Kabuki Haiku: ISO Toilet Paper with TAP

It’s Jill McDowell here with you today. I hope that this post finds you well as we navigate through these incredibly crazy and stressful times. I’m sure that I’m not the only one craving a little levity to help alleviate some of the tension we’re feeling. Case in point, early on in this crisis I found myself in the grocery store staring in total disbelief at the paper goods aisle. Such absurdity! The entire row was empty except for one ‘gynormous” package of Huggies Snug and Dry smack in the middle of where the toilet paper should have been. Then it struck me that evidently one of my neighbors must have a really “dry” sense of humor.... The more I thought about that package of diapers the more I chuckled. And instead of being outraged, I found myself feeling just a little lighter than before. Sometimes you just have to turn and laugh.

The theme for this month’s StencilGirl®️ Creative Team project is Stencil Poetry.  So I’m using my ISO toilet paper experience as inspiration for a little Kabuki Haiku in my new Dina Wakley Mixed Media Journal (It’s the new blue edition with denim pages and I’m really excited to get to use it.)

ISO Toilet Paper

    Towers of cold steel

Long empty paper cupboards

    Huggies aisle fifteen

I often search the Metropolitan Museum of Arts website for images to use in my journals. If left alone, I could spend hours perusing that site. I’m partial to images from 18th Century Japanese Ukiyo-e prints of stylized Kabuki actors and other characters. They make perfect subjects for little satirical Haiku journal pages. I think this Geisha befits my utter exasperation whilst I quest to find a source of toilet paper.  Who else is with me on this one?

I upload my images into the ProCreate app where I crop and flip them horizontally to get a mirror image.  When working with text it is essential to work with a mirror image so that the text is readable after it’s transferred onto your substrate. 

I‘ve been having lots of fun printing my images onto Lesley Riley’s TAP Transfer Artist Paper. It’s made to work with inkjet printers, (a huge plus) and the iron-on method of transferring the image is quick and easy.  

To transfer the TAP image, fussy cut it out and then place it face down onto a 100% white cotton fabric. (I’ve gotten the crispest results using solid white tightly woven 100% cotton.) While continually moving the iron, press the back side of the image without steam on the highest setting suitable for your fabric. It should take between 20 and 30 seconds of continually moving the iron over the image of this size to transfer it onto the fabric.

Peel back a corner of the backing paper to check if the image has released onto the fabric. If not, place the paper backing back down over the image and iron again. Be careful as the image will get hot.  I usually give the image about 30 seconds to cool down before peeling off the whole backing. (FYI: The paper backing makes a great mask for your stencils - but that’s a post for another day....)

For my journal page, I used Mary Beth Shaw’s Large Hall Stencil from StencilGirl®️ to represent an aisle of empty toilet paper shelves.  Are you feeling it yet?

Since I love to upcycle, I stenciled on a piece of cloth ripped from some old linen curtains I found at the Goodwill Store a while back. (Ripping gives me so much satisfaction.) The pattern on the curtain doesn’t fit in with my design, but the back of it works fine.  And besides, who doesn’t enjoy the feel of stitching on linen?

I used Nautical Blue MentoLuxe pigment ink to stencil the design.  And for a hint of authenticity, I stenciled with a hand made Japanese stencil brush.  The brush is made with deer hair and I’m smitten with it. 

Rrripppppp!

I got out my stitching supplies and went to town.  For this kind of stitching, I never use a hoop.  I prefer to freestyle it instead.  FYI, my favorite needle is a #5 embroidery needle. (I found these two packages of vintage needles in a thrift shop - I think I paid 20 cents for both packs. SCORE!)

I choose a double page journal spread with blue denim on the left side and heavyweight cotton paper on the right side. I had a great piece of vintage blue bamboo kimono material in my starship that I used to cover the paper side. Since I wanted to minimize the amount of stitching that I need to do in the book itself, I pinned everything down without piercing the pages. Then I sat down and began stitching. 

