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

Junk Journal Spread with Eucalyptus Stencils - LauraMixedMedia

Hello, Laura here!

If you follow me on my socials, you have probably noticed that I am going through a flower phase. 

I had been in a bit of a creative funk, but sketching and painting flowers has been pulling me out. It’s something that is portable and can easily be done while on the couch or during lunch time at work. 

Two ladies who are massive inspirations to me when it comes to floral painting are Wendy Brightbill and Rae Missigman, both of whom are also designers for StencilGirl. I use their stencils all the time, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Rae’s newest Eucalyptus stencils. 

I knew I wanted to use them as a focal point in my junk journal, so I just started playing with paint and building layers.

I love Jennifer Evans’ stencils for layering backgrounds, as they are so abstract and make wonderful lines and marks. And Rae's the Eucalyptus stencils are designed to layer on top of each other, which makes for some amazing details.

I hope you enjoyed the process for this journal spread! 

Stencils:

Cherry Blossom

Eucalyptus Stems Mask Small

Eucalyptus Stems Stencil Small

Supplies: 

Junk Journal

Collage Paper

Liquitex Matte Fluid Medium

Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Liquitex Basics Gesso

Stabilo Pencil

Golden SoFlat Matte Acrylic - Titan Mars Pale, Payne’s Grey

Golden Heavy Body Acrylic - Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold

Dina Wakley Media Acrylic - Fuschia, Turquoise

Tim Holtz Chip Quote

Lindy’s Stamp Gang Spray - Golden Doubloons

Find me on Social Media!

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Roxanne Evans Stout: Wilderness and Wonder

Immerse yourself in Wilderness and Wonder with me. When I was in Australia, I spent 10 days exploring and playing throughout the land, as well as filming a workshop inspired by this unique place. I fell in love with the rocks and colors, shapes and trees, insects and textures.

I made art on location with the nature available to me. And I loved filming with professionals in the studio to create a class where you can also explore and connect with the land around you.

After we filmed the workshop, I came home and created this amazing, layered stencil that is one of my favorites I have ever made!

It shows the trees, the land and rocks that I connected with so deeply. And each layer of the stencil represents one of the three elements of Wilderness and Wonder -- Reconnect, Redefine, Renew.

Professionally filmed in Australia, Wilderness and Wonder is ideal for people eager to simplify their art practice, embrace the beauty of nature in their creations, and discover the joy of playful, uninhibited expression.

Come with me as I share my processes and techniques on the artistic adventure of a lifetime.

Meet New Designer Sarah Short!

Circle Around - L992

 

Sarah was inspired by her collection of wooden type, which she uses for letterpress printing. This stencil, which repeats the same letter in different fonts, will bring all kinds of curves to your mixed media work. She uses this stencil on the gelli plate to create collage papers. 

 

Mirror - L993

 

Sarah was inspired by her collection of wooden type, which she uses for letterpress printing. The stencil Mirror is an abstract print of four letters that were printed together to create attractive white space. This stencil can be printed in many ways to create even more abstract designs for collage and mixed-media artwork.

 

Combine - L998

 

Sarah was inspired by her collection of wooden type, which she uses for letterpress printing.  Combine was created by cropping a print of multiple letters for a repeat pattern.  She uses this stencil on the gelli plate to create collage papers. 

 

Link - L999

 

Sarah was inspired by her collection of wooden type, which she uses for letterpress printing. She selected one of her favorite pieces of type and printed it several times to create this stencil, which prints a boldly graphic shape. She uses this stencil on the gelli plate to create collage papers.

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

Four Stenciled cards~ one technique

Hello Creative Friends,

I am the first to tell you that a good challenge always stirs my creative soul!

So getting my head around this technique, the stencil choices and then the decision on colours!

Need I say more!

Today I will be guiding you through a technique that was inspired by a fellow creative  Jennifer McGuire.

Love the fact that with one technique we end up with four individual art pieces that can be used for cards, tags, journal inserts, banners or simply framed and gifted.

I did alter the process abit and that means more options!

Check it out below 

*Paint was used vs  ink pad

* Gel Plate vs tape

Cut four equal pieces of paper (use any paper that will work well with the medium you will be applying)

Here I am using mixed media paper that I tore out of a journal 7"x10" (98lbs) cut into four

Place the papers on the gel plate  so that the seams are all touching.

I found that becasue the papers stick to it, it makes for easier adjustment.

Center the stencil over all four pieces of paper 

Apply your favourite colours (paint or ink)

With a light touch apply a different colour sparingly on top of the base colour.

I used three colours.

Remove the stencil

Rotate all four pieces so that there is a void in the center.

Repeat the same technique as in step 1 and continue on all four corners.

Note: Due to my paper size selection I opted to stencil only three corners.

The cards most certainly can be left as they are with a sentiment added but I am going to keep going with two more layers. 

I will be making this batch the same.

A variety of focals can be added to the cards. I reached for the Feathers 6 Stencil. 

I love this nature inspired stencil. It's perfect for focals and backgrounds. 

Position the stencil and apply black acrylic paint with an applicator.

Loving the crispness of the black against the pastel background.

Once again feel free to stop here or continue on to the next layer with me.

For the final layer I am using another favourite and well used stencil CrossStitch-Two Step Stencil.

With the remaining paint on my applicator I stencil random marks so that there faint enough to see but strong enough to ground that gorgeous feather.

I love the end result and that I have four individual cards!

Check out the process on YouTube.

Tina Hois Art

Supplies

Stencils:

Puddles  S331 designed Rae Missigman was inspired by the art in our everyday environment.

Feather 6 Stencil S178 designed by Cecilia Swatton is a soft stencil offering many arty options

Crossstitch two step stencil designed byTammy Tutterow is a definate go to for backgrounds, marks and even stitching.

Paint:

Liquitex Basics~fluorescent pink

                        ~ cadmium orange hue

                        ~ light olive green

                        ~ black

Paint aplicator

Mixed media paper

Gel press plate

blank cards

Hope you enjoyed the process and that you found inspiration to create your versions.

Stay Creative ✨

Tina

Tina Hois Art