Adventures In Arting!

Please stop by my friend Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's podcast and listen to our conversation!  I had such a great visit with both Julie and her mother, Eileen.  Check it out!

Here is the link.

Stencil Blog Hop! A bit of "Flower Piecing" for Spring!

Check out all the fabulous ideas on Julie's blog!

"Flower Piecing"

I have been playing with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's "Flower Piecing" stencils in both 12x12 inch and 6x6 inch sizes.  I love having the same stencil in two sizes because varying the scale of the mark adds a lot of depth and interest to the surface.

To play with these stencils I decided to pull out a variety of surfaces on which to experiment:  baby wipes, sale tags, watercolor postcards, and polyester organza that had previously been laminated with paper (as well as gelatin printed and stamped).  With the exception of the sale tags these things had some paint on them and were "languishing" in my studio.

First up:  the baby wipe.  These had been hit with some acrylic paint when wet and allowed to dry.  I didn't bother pressing them flat.  I like the slight imperfections that I may (or may not) get by working with a slightly wrinkled surface, but I'm crazy that way.  Iron your surfaces flat if that is how you roll.

The large stencil is placed over the baby wipe.  I'm working on a slightly padded surface that has been covered with a drop cloth.  

On a paper palette, I placed a small amount of both blue and bronze acrylic paint. 

And, as you can see, I'm using an old toothbrush as my stencil brush.  I love using these!

I just want to pick up a small "dab" of the paint, and by working on this paper palette first I can pounce off excess before approaching my work surface.

See how the toothbrush gives a nice, soft look to the mark?  Love!

Next, I have a watercolor postcard that I had previously marked with water-soluble crayons, over-screened with matte medium to make it permanent.  I'm not crazy about this postcard.  Things like this are perfect for experimentation because they don't feel "precious".  

I plan to work back into this after the paint dries.....

I love making paper-laminated sheer!  It would take too long to explain (in this post) how to do it, but there are a number of good resources, not the least of which is my DIY Surface Design dvd (shameless self-promotion disclaimer).  Jane Dunnewold has a great book about lamination, which I highly recommend.  This piece is left over from a previous project, and was used for a gelatin plate printing demo at one time so there are a lot of marks on the surface already.  Yay!  More is more....

I'll use more paint colors..

Using an acrylic brush this time, I am moving over a portion of the 

surface alternating colors.  

These colors are faint over the bolder blue in the background.

I'm fine with that.  

I intend to outline some, or all, of the stenciled areas with a permanent marker.

I used a Pentel Gel Roller Fabric pen to outline, and create more, of the shapes in the stencil.

The dark edge brings the shape forward on the surface.

So much fun!

Don't forget that sometimes an opaque light color works well over a dark(er) background:

Think how interesting this laminated sheer would be with backlighting?

Wow!  It could be a really cool window treatment!

Here is my blank sale tag:

First, I stenciled with the large pattern, then drew around it with a gel pen.

Next, using the small stencil, I stenciled across a portion of the surface with my trusty toothbrush.

...and I did the same on this baby wipe.

Note the larger pattern is in the background with white opaque paint.

Look how soft and lovely this image is when used with a leaf-green paint:

Oh my!

You, too, can make a "happy mess"!

These samples will eventually find their way into my work:  fusible added to the cloth and appliqued to a quilt surface.  Postcards will be mailed.  Sale tags will be further embellished and used in a wide variety of ways, including as gift tags, as a book mark, or in my sketchbook.

I haven't even broached the subject of acrylic inks and all the possibilities with those.  Stay tuned for more fun!  Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you try these great stencils:  I think you will like using them!

Please visit these participants in the stencil blog hop:

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/2012/06/stencil-hop-flower-piecing.html

Tammy Tutterow
http://tammytutterow.typepad.com/

Stencil Blog Hop! Check out this Cool Pomegranate Stencil!

All of Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's stencils can be purchased at 

the Crafter's Workshop

When Julie Fei-Fan Balzer invited me to check out a set of her shiny new stencils, I was thrilled to receive the Pomegranate set (large and small):

Maybe you have noticed, but I am obsessed with circles so the pomegranate shape is right up my alley.

I decided to work with the stencils on a variety of materials.  First up:  a used paper towel.

Sometimes the best thing that comes out of a studio workday not what I planned:   Interesting things happen on brush wipes and drop cloths!  The paper towel below was a leftover from a recent workshop.  I admit it:  I dumpster-dove for the used paper towels!

the large pomegranate stencil is positioned over a portion of the towel.

I used liquid acrylic paint on this sample

I picked up the minimum of paint on my brush to avoid depositing a large amount through the stencil.

After the paint dried, I positioned the smaller pomegranate stencil on the towel.

I like the variation of scale that using both stencils provides!

The lovely thing about paper towels is that they can be layered with fusible or gel medium onto paper or cloth.  They turn up in a wide range of places in my work.

Next:  The Recycled Facial Cloth

I love my used facial washcloths (these are Oil of Olay) because they are made from unwoven cotton and take ProcionMX dye quite nicely.  I have done all sorts of things with these cloths in mixed media cloth and paper projects.  I was anxious to see what they would do under a stencil.  

Here is the facial cloth prior to using the stencil.

The color and script were previously created with ProcionMX dye under a silkscreen.

Using a cheap paint store brush I "pounced" orange paint through the stencil.

Once dry, I overlaid more images with black paint.

The result is a nice layered effect with a variety of shapes and textures!

Next:  A concert ticket and a sale tag become a cool gift tag!

this sale tag (purchased at an office supply store) was first painted with a wash of 

red-orange acrylic paint.

A combination of black and white acrylic paint was used to create the mottled effect.

Once dry, the concert ticket was glued onto the sale tag.

These are fun to make and really jazz up a special gift.

Old postcard/new substrate for a collage:

This old postcard was lightly gessoed, allowing some of the imagery to show through.

First, I used the large pomegranate stencil and applied black acrylic paint.

Second, I marked the stenciled edge with a bright pink marker,

then used a combination of black and gray paint through the smaller stencil on the right side.

Last:  Fun on Fabric!

First, using the large stencil with black and white acrylic paint, I moved

across the surface of the cloth.

Second, I placed elements from the smaller stencil into the pattern.

The movement of the shapes, as well as the variation of scale from using both sizes of the stencils,

creates an interesting pattern across the surface of this piece of commercial cotton cloth.

I had a lot of fun experimenting with these wonderful stencils on a wide variety of surfaces.  I hope you will take time to stop by the other participating artists' blogs to see their projects:  

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

Paula Phillips

Michelle LaPoint Rydell

Thanks so much for stopping by, and let me know what you make when you play with your Crafter's Workshop Stencils!