Printing 1 – Stencils

I want to write on fabric, & have to learn some techniques first, so I signed up for a printing class at LeMoyne, but it was canceled. I decided to work by myself, using The Painted Quilt as a guide. I wrote a schedule for one technique a week, & listed the materials needed. I have to be finished by Sunday night. Stenciling was first.

Stenciling

The materials are pictured below, & at the top is my first stencil art. You need a notebook, some freezer paper from the grocery, & pastels. That was an art mystery. Turns out they're oily crayons. I used cheap (about $5) fabric crayons from DickBlick.

1. Find something beautiful & simple. From my collection of dried leaves I chose a sea grape. In the book they use flower petals right off the bush.
2. Fold a piece of freezer paper in half, shiny sides together, & iron to make it double thick.
3. Trace around the leaf onto freezer paper.
4. Cut it out. First I used a small scissors, then one of those pointy art knives.
5. Rub a thick line of pastel around the edge of the shape. You can use more than one color.
6. Put the shape (stencil) over the page where you want it.
7. Rub the color inward toward the empty space. Use a toothbrush or your fingers. I used a toothbrush.
8. Repeat. Try overlapping. Make a new stencil for each color. Don't move the stencil as you work. Clean your brushes. (I haven't; they look hopeless.)

Later I watercolored some pages before stenciling. This is a good way to envision how fabrics will look. Pretty, too. This was fun. Next: rubbings. You need wire & Paintstiks.