Hope you are enjoying the year so far - I can't believe we are already four months down!!! Where has the time gone. I wish I could say it's been spending time in the studio, but unfortunately - life happens. However, I did carve out time to create these decorative plates after a recent shopping trip to our local Kmart (I live in Australia - it's still a thing here!).
I first painted the plates with white gesso. While the plate was unglazed and receptive to paint, it had a grey tome I wanted to get rid of. Once dry, I then chose two 6 x 6 stencils with faces (create face and laugh face) to be the focal point of my decorative plates. I used a navy blue colour (night) which I loved, as the contrast between the blue and white was perfect. I used a paint brush to extend the image and fix up any places that needed a little more colour. I also used some white gesso to fix up any mistakes.
I chose to add a copper edge to the plate, which I wish in hindsight I didn't add. But I was happier with it once I stencilled with the same blue around the rim. To do this, I used some washi tape to hold the stencil in place while I sponged the paint onto the edge (travel notes). I think this blended the edge back into the plate better.
Finally, as I wanted these plates to be decorative, I stamped a quote on both plates. I used archival ink and white pigment ink with this. It really finished the pieces off. Now, the most important thing about these plates are that they are decorative only. I wouldn't eat off these, but they are fine to hang on the wall. There is food safe varnishes and sealers you can purchase - but I haven't gone down that route. However - if you are a potter/ceramisit like my mum, you can do the same as above on a bisque fired piece and sponge underglaze through the stencils. Just make sure you wash your stencils carefully afterwards.
It's starting to get sunny in Australia, and my hats always go missing (I blame my children). So when I saw a blank cap for $6, so many possibilities ran through my head. First I started by painting the cap with clear gesso. This seals the surface and means that you don't have to use as much acrylic paint to cover the surface. Then I painted on watered down acrylics all over the surface. I found stuffing the inside of the hat with plastic bags helped keep the shape and made it a little easier.
To blend the colours together, I used a stencil CM 2019 with a sponge and white gesso. The surface was still damp when I did this (because I am impatient) so waiting until it is dry will give you a crisper image. However, stencilling on fabric when damp allows the colours to blend into each other a little, giving an overall softer impression.
Finally I used gel medium to glue these beautiful birds collage papers over the surface of the hat. If you go slow, and tear the paper so that it lies mostly flat, you get a good result. This collage paper is like rice paper, and you could substitute napkin images instead. I added a quote to finish the piece.
I can't wait to wear this unique piece in public, and I think they would make fabulous gifts for Christmas!!!
It's getting to the time of year where I have a few short stay trips to complete. I always travel with my art supplies, but can never find a pencil case that I like - so why not make one!!! I was lucky enough to come by these canvas blank cases in spotlight (an Australian craft store), those of you cleverer than me can probably sew one yourself thought. With a bit of paint and some cools stencils - magic happened!!!
First of all, I gessoed the canvas blank pencil case. This makes it easier to stencil and add paints onto the surface without having to use loads of paint up. I chose to use white gesso - but any would work - you just need to seal the canvas. I would recommend leaving this to dry fully, but I'm impatient and I worked the background warm colours (mustard, blushing, raspberry, tangelo acrylic paint from Dina Wakley) into the damp gesso. This gave a soft look and blended the colours together as well.
Next I grabbed out a load of mark making stencils (ATC #1 Mixup Missigman Art Marks, Kelp Forest, Random Circles,Circle line stencil mask )and went to town. I stencilled with the colours I used in the background, but as they were going over dry paint rather than damp white gesso, I got a brighter colour contrast. I also used malachite and sapphire paint to contrast the warm colours on the pouch.
Finally I added some extra marks with posca paint pens and wrote my quote on the front. I used a cool grey alcohol marker to help push the lettering out with a drop shadow and added a white highlight as well.
Here is a close up of the different patterns stencilled on the pouch and the lettering I added, as well as the stencils I used:
It's summer here down under, and that means bright colours!!! Well, it means that year round for me, but I digress!
This simple journal page was created using only stencils and acrylic paint, and it was so fun to make. I love how the background is such a strong focus, yet stands up to the bold image in the foreground.
To create this page I used the Circle Tile Stencil (L015) and sponged rainbow colours through the parts of the stencil all over my page. I started with the lighter colours and built up to darker, so if there was some overlap it would be covered.
I love how happy this piece makes me, so I experimented with doing a similar piece using bright watercolours. This turned out okay - but there was some bleed through under the stencil, which you could avoid if you used a stencil spray to hold it close to the page. I freehanded a silhouette of a vase of flowers, but you could easily create your own stencilled version.
Here is a list of the stencilled used in this journal page:
In this current chaos with world events, I am spending more time working inward. I am working on the inner me and helping my home lose the weight of its years carrying its humans' stuff. I've also been spending more time outside in my back yard. I haven't worked in the garden over the last few years but find that having to stay home has forced me back out into it again. My garden is full of beautiful hostas but, while they are beautiful alone, there is too much of a green wash alongside the grass covered yard. It needs a sporadic hint of color. Too late in the summer for me to plant flowers, and now working with a garden that is struggling under the heat of the sun--in July, we had the trees topped because they had grown too tall for safety--I wanted to add an element that I could reclaim every winter by bringing it back indoors.
Terry Stegmiller has some really quaint and whimsical stencils that are super for creating art stones for the garden. In this project, I chose my favorite three but there are others that would work just as well! There are so many options for creating these art stones. Keep in mind that some options work great in the garden while others may need to stay in the house next to the fireplace or to be used as door stoppers. While I used 6 x 6 stencils for these larger stones, you could also use many of the 4 x 4 stencils for smaller rocks that you give away to friends and family, or secretly hide for strangers to find.
Colored glass or beads (You can purchase these precut.)
Ball chain
Seed beads in varying sizes and colors
Rhinestone Cup Chain
Acrylic Paint
Metallique Art Alchemy Paint
Weldbond Glue
Grout in black*
Water
Spoon to mix grout*
Measuring cup (use for crafting only)*
Paper towels
Sponges
Gloves
Grout Sealer
Painter's Tape
Glass Tile Nippers
Clear gesso
White gel pen (for outlining and drawing on the Leaf Border Stone (optional)
Stickles for the middle of the flowers on the Leaf Border Stone (optional)
Sharpies (optional)
Pencil
Wooden skewer
*Note: Do not rinse anything that has grout on it in your sink. Wipe it out completely with paper towels and throw away. Grout is essentially cement and will clog up your drain.
STEP ONE
STEP TWO
STEP THREE
STEP FOUR
STEP FIVE
STEP SIX
AND THE FINISHED ART!
Anne Marie
WANT TO CONNECT WITH ME? CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW.👇
