stencils

Stencils are a quick way to get started with printmaking techniques.

They can be combined with other tools:

• Add them to a screen for screen printing
• Use them with the gelatin plate to make monotype prints
• Adhere them to fabric for fabric printing

Then can be used with or without a press. And can be created or found.

Watch the video below and check out my stacks of stencils.

1. Masking stencil blocks the transfer of ink to the paper
2. Traditional “hole” stencil lets ink pass through the “hole” to the paper

I also use masking stencils to transfer ink to the plate or paper in a unique way when I am printing with the homemade gelatin and glycerin plate.

If you would love to explore stencils, designing them, making them and using them then check out the details of the Make Stencils Workshop, starts July 30th.

The online printmaking class:

• 4 wk Stencil Making Course
• 20 lessons – 34 videos
• 6 month access or download for life

Hope to see you in class soon.
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I have been challenging myself to cut stencils with fine lines. Tyvek® makes this possible.

I got a little to complex and the image was confusing.

Beatric Coron said there are no mistakes only bigger wholes. I cut bigger holes to change the stencil to just lines.

Tyvek®is so nice to cut with a sharp blade.

These stencils are all 5″ x 7″, so they could be used for card making and small prints.

I am excited about a paper cutting class that I will be attending this weekend with Beatrice Coron.

In preparation for the class I have been cutting stencils in a new way. I am using:

• Tyvek®
• cutting more detailed designs
• creating designs with a square edge

Then I did some printing with the gelatin plate. I noticed that Tyvek® has a texture. I think it may change when the ink starts to build up.

Tyvek is so nice to cut with a nice sharp blade. It is strong and lasts very long time. I have been collecting images and ideas for things that I might want to cut during the workshop.

I am gathering shadow images and skyline photos and magazine clippings.

Maybe I can use some everyday images to make a interesting and person stencil or two.

I could simplify this complex shadow into a couple of different stencils.

Enjoy some of the incredible work by Beatrice Coron

Watch her TED talk – be amazed.

I love to use natural materials with the gelatin printmaking process.

The 2 prints on the right were made with real grasses and ferns. I love how the gelatin plate allows the printmaker to capture the delicate details of the natural material, and with mere hand pressure.

You can even use ferns and natural materials when printing on fabric with ink and the gelatin plate.

All grasses, leaves and ferns are not the same. You want to choose very flat materials with interesting shapes and textures.

Recently, I was on my way to a doctor’s appointment in Boston. It was a new adventure for me, train travel, subway and city navigation. But it was a sunny day and I was open to the adventure.

The granite wall of the Boston Children’s hospital caught my attention. After my appointment I crossed the street and got a closer look. It is a grayscale garden in granite. According to this article it was created with a sandblasting technique. Read more about the process in this article.

Mikyoung Kim Design is the designer of the playful graphic. The idea is “Playful nature in the City”

One reason I was so taken by the image is that I am working on a image for a collaborative book. The theme is What’s in Your Garden? I am an apartment dweller and enjoy other people’s gardens.

I like:

• simplified silhouettes
• lots of layers
• monochromatic images

I have been noticing the cast shadows on the road of my daily bike ride. I was thinking about layering this cast shadows of roadside vines, flowers and weeds into “My Garden.”

I had been imagining something very similar to the granite wall at the Boston Children’s Hospital. I love the complex layers and the way it draws the viewer in for a closer look.

I think I will use a camera to capture my silhouettes.

Are you ready to capture inspiration that crosses your path?

I hope so.

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