Cecilia Swatton and Kathryn Costa each have a new stencil!

Hi there! StencilGirl is bringing you 2 new designs today: Four Gates Mandala designed by Kathryn Costa and Palm Fronts Silhouette designed by Cecilia Swatton.

The Palm Fronds Silhouette 9" x12" Stencil 

Add depth and mystery to backgrounds with this stencil by Cecilia Swatton. Make people ask, “HOW did you do that?” 

Use it repeatedly across a layout, choosing different colors while turning the stencil around with each paint application.

Use it repeatedly across a layout, choosing different colors while turning the stencil around with each paint application. 

For more zing, put it to work with 6” x 6” 
Palm Fronds Silhouette Small and 4”x4” Palm Fronds Silhouette Mini.

L791   9”x 12”          S238  6” x6”          M050  4” x 4”

Mini, small, and large Palm Fronds Silhouettes

Cecilia says: "What to do when your first idea doesn’t work?  Aw heck, just keep going!

 

Cecilia had this to say about the art above: "Grab a stencil, modeling paste, iridescent beads, bits of multicolor faux foil, string gel medium, gloss liquid medium, dry pigment powders like Brusho, metallic powders like Pearl Ex, inks of any brand or Golden High Flow acrylics – and prepare to amaze yourself!  With these, my plan was to create an ultra-wet, 3-D surface that would contain color, flow when tipped, and accept small inclusions. Step-by-step photos with directions on my blog."

The embossed-looking area on the art print below was actually a ghost print made with another sheet of paper that had been sponge-brayered with metallic gold acrylic paint. Cecilia used another sheet of paper instead of a Gelli Plate and "smushed" the two papers together while the gold paint was still wet. After that ghost paint dried, she made a new print over it. The original background paper is black. 

All of Cecilia's stencil designs are available via this link.

Four Gates Mandala Stencil by Kathryn Costa

The Four Gates Mandala Stencil by Kathryn Costa is inspired by the traditional mandala and yantra art from the Hindu and Buddhist culture. Many wisdom traditions work with the four directions representing the four elements of air, water, fire, and earth. This stencil can also be used to create the Chakana also known as the Inca Cross from the Peruvian tradition. Some additional geometric shapes and symbols provide even more design possibilities including the ouroboros, infinity symbol, Chinese Yin Yang, and the OM symbol.

There are so many possibilities one can do with this stencil and Kathryn has made a diagram on the right highlighting in red which part of the stencil she traced for the design. 

This stencil also pairs well with Kathryn Costa’s Chakra Stencils Set. 

An infinite number of possibilities exist as to what you can create with the Four Gates Mandala Stencil.

Cecilia's, Kathryn's, and all of the newest stencils can be found right here!

***   ***   ***

Join Kathryn Costa from True North Arts and Mary Beth Shaw for a soul to soul conversation on how their creative and soulful practices keep them grounded, peaceful, and creative during these unusual times.

The soul to soul conversation covers:

• Creating art for self-expression, insight, and healing
• Integrating spiritual and creative practices
• The power of living and working with intentions
• Tapping into the healing power of color and sacred geometry
• Recognizing the grounding and centering patterns found in the art of all wisdom traditions and cultures
• Introducing Kathryn Costa's newest stencil from StencilGirl Products, "The Four Gates Mandala" and how to use this stencil to cultivate loving-kindness, compassion, peace, and joy.

Register for this free webinar. (Open to first 100 people but Kathryn will have a replay and we'll make that link available when it is ready.)

Art Bundle for Good 4 is on sale right this minute!

StencilGirl is so pleased to tell you that Art Bundle for Good #4 is here and Mary Beth is super excited to have contributed her Simple Improv Bookmaking and Gel Printing & Printmaking classes to it.

Even if you have Mary Beth's 2 classes, this is an amazing opportunity to get 96 more art resources at about $1 per course! 

This sweet deal and investment in your creativity is available NOW, but it won’t be around for long. The sale ends in 5 days. 

There are $4000 worth of courses, workbooks, and other resources on topics like painting, watercolor, calligraphy, drawing, mixed media arts, creativity, and more all bundled together for one low price.

25% of the Art Bundle profits are going to support Courageous Kitchen, a Bangkok based charity helping refugees. Get some top art learning resources from many of the top artists AND do some good at the same time.

Here is the link to the website:

GO TO THE ART BUNDLE FOR GOOD

The Art Bundle for Good is the perfect investment in yourself.

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August Art inspiration for you from StencilClub Voices

Me, Melissa, and Denny looked at the StencilClub Mary Beth Shaw/Carolyn Dube Mash-up and went to town making entirely different projects that we hope spur your own artistic ideas!

Melissa Ohlman-Roberge's Memory Pocket

Melissa writes: "I've been thinking a lot about the past this week. My youngest just graduated from college and we've been sharing so many stories of her younger years. At the same time, I've been reflecting on the possibilities for my next chapter. 

"Mary Beth and Carolyn Dube's Mash-up provided the perfect inspiration for me to begin to make sense of future filled with change!! 

"The 6X6 stencil evoked spirits of the past and the quote seemed wise words for BOTH of us!"

Denny Nkemontoh's Braille Art Journal

Denny writes: "I like to save by-products of projects to recycle/re-use in new projects. This project used the August stencils in my braille art journal. (Note: I was introduced to journaling in braille Bibles by Donna Bauermiller.  The braille gives a rich texture to each page.)  

