Stencil Cutting Skills

One of the key skills that we will be developing in the upcoming class, Hand Printed Cards with the gelatin plate, is stencil design and cutting.

Gelatin prints with tyvek stencils

I was inspired to improve my stencil making skills when I took a class with Beatrice Coron. She is a storyteller and paper cutter. Enjoy her Ted Talk below.

In the upcoming class we will be creating designs that are sturdy, connected and good for printing with on the gelatin plate. I like to use Tyvek® because it is very strong and pretty easy to cut. This allows me to pull hundreds of prints with one stencil.

Gelatin Monotype by Linda Germain

If you want to practice your stencil cutting skills then download and print out this pdf, Stencil Cutting Practice sheet. Remember to use a sharp blade and breathe. 🙂

The stencils that we will design and cut in class will be a little different than what I call the “hole” stencil.  They will be connected shapes shapes on a border, like paper cuts.

cut tyvek stencil for printmaking

If you think you might like to learn these skills, the check out the details of the online printmaking class, Hand Printed Cards with Tyvek® stencils and the gelatin plate and join us today.