Heart 2 Hand

ARTWIRED-stencils

THIS MORNING IS ABOUT TO DAWN HERE IN THE EAST.......

I can't sleep....been up for hours...I'm what I call "Artwired".  That's when I have a bizillion creative thoughts but can't slow them down long enough to be constructive.  This is probably attributed to many factors today (LIKE THE ARTFEST WEBSITE WENT UP AT MIDNIGHT) but rather than go into them I thought perhaps I should talk about how I work through this and get my hands going.....after all....I'm sure I'm not alone in this behavior!!

Last time this happened was just a few days ago and it all started when LK called me to incite my muse about stencils....LOL....she was like a cat on a hot tin roof and could barely contain herself....well, it worked and the next thing I knew I was pouring over images of my kids (this after a trip to LK's blog to see what she was talking about in her message) and then cutting stencils....alas at 2 am when you are 30 miles out to sea on an island there is NO PLACE TO BUY SPRAY PAINT.....cry, sniff...now I have to wait until morning...but wait I did and happy I pursued it.  This particular Artwired event was very productive.

First I started with chosing images that were loaded with high contrast.....these two images actually came from the same photo (all three of my babies were in the original), to Photoshop Elements we went, cropping and changing values until after not to much fussing I had a clear black and white image to start with.  The first attempt was a quick study in what does NOT work....forgetting all my stencil basics...BUT...it was like riding a bike and soon I was back up and soaring.  I printed the images onto white card stock and using a NEW (key to good and easy stencil cutting is LOTS of sharp blades!) blade in my trusty #11, cutting away everything that was black, making a few bridges here and there until not very long later I was ready to spray.

I used 3M REPOSITIONABLE Spray Mount on the back of the stencil.....this type of stencil is very fragile and will lift easily with so much detail that this is really necessary but you won't regret it!  Just be very slow and deliberate when you are lifting your stencil after painting (whether you spray or pounce).  I worked outside (as a two bedroom apartment leaves very little room for this particular activity) on recycled shipping boxes to protect the yard from my overspray.  It wasn't windy or this wouldn't have been an option either and patience would have to prevail.  After spraying the adhesive on the BACK of the stencil, let it tack up for a minute or two and then gently press it down on a piece of canvas paper no particular reason for paper choice...it was at hand and the right size..any good paper (surface)will do and sprayed away.  I used a flat black by Krylon but there are LOTS of options out there.

After all was said and done I was glad I had worked on the heavier canvas paper with a spray paint because now I had a strong image to work with and could continue to paint and work over the piece until satisfied.....This weekend should bring the time to do that and I will post the results.

So long story short...when YOU are Artwired......get moving....pick up anything....gesso, pencils, crayons whatever.....JUST GET YOUR HANDS MOVING....the simple act of forcing your brain to respond to your hands will slow it down to a reasonable speed and soon the two will be collaborating and "OH THE PLACES YOU WILL GO............."

July 17

Silouhette Lessons

Yesterday I spent the morning at The 1800 House.  It's a restored home from the 1800's here on island where they give folk art classes.  The instructors come from all over as well as being island residents.  It's a wonderful environment with great people.    Yesterday's workshop instructor was Alison Shriver http://www.alisonshriver.com/  who teaches silouhettes (a bit of a very interesting twist to the age old craft), using authentic paper emphera (old ledger paper, maps, letters, etc) which is what caught this paperholics attention!!  Posting a temporary pix of the piece I finished - that is until DH gets back with the camera...the scanner is not doing to well with this two dimensional piece.  Check out Alison's site and her work.   I'll be playing with this technique for sure.  It's not such a far cry from my old life with stencils and it's sparked all kinds of interesting ideas to follow through on....more soon!!