Laurie Mika: Hamsa House Shrines

StencilGirl Products is DELIGHTED to have StencilGirl Artist

Laurie Mika back on the blog today!!

Take it away, Laurie!

I recently hosted my second “boutique/home” workshop with a class called Hamsa House Shrines.
This workshop was limited to ten people and included the royal treatment with breakfast goodies and coffee being served in the morning, a fresh lunch in the afternoon, followed by a happy hour after class each day!
My husband, David, was not only my sherpa but also a barista, bartender and sous chef!

The house substrate was a perfect base on which to use my border stencils. Designed for the 1.5 inch deep cradle panel boards that I often use as a substrate, they worked perfectly on the sides of this house shape that I had made in Mexico for me. (At the end of the day, after stenciling the border design on the sides of the house shape, I then attached small metal findings for added dimension and interest.)

Creating a border design using my border stencils!!

I also demonstrated how to use the stencils directly on Premo! polymer clay, an application that is perfect for stencils! If you roll over the stencil on unbaked clay with a rolling pin, it creates an embossed surface that readily accepts paint or mica powders. This technique gives a totally different appearance than if I had used a rubber stamp to create the design. I also love that it is one more use for a stencil, as versatility in products is an important selling point for me. This hand image was create using Jessica Sporn's Five Hamsas stencil on clay:

 

Demo-ing stenciling on raw clay:

 

As an instructor, it is always such a thrill to see how students adapt techniques in their own unique way coming up with beautiful works of art, each one a reflection of the person who created it.