek at the page in process.
THIS OR THAT #1 - ACRYLICS OR WATERCOLORS
The votes were
close (only 2 votes separated the two), with ACRYLIC PAINT the most popular. Here's my first layer with
the results. I opted to start with similar color palettes, but we'll see where it goes.
LEFT SIDE: ACRYLICS
RIGHT SIDE: WATERCOLORS
THIS OR THAT #2 - SQUARES OR CIRCLES
CIRCLES WON, almost 2
to 1. I was actually a little surprised by the results. Personally, I
am drawn to squares, the hard edges, and abrupt corners. Hmm, what does
that say about me?
LEFT SIDE: CIRCLES
RIGHT SIDE: SQUARES
THIS OR THAT #3 - COLLAGE CHOICE: BOOK TEXT OR GELLI PRINTS
BOOK TEXT WON, but
here wasn't a strong preference for either. I personally love using my
vintage book papers as collage. I love the colors and the small print.
LEFT SIDE: BOOK TEXT PAPER
RIGHT SIDE: GELLI PRINTS
THIS OR THAT #4 - FEATURE: FACES OR FLORALS
FLORALS WON, which
really surprised me. I really thought as popular as faces are, and the
number of artists who create whimsical faces in their art. It was overwhelmingly all about florals. Maybe my
personal fave was influenced by this again.😉
My art journal
spread is starting to take shape. It's really interesting how both
sides 'go together, yet are entirely different'
LEFT SIDE: FLORALS
RIGHT SIDE: FACES
THIS OR THAT #5 - COLOR CHOICE: SIMILAR OR CONTRASTING
It was an extremely
close vote with contrasting winning by only 2 votes. The spread really
took a major change this week, and to be honest, I'm was not feeling it.
There are 2 prompts left, so i will try to work some magic with those 2
prompts to bring it back to a place that makes me happy. It's all love
❤️when it comes to making stuff.
LEFT SIDE: CONTRASTING
RIGHT SIDE: SIMILAR
THIS OR THAT #6 - NOW WE ARE TALKING WORDS: QUOTES OR SONG LYRICS
SONG
LYRICS was a huge
winner, almost 2 to 1. I was a bit surprised by how many more people
voted for song lyrics over quotes. I thought the vote would be that
much closer. I use both in my journal pages, so either would be a winner
for me. I've even been known to make an entire journal out of lyrics
from one album (geez, I'm aging myself here). A few years ago I made an
entire album based on Pink Floyd's "The Wall" album. It is one of my
fave journals I"ve ever made. It was even published in Art Journaling
magazine.
LEFT SIDE: SONG LYRICS (Lyrics from Landslide, by Fleetwood Mac)
RIGHT SIDE: QUOTE
THIS OR THAT #7 - FINAL QUESTION: COVER UP OR EXPOSE
Another
(almost) unanimous vote. Expose won, with only 2 votes for cover-up.
Again, it was surprised as I was hoping for cover-up to be the most
popular. Often, I am covering up parts of an art journal page during my
creative process, which is fairly normal for me. Your votes really
made me think about how to expose on the left side of the page. I gave
it a quick thought and viola - here is the finished page. I didn't do
much else to the page (which was very unusual for me), and was quite
happy with the results. So, THANK YOU for your votes and the push!
LEFT SIDE: EXPOSE
RIGHT SIDE: COVER UP
For
my exposure, I cut into the left side of the page, revealing the page
underneath. I also add a tip out tag to 'reveal' even more cutouts.
For my coverup, I covered one of the faces on the right side as well as my journaling on the right side of the page.
Since
I knew I wanted to cut into the left side of my page, to 'expose' the
page underneath, I had to do something to that page. (it was not a
finished art journal page). I collage a full stencil sheet onto the
blank page, then added more watercolors and stenciled images to the
right side to finish the 2nd spread. I used the same colors and
stencils since they were already on my desk. I love the simplistic
nature of the spread and that I finished two pages for this
collaboration.
