I, Cecilia Swatton, have a studio strewn with stencils!
Scanning the room, I often catch sight of a stencil that snags
my attention in a whole new way. That’s
the beauty of stencils. Their very designs can launch experiments and
adventures!
Today, two stencils stand out -- L879 (Fire Cherries Mask)
and L652 (Garden Montage.)
Now, an idea for abstract collage is floating in my
head. But what’s a good base? Canvas board.
How to make prints? Addiction
to circular shapes tells me to use two round gel plates – an 8-inch and a 5-inch.
Which color scheme? Not
pure primaries from the color wheel, but a variation that checks all three
boxes -- pale yellow-beige, muted blue and a blend of metallic copper with
oxide reds.
What to print on? My passion
for thin papers makes that decision! I
try everything -- teabag, abaca, mulberry, kuzu and others – but above all, I
love Carnival brand wet-strength tissue.
(Other brands, though described as “wet strength,” have disappointed me.)
Stencil-printed wet-strength tissue enchants artists! This paper becomes translucent, nearly
transparent, when glued to a surface with clear-drying adhesive. Like magic, this sturdy paper lets artists indulge in
layering with results hard to achieve any other way. Imagine layering stencil-printed veils over
other stencil-printed papers, or over opaque papers, or over painted
backgrounds. No, that’s not all! There’s
a fun trick of embedding thin objects under the tissue -- like die-cut paper
shapes, or even cut-up pieces of paint-stained stencils. (You can always buy new stencils to replace the cut-up ones! LOL)
In an art journal, glue-sticks work perfectly with
stencil-printed wet strength tissue. For
larger, stand-alone artworks, I use acrylic gloss medium or Nori paste,
depending on the project. Liquid acrylic
gloss medium works with these tissues, whereas heavier papers work better with extra-heavy
gel medium.
I’ve used every type of acrylic paint with gel plates, but for
today’s project, I choose Golden High Flows.
They work somewhat like acrylic inks, although they themselves are not
inks.
Preparing for the first pull, I use a rubber brayer to
spread a thin layer of color over a gel plate.
Then I press L879 into the wet
paint.
Atop the stencil, I place wet-strength tissue, pressing it evenly
across the plate with a baren. (Hand pressure works too.)
Although some artists remove the stencil before doing the
first pull, my approach is to do the first pull while the stencil is still on
the plate. A first pull makes a dark
print.
After lifting off the stencil, I do a second pull, a “ghost
print.”
Here are today's two stencils next to prints I've made with them--
I make lots of prints, more than I’ll need for each
project. This gives me multiple choices
for papers to “audition.”
Note: Be sure to
check both sides of each stencil-printed tissue. Sometimes the flip side holds more
appeal! In some areas of a collage,
subtle elements have charm, and one easy way to create this visual charm is to
use the “back” side of a printed tissue.
You’ll be surprised!
With scissors and hole punches, I cut into my prints to
create shapes. When using a hole punch
with wet-strength tissue, I place the tissue on a “carrier sheet” of printer
paper, to make sure the circle of tissue will emerge without snagging.
Now comes “auditioning,” as I experiment with arrangements
opaque “found papers.”
 |
| The first few papers being auditioned. |
Opaque papers usually go down first, helping me start
building a “backbone” of composition.
 |
| Auditions at a later stage of assembly. |
In the finished piece, most or all of my "found papers" will be veiled beneath stencil-printed wet-strength
papers.
While working toward a composition that I’ll like, I shift
the positions of the papers and take photos as I go. For me, it’s helpful to
get visual feedback from my camera. It’s
like a second pair of eyes, helping me see more clearly what’s how the artwork
is moving forward. Some auditioned
papers “don’t make the cut” so they go into a pile for future projects.
When gluing papers down, I place waxed deli paper
over the papers while they are still moist with adhesive, then go over the deli
paper with a rubber brayer. This removes
excess adhesive since it will stick to the deli paper. And it helps stop wrinkles from forming.
As I close in on final stages of this project, I continue to
“audition” papers, but at this point I’m very choosy, so I’m fine-tuning with
small paper shapes.
For fine-tuning, I use a trick taught by Kasia Clarke, whose
online classes I highly recommend. Working
with wet-strength tissue gives an artist the advantage of spritzing the tissue
lightly with water...
This trick lets the artist temporarily glue the
bit of tissue to the composition, testing to see what it looks like next to, or atop, papers already glued down. If the
temporary “gluing” satisfies me, that paper gets coated with permanent adhesive
to become part of the collage.
 |
| The final collage. |
Having reached resolution on this
collage, I notice -- too late! -- that I could have embedded more bits under some of the
stencil-printed tissues. There’s always
a next time!
Take a tour of your own art-making space to seek out inspiration
waiting for your discovery! Ideas are waiting there – not only the designs of
your stencils, but even the color mixes that stain them. Grab those eye-catchers start playing. Surprises and joy await you!
For 2 weeks, today's stencils -- along with all my other stencils -- will be on sale! Here's the coupon code -- CRS20. Use this code to get 20 percent off!
Shop here -- http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/category-s/1832.htm
Thank you!
Cecilia
#stencilARTjoy
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/category-s/1832.htm
https://www.pinterest.com/crswatton/stencils/
http://ceciliaswatton.blogspot.com
Supplies I used for today’s project:
L879 (Fire Cherries Mask)
L652 (Garden Montage)
Carnival wet-strength tissue (I buy it at Amazon.)
Waxed deli paper
“Found” papers
Die-cut papers
Baren
Rubber brayer
Clear-drying adhesive and its applicator brush
Scissors
Hole punch
Gel plates
Canvas board
and
Golden High Flow Ultramarine Blue , Carbon Black, Titan
Buff, Diarylide Yellow, Transparent Red Iron Oxide, Transparent Brown Iron
Oxide; Amsterdam acrylic ink – “metallic” copper. Titan Buff and Carbon Black are used to
lighten or darken the values of the other colors.
