Thursday, July 31, 2014

Wise Old Owl - a Tutorial Using Stencil Girl Stencils

If you watched my Youtube video: Shiva Art Journal Page, where I used the Shiva Stencil from Stencil Girl, you probably noticed this owl journal page to the right.


Here's a video of me working on that page.  I hope you enjoy the video, and that it gives you some ideas for using your stencils!


You can also watch "Owl Art Journal Page and Tutorial" on You Tube here.

The stencils I used are the Horned Owl Stencil;


Three Owls and a Branch Stencil;


and the Ganesh Stencil.


You can find these three stencils and all my other stencils at Stencil Girl here!

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

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Monday, July 28, 2014

Using Parts of Stencils - a Tutorial

Here is the evolution of two art journal pages in which I used the Hindu Deity Stencils without actually creating the deities!

In this first example, I made a random collage in my altered book journal with punches from the newsprint that is on my table.  I use it to dab off my cosmetic sponge before I stencil, and then I have all these crazy colored pieces!  The blue dots are from a scrap of book page on which I had cleaned off my gelli plate!


Using mostly the Ganesh Stencil, I used Sakura Gel Pens to trace some of the elements in the white spaces between the collage.  Can you pick out which pieces I used?  (Check out this blogpost for more examples of how I used the Ganesh Stencil.)


I glazed the whole page with Golden Fluid Acrylics and glazing medium.


I created two silhouettes from magazine ads and laminate paper, two create to profiles.  Then I used dark and light glazes to accentuate them.  I added bubbles from the Bubbles Girl Stencil to the top of the page, and glazed inside and outside the bubbles.   (For more examples of Bubbles Girl, check out this blog hop with lots of amazing artists using this stencil.)


I added some text in my own handwriting and from a Stampers Anonymous Stamp.  I love how the collage and stenciled elements add mystery and intrigue.


This next example has no collage -- just paint!  I started with a page in my "brayer off" book -- this is a blank book in which I clean my brayers when gelli printing.


After a bunch of stenciling using elements from the Hindu Deity Stencils and my Namaste Stencil, plus some overglazing and freehand flower sketching, my page looked like this:  



Can you see the faces of Krishna and Shiva peeking through?  More glazing, more painting....


 Then I used elements of the Ganesh Stencil to create leaves and patterns in some of the flowers:


I added the word "Namaste" to the top.  I expect I will eventually add some journaling in the white areas, but for now, here it is!  (To see lots of examples of how I used the Namaste stencil, jump to this blog post.)   Linking this one very belatedly to Art-Journal-Journey - where the monthly them is/was flowers!

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

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Sunday, July 27, 2014

The Ganesh Stencil from Stencil Girl Products


The Ganesh Stencil from Stencil Girl Products depicts one of the most playful, fun deities in the Hindu Pantheon.  He is the son of Lord Shiva and the Goddess Parvati.  He is depicted with an elephant head, which symbolizes the soul or the ultimate supreme reality of human existence, and a huge, pot-bellied human body, which symbolizes our earthly existence.  In short, he symbolizes the duality of human nature - our ability to connect with our divine essence, while being tethered to this earth.  He is the remover of obstacles and is also worshiped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth.   (Although there are different deities in Hinduism, they are all aspects of the one great, unknowable, creator - Brahman.)  Everything he is holding and sitting on is symbolic, and you can read more about it here! 

Here's a chant about Ganesh, if you'd like to listen to it while reading this post!


One of the first projects I created with this stencil was a T-Shirt for my husband - who certainly removes lots of obstacles in my life!

I placed a cutting mat under his shirt and then placed the stencil on top.


I cut a cosmetic sponge into small pieces, and used acrylic paint to stencil through it.


I used words from Carolyn Dube's Words to Live By stencil to add the phrase: Be Bold, Be You!  I then heat set it by putting it in the dryer on the hottest setting for 20 minutes.  Even after several washings, the color stayed strong! 


Freddie said he could have done without the flowers, but I think he's man enough for them!

To use up some of the extra paint, I started stenciling just some of the components from the Ganesh Stencil into my art journal.  They reminded me of butterflies. 


So I went with it.  I think the Ganesh stencil made lovely butterflies!

 

I wanted an entire Ganesh in my art journal.  So I took a page in which I had brayered off paint from my gelli plate, and stenciled the entire figure.  Then I surrounded it with black so the elements would pop out.


 Some more detailing, and there he sits, beaming wisdom out to me.


I hope this post gives you some inspiration to try the Ganesh Stencil!