"I began by gessoing and giving a color wash to the pages I was working on.  

"I stenciled on some tissue paper left-over from a dyeing process. 

Due to bleed and overlap, the tissue paper was variegated.  I used embossing paste to stencil. 

"Once dry, I brushed resin over it. I then adhered to the journal page and wrote around it."

Carol Baxter's Mini Notebooks

Carol here saying hello again.

The dollar store had these little bitty notebooks in 3 packs  that were too cute not to put in my cart

coz I'm a 

list maker 

note taker

oh baby don't you dare take my pen!

Mary Beth and Carolyn reminded me how much I loved my printmaking class in high school and Carolyn introduced me to gelly plates so this month, I had to break out my plate. It really is pretty zen once you get going! I took my prints, added some ephemera and covered the aforementioned notebooks. 

The blue pink purple colors I began with turned out not to be my fave. In the end, orange, green, and yellow won my heart.

Well, maybe I like the greyish one, or the shiny one, or the one with purple flowers. Hmmm. Can't really decide!

Your stencils are calling!

We'd love to have you join the art community that is StencilClub!

"Kiss" Abstract Paintings with Heidi Smith

Hi there!

This is Heidi Smith for the StencilGirl Products® Design Team sharing some little abstract works that I am lovingly calling Abstract "Kisses". 💕😘

I recently wanted to make some wee abstract paintings to decorate a blank wall that I have in my house and created a few with something that I like to call the "kiss" technique. 💋

You can watch my video below:

This technique uses deli paper in an even-more-non-conventional-way than we're used to. Normally, we think of deli paper as a substrate (using it with our gelli plates to print on, or to paint directly on, with an end result of likely tearing it up for collage fodder)... but there’s more you can do with it!!! 💋💋💋 Get this... You can use your deli paper as… A STAMP!!

Whaaat?!??

YES! And I'll show you how! 

I started doing this years ago with regular paper... pressing one painted paper onto another wet or dry paper to get a mottled and grungy effect. But I discovered a way to also do this through my stencils... and deli paper was the perfect partner! Deli paper has the right amount of durability, withstanding both pressure and moisture while still being thin and delicate enough to transfer the details of stencils! The look you can achieve is similar to what you’d get by using a gelli plate. You get irregularities, brush marks, and intermingling flecks of color that we associate with and love about gelli printing ...but by just using deli paper!

To start my paintings, I chose some handmade paper squares. (Regular watercolor paper would work well too). You’ll want to coat your paper with a layer of paint or gesso first, because (with most papers) it will weaken as it gets wet with paints. The moisture would cause tears and fibers to stick to the paint when we’re “kissing” them together… which we don’t typically want. But if you like a very distressed look and don’t mind tears and pulls… definitely play around with different papers! They all react differently to this technique and some are stronger than others.

Here are my squares to start, coated with a layer of random leftover acrylic and left to dry thoroughly:

Next I pull out some deli sheets that I’ve cut to a manageable size. I spread a thin layer of acrylic paint onto my deli paper with a flat brush. Brush strokes are cool ...but glops are not. I like to use my Dina Wakley Media flat brush because it creates nice brushstrokes in the paint and the texture transfers quite well.

Here is what my thin layer looks like:

I start with just a few solid areas of “kisses” around my paintings. To do this, you’ll simply flip your deli paper over (paint side down) and press firmly but gently to transfer paint. You can control how much paint contacts the paper by how much pressure you give and where. Once you get the hang of it, we’re ready to break out our stencils!!

Here’s what a deli paper “kiss” looks like:

For stencils, my suggestion is to use ones that don’t have a lot of really tiny holes or really detailed designs, because we’re going for *grunge* and super-super-fine details won’t transfer well. I have chosen the following stencils:

Stencil Club Aug ‘17 by Mary Nasser

Stencil Club Jan ‘17 by Mary Beth Shaw

ATC Mixup 1 by Mary Beth Shaw

Triangle Transitions 2 by Mary Beth Shaw

Stencil Club April ‘16 by Mary Beth Shaw

Stencil Club Aug ‘13 by Mary Beth Shaw

To “kiss” through a stencil, first position your stencil where you want it to go on your painting. Then apply a light layer of paint (just as before) to your deli paper but this time you’ll flip it over onto the stencil. You’ll want to press firmly around the design of the stencil... getting into the nooks and crannies. You can feel and see if you’ve made good contact. If your paint dries up too quickly and doesn’t transfer well, keep trying! You’ll get into a rhythm.

Pressing into the nooks and crannies:

And this is what a “kiss” through a stencil looks like:

...and with the stencil removed:

To create an abstract work, we keep painting, playing, and giving our work “kisses”. 😘 At some point, you’ll feel you’re done! Be sure to evaluate your overall composition. If you need to cover or glaze over areas to create balance or “calm” areas, you can use a plain “kiss” (without a stencil) or even just brush over with opaque or transparent paint. I like to fiddle with my work until it feels done. (Note to self: don’t underestimate the value of a simple design!!)

This is what a few of my pieces look like:

...and a few detail shots:

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you go “kiss” that box of deli paper! Be sure to tell us all about it! *muah!*

😘😘😘

Heidi Smith is a mixed media artist and painter and a member of the 2019-2020 StencilGirl Products® Design Team. You can find her work on Instagram and her newly-launched YouTube Channel.