I stitched on top of my Geisha Girl’s robe and then outlined her using a backstitch.  I left  the edges to fray.

I used a blanket stitch to attach the Haiku poem to the soft stenciled cloth collage and then to attach the cloth collage to the journal. 

My finished Kabuki Haiku journal page:

LOL. I’m still on a quest to locate some toilet paper. Fear not though, things have not gotten desperate yet.  We have enough rolls to last us two or three weeks so please don’t worry for us. My ISO Toilet Paper is really all in good jest.   

Before I close this post though, I want to thank you all for letting me share just a little bit of your day. And I want to give an especially big shout out to all of our caregivers out there everyday during this time. Those of you on the front line and those of you who are supporting us each and every day are our hero’s: Doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, Veterinarians, grocery store and retail clerks, mail handlers, custodial and security staff, and all those other dedicated essential individuals working and volunteering out in the public each day. You are all heroes and I am thankful for your care. I owe you big time.  But for now, I’m committed to staying home as long as it takes to help keep you safe.

Stay well,

Jill

Post Epilogue:  

The other day my masked husband ventured out to the grocery store. When he returned he said that they’d finally gotten a shipment toilet paper. But since it was the cheap store brand he didn’t buy any....  LOL. You just can’t make this stuff up. Sometimes you’ve just got to turn and laugh. 

Stenciled Poetry Art Journal - The Raven - by Jennifer Gallagher

Hello! 

It's Jennifer Gallagher here with you again, this time with a thematic art journal page for this month's theme 'Stenciled Poetry'. I found this theme quite intriguing and rather difficult. I don't usually create pages in my journal that are based upon anything other than my imagination. Even though it was out of my comfort zone, I was up for the challenge. 

One of my favorite poets is Edgar Allen Poe. After glancing through my ever-growing stencil collection, I knew I had just the right ones to create an homage to 'The Raven'. I did work a little differently than usual, as I found myself going back and forth adding layers in a rather haphazard fashion. I think this was because I was working with a theme, visually speaking. So I'll break it down for you in a way you can follow. Let's get started.

First, I prepared two pages in my journal with a thick coat of clear gesso to prepare it for many layers. After the gesso completely dried, I sprayed both pages with Marabu Art Spray in Reseda and Mint. I smeared it around a little with a wet paintbrush.

Moving quickly before the sprays could dry, I laid down the Dangled Pod Stencil and removed color with a wet baby wipe. I repeated this on both sides. Be advised! You need to move quickly.

I cut out some curved shapes to mimic hillside out of cheap kraft cardstock. I laid it down and with some green paint I mixed from olive and black, I painted some hills onto the left side page.

With Liquitex Basics Acrylics in Bright Aqua Green and Light Blue Violet, I darkened the dangled pods stenciled area to bring it to the foreground. I chose this stencil because it is an organic shape that will create movement across the page.

Next, I laid down the Windswept Tree Mask and the four-inch stencil from the November 2018 club set, I applied vintage photo distress ink all across the left page. 

I had leftover paint from the olive and black mixture that I used earlier. I added more black to it and then placed the tree mask back down and applied the darker paint around the borders of the page.

This six-inch stencil from StencilClub February 2019 set had the perfect section for a winding walkway. I applied Liquitex Basics Quinacridone Magenta through the stencil. I used this color because so far the page is very dark and green. I wanted to add some color that would allow it to pop off the page and be slightly translucent to allow background design to shine through.

On the right-hand page, at the bottom, I added a stone wall with the olive green mixed paint and the September 2018 StencilClub release Caves and Ladders. Next, I added a Window (Window Ledger Stencil) and another stone path in magenta. You'll also notice that at this point I went back over the two pages with the dangled pods stencil and additional layers of Liquitex Basics Light Blue Violet.