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

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Thursday, July 24, 2014

Sharing Shiva - a Stencil Girl Tutorial

Last week Stencil Girl released 3 new stencils of Hindu Deities.


In my last post, I introduced the Krishna Stencil.

Today, I want to tell you a bit about Lord Shiva.   If Krishna is peace and love, Shiva is "shakti" or power.  Sometimes known as the destroyer, Shiva is considered the most powerful god of the Hindu pantheon, and is one of the godheads in the Hindu Trinity of Brahmha - the creator, Vishnu - the Preserver, and Shiva - the judge or transformer.      (Scholars point to the trinity as one of many Hindu tenants appearing in Christianity.)

Although Shiva is responsible for death and destruction, it is important to note that Shiva destroys in order to create, since death is the medium for rebirth.  The dualities of life and death, creation and destruction, reside in his character.

Shiva is often portrayed in the pose of a Nataraj, the dancer - with the flames of creation and destruction surrounding him.  This is how I chose to portray him in this stencil.  In it, he stands on a pedestal of lotus flowers, representing the creative forces of the universe.   His four hands represent the four directions - North, South, East and West.  He stands on a prostrate figure that represents ignorance, and his lower right hand shows the gesture of fearlessness.

You can read more about Shiva online - but I love him for the metaphor of creation and re-birth arising out of destruction.  Certainly, I have learned more, and grown more, from my failures, disappointments and defeats, than any of my successes.


I have enjoyed making tags with different parts of the Shiva Stencil.  I also found great words in Carolyn Dube's Uplifting Words Stencil , and some cool motifs from Kae Pea's Wheel in the Sky Stencil to go with him in my journal.


I also used it to stencil this T-Shirt for my daughter.  May she always be fearless!


Here's a fast forward video of this Shiva art journal page.   The journaling says:

Sometimes we need to be broken to become whole,
to fail in order to succeed.





I hope this post gives you some inspiration to embrace Shiva's energy and commitment to rebirth and renewal.  


There's a winner from the giveaway from the Krishna stencil post!  Linda on the Prairie, email your snail mail address to jessicabethsporn at gmail dot com and I will send the "Matters Most" piece to you!

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

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Friday, July 18, 2014

Introducing the Krishna Stencil from Stencil Girl and a Giveaway



I am thrilled to announce three new stencils from Stencil Girl - each representing a Hindu Deity that has beautiful symbolism that can be invoked by anyone.  They are Lords Krishna, Shiva and Ganesha and you can find them here!

Although the Pantheon of Hindu Gods is vast, Hindus are a monotheistic religion worshiping one God - Brahman.  Brahman is the supreme spirit that permeates everything.  There are no words to describe this spirit -- everything in the universe is part of Brahman, but Brahman is more than the sum of everything in the universe.  The "different" Gods give devotees a way to see, touch and feel this unknowable God; they give the devotees tangible, knowable aspect of the Supreme Being.

Today, I would like to tell you about the Krishna Stencil, which I created based on a drawing and watercolor in my art journal. 



In Hindu mythology, Krishna is the eighth reincarnation of the god Vishnu.  You can read more about Krishna, and Krishna Consciousness on the web, but the important thing is that he stands for love and peace.   Also, there are many parallels between the lives and teachings of Krishna and Christ, which are interesting to explore.   

I've enjoyed playing with this stencil in my art journal and in making tags and happy mail to send to friends who need some love and peace in their lives.  




Here's a video showing my process as I created this very painterly art journal page using the Krishna stencil:





You can also watch Krishna Art Journal Page on You Tube.  While I was making this page, I used the leftover black paint to stencil a bunch of Krishna's faces on the facing page in my journal.  Here's what became of it!



Here's a short little video showing my process as I created this whimsical page, using only Krishna's face.





You can watch Krishna Flowers Art Journal page on You Tube as well.

I also used two small pieces of cardboard to create two inspirational keepsakes on upcycled cardboard.  I was surprised by how the stencil lends itself to such different looks.   



Giveaway Alert:  I will send one of these little keepsakes to a person commenting on this post!   If you're interested in winning, just let me know in your comment which of the two speaks to you more - "What Matters," or "Possibility!"

UPDATE!  The winner is:



Thank you all so much for your comments!

I hope you see how the Krishna Stencil lends itself to many types of designs.  I haven't even begun exploring JUST using the flowers, or patterning!   Here's MaryBeth Shaw -- THE Stencil Girl! -- showing how she used some of the elements in her art journal.



You can also watch MaryBeth's video on YouTube

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.


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