Tayala: Golden Rain Goddess

In one of my art groups, a recent challenge was to use glue through a stencil. After debating with myself about which kind of glue to use and which stencil, I decided to give it a try with a favorite StencilGirl design by Andrea Matus DeMeng, and combine the face of Tayala, Goddess of Rain, with some of my favorite Gwen Lafluer stencils.

With the work of Pam Carricker in mind, I wanted to make an ethereal, angelic image with a halo, and I thought Gwen's newest Stencil Club design would be just right to create the angelic feeling.

Tacky Glue was pulled through a stencil to create texture.

First, I pulled some Tacky Glue through the face stencil with the edge of a credit card. I set it aside until it dried.

Gwen's July 2018 Stencil Club design were used for the crown and background.

Next, from the trio of July Stencil Club designs, I used the repeating mandala design above the head with white paint on an ochre ground. It didn't quite say "halo" so I added the top of the fluer de lis stencil (masking off the unwanted areas with washi tape). I used some VersaMark sticky embossing ink, sprinkled on some champagne embossing powder, and blasted it with my heat gun.

I wasn't entirely happy with the face. I had mixed flesh, yellow ochre, white and a little pink. I also wasn't thrilled with the way the paint covered the features--I had hoped the dried glue would act as a resist, but instead it covered up the stenciled facial features. I left it alone, and set to work stenciling more of the white circles in the background and on the body. I decided the use a portion of Michelle Ward's Damask Medium stencil to indicate a neckline.

The face needed more definition and the color was strange in this process shot.

To define the features, I decided to put the Tayala stencil back on. I lined it up exactly where it had been before, applied the VersaMark, and sprinkled the champagne embossing powder. After it turned gold from the magic of my heat gun, the page was starting to shape up.

I added some more white circular stencils, some pink paint, and some yellow ochre circular stencils. I also softened the face with lighter colors. Some gold paint was added to the hair for accent, and accents of gold paint were added to the fluer de lis atop her head.

Champagne embossing powder added more definition to the face.

It looked a little naked, and I wanted to accentuate the crown/halo idea, so I added three brass-colored square mini brads to connect the fluer de lis with the hair. I set it aside and mulled over what it needed to be complete.

Square metallic mini brads added interest on the crown.

It struck me that the crown/halo needed to be more obvious, and three sections from a piece of German Dresden Trim fit perfectly on Tayala's forehead and matched the fluer de lis perfectly.

The facial features needed more definition, so I very, very carefully placed the stencil back over the existing painting and carefully added black ink with a small dauber tool. I also added a little more dark paint in the top left corner and in the hair, plus some dark strokes with a brush tipped watercolor marker in the hair.

Black ink was carefully added to define the features, and Dresden trim enhanced the crown effect.

The final touch was some faux jewels: tiny medium blue and larger metallic indigo mini brads completed the crown. Tayala, the Phoenician name of the goddess of the dew, is rain personified. The blueish color of her blouse and its softness give the feeling of a misty, dewy morning, and mixes with the golden glow of the sun.

Tayala: Golden Rain Goddess

Stencil Club: A Tuscan Summer Day

Over the past few years, I've gotten hooked on stencils. At first, I thought stencils were something that had to be traced carefully and filled in with color. I thought they would give a stiff, boring look to my artwork. After taking some workshops and watching videos on how to use stencils, I discovered that they were pretty magical.

One of my friends told me about the Stencil Club, which has exclusive designs by some of the top artists of Stencil Girl. Each month, you get three different sized stencils by the same artist plus a video and membership in their closed Facebook group. The Stencil Club designs are not for sale to the public; they are available only to club members.

I decided to give the Stencil Club a try, and as luck would have it, this month's artist is one of my favorites: Gwen Lafluer. When the stencils arrived, I pulled out some of my favorite supplies and got to work.

The tile-inspired designs made me think of an old country home in Tuscany...not that I have ever been there, but I can dream, can't I? I pictured warm golden colors and sunlight and charmingly aged floors and walls. For the background of my journal page, I decided to use a base of turmeric teabags with the biggest stencil (9"x12") done in white.

Dried, empty turmeric teabags ready to be glued to a journal page.

I got to work spreading matte medium on the blank page with an old credit card, placing on the teabags, adding more matte medium on top, and scraping off the excess.

The first row of teabags was applied to the wet, matte medium covered page.

Eight turmeric teabags covered the page perfectly.

Little pieces that were snipped off the top of the teabag (so that it could be emptied) add interest to the background.

White acrylic was applied through the stencil with a makeup sponge.

Once the white paint had dried, I carefully applied VersaMark on top of the 6'x6"stencil, sprinkled on some of my Emerald Creek Baked Texture embossing powder in chunky rust, removed the stencil, tapped off the excess powder, then blasted it with my heat gun. The rust, white and turmeric colors  were perfect together. (I was having such a good time and so far into my "zone" that I forgot to take photos.)

It needed a little more oomph, so I searched through my boxes of ephemera to find just the right item that said 'Tuscan kitchen on a sunny, relaxed day' and auditioned a bunch of items. I finally settled on some birds that I cut from les Oiseaux, a beautiful Florentine paper available on Gwen's website. I carefully tore the birds out of the paper, added antique linen Distress Stain to age them, and edged them with a touch of brown chalk ink. Next, I used gel medium to adhere the birds to the page.

Birds were cut from the gorgeous les Oiseaux Florentine paper.

I was feeling like the page should hint at a window, so I added an edging, at the bottom, of one of Gwen's Art Deco Border designs to suggest the window ledge. Again I used the VersaMark, but this time I sprinkled champagne-gold embossing powder. As final touches, I added small white sections of the fluer de lis, a little gold on  the tips of the the rusty fluer de lis, and with my fingertip, a bit of yellow ochre paint to blend the birds into the background.

I am so glad I took the plunge and joined the Stencil Club! I want to spend the whole weekend playing with the new Stencil Club stencils, which I am sure are going to be among my favorites. I can't wait to see what interesting stencils arrive in the months to come!

"A Tuscan Summer Day" journal page