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