West African Symbol ATC Mix-Ups by TreWen

You are in for something totally different today! StencilGirl is delighted to introduce an artistic collaboration on 4 dynamic ATC stencils, between Wendy Featherston and Trena Brannon.

The West African Symbols in this collection of ATC Mix-up Stencils are called Adinkra. Each symbol is a visual image that represents a concept or an aphorism - a pearl of wisdom. 

The selected Adinkra symbols are a collaboration between Wendy Featherston and Trena Brannon aka TreWen. Wendy and Trena both have an appreciation for beautiful Adinkra symbols and for the words that describe them. 

Ghana Adinkra symbols were originally created by the Ashanti of Ghana and the Gyaman of Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa. Adinkra symbols are used extensively in fabrics, pottery, logos, and advertising. 

When Wendy and Trena received the stencils, they cut them into 9 rectangles :)  If you are familiar with the “ATC format,” it gives you a bit more creative flexibility with your stencils.

L817

L818

L819

L820

After the stencils arrived in the mail, Wendy (East Coast) told Trena (Midwest), "Let’s just get together and play!" And that’s what they did! Below is a video sharing a portion of the time they spent together - they ended up playing for an entire afternoon!

Here are some photos of what Wendy and Trena created with the symbols and words, starting with a photo step-out series in an art journal - there are so many, many possibilities!

Apply color with pastels (L819):

Gelli print, paint, and doodle to create greeting cards: (L818, L819, L820):

Gelli print and draw in an art journal: (L817, L818, L819,L820):

Drip alcohol ink and let it dry in place; spritz the stencil with isopropyl alcohol and make ghost prints from all that rich color (L819):

Paint and texture paste on canvas (L818):

Use texture paste on canvas and fill in openings with a paint pen (L817, L819,L820):

Use metallic paste on design paper for bookmarks (L819, L820):

Gelli plate on fabric:

(L817,L818, L819, L820) rainbow

(L817,L818, L819, L820) aqua

Washi Tape Slap Down: Lay down washi tape randomly on a piece of cardstock, then trace the stencil on the back and cut it out (Shout Out to Mary Beth for the idea!) (L817, L818, L820):

Drawing and Painting in an art journal (L818, L820):

Drip watercolor over the stencils and let them dry in place (L817, L818, L819):

Wendy and Trena bid you: 

"Thank you for allowing us to share with you today!"

 

You can see all 4 of the West African ATC Mixup Symbols Stencils HERE :)