I added a raven at the bottom right-hand page with the Three Crows Stencil and black acrylic paint. I then added a touch of black to darken the window design too. I added a layer of vintage photo distress ink to the right page, being sure not to get any on the window as I'll be adding yellow highlights there later.

To add another little background detail, I spritzed a fine mist over the pages. I let it sit for a few seconds and dabbed it carefully with a paper towel. It leaves behind this speckled appearance.

On both pages, I added half a medallion from the StencilClub July 2018 set: Ceramic Tiles in white acrylic paint. I went over the medallions and window with Marabu Art Crayons in sunshine yellow and chili. Next, using white and black gelli roll pens, I added outlines and doodles around most of the images and shapes.

Then on the computer, I printed out a stanza from the poem and fixed it to my pages with matte medium. Then to age it a bit, I rubbed some vintage photo distress ink over them.

That is it for this month. I hope that you find this walk-through inspirational. I know a lot of us tend to stick to what feels safe and comfortable. I do it, too! I would like to encourage you, however, to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Maybe play along with us on this theme and use stencils to create something inspired by poetry. Until next time!

If you would like to see more of my work you can visit my blog or Instagram feed.

Happy Creating,

Jennifer Gallagher

Stenciled Poetry: Love in Nontraditional Colors

Greetings and Salutations!

Carol Baxter looking up from a book of poetry waving at you! Do stories and poems you read and songs you hear inspire your art? They often do mine.

"Ditty of First Desire" inspired this art journal spread. The idea of love and soul in nontraditional colors of green and orange intrigued me.

I started out with a page I'd previously painted on an excess of Payne's Grey, Navy, and Powder Blue.

I scattered and glued my gelli printed stash paper scraps.

I used Lemonade, Salty Ocean, Chipped Sapphire, and Lucky Clover Distress Crayons to color in and draw a heart, then I painted each color individually starting with the yellow accents.

Next up I used Kristie Taylor's hand-mixed Sparkle Spirits Ink in Helios Orange to draw around the heart. It's pretty dry with the heater on in my office so I was not quite as quick as I might have liked spritzing it and getting it to drip. But I did turn it upside down and I like the subtlety of the drips. (And you know sparkles make me happy.)

 

The stencil on the lower right is Dancing Lights by Daniella Woolf from the public collection -- I used it for the little paper rhombus elements. Above it is the small stencil from the exclusive StencilClub set: Borderlines by Seth Apter. You'll see below it is from the previously gelli printed paper I used to fussy-cut the bird. The bird is the mini from another club set, Boho Collection by Cathy Taylor. Black Birds in Trees & the Reverse are stencils in the public collection by Kimberly Baxter Packwood.

I highlighted the birds with PaperArtsy's White Fire and then used black and brown pens to give them a little detail. I wrote the poet's name over and over to create the branches. I think it makes them look thorny. (If I wanted a thicker branch, I could write two lines next to each other in opposite directions... a technique I shall remember.)

Adding lines from the poem and gluing down the heart and the bird. I thought about writing them on the orange heart but ultimately, decided not.

Watching Andy Garcia portray Federico García Lorca in the film "Death in Granada" prompted me to seek his poetry.

Theatre director, playwright, and poet, Federico García Lorca brought surrealism, symbolism, and futurism into his work. A rebel on many levels, outspoken and often anguished, he thrived in the 1920s art community in Spain and is presumed assassinated at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

This poem has been in my head for a bit.

Ditty of First Desire 

by Federico García Lorca

  In the green morning
I wanted to be a heart.
A heart.

  And in the ripe evening
I wanted to be a nightingale.
A nightingale.

  (Soul,
turn orange-colored.
Soul,
turn the color of love.)

  In the vivid morning
I wanted to be myself.
A heart.

  And at the evening's end
I wanted to be my voice.
A nightingale.

  Soul,
turn orange-colored.
Soul,
turn the color of love.

Is it morning or night in your life? What color(s) will you paint & stencil your soul?