Brave-Strong-Worthy

Art journaling is good for the soul. Picasso famously said: "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." When I want to regroup, relax, and re-center, I grab an art journal and start working. Sometimes I start a new page, sometimes I just make a background. Sometimes I paint, sometimes I collage. Sometimes I'm neat, most times I'm messy.

Some of the July 2018 Stencil Club designs from Gwen Lafluer

This journal page started when I received my very first shipment of stencils from the Stencil Club, an offering from StencilGirl. I was fortunate that my very first Stencil Club experience was with stencils designed by Gwen!

I started working on two pages side by side in my journal. The one on the right developed into a beautiful golden Tuscan Summer page. The left side was covered with old book pages and vintage handwriting printouts, then a repeating mandala stencil was added in white.

Two unfinished pages side by side in my journal. On the left, vintage papers and on the right, turmeric teabags.

The white medallions add a subtle lacy feel over the vintage paper collage.

I knew I would eventually use the unfinished page, but it sat in my journal unfinished for a few weeks until inspiration struck. 

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. Pablo Picasso
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/pablo_picasso_162882

The spark that got me working on the page again was "happy mail." I had just received two gifts: some beautiful paper hand printed by Gwen Lafluer using gold paint with a wood block, and some gorgeous papers and vintage images from fellow artist Darlene Campbell. I decided to try to use both items together.

The hand printed paper, vintage image and roll of washi tape with vintage images.

First, I carefully cut a strip of the black and gold paper. I placed it on the background with the vintage image to see how they looked. They seemed to work together: both had a feel of art nouveau and the black, gold and sepia tones were harmonious.

Step 1

Next, I edged the photo with sepia ink and decided on a tilted placement. I used a glue stick to adhere the papers to the background. Next, on the left bottom of the page, overlapping the photo, I added a bit of thick washi tape with vintage handwriting.

step 2

The page was shaping up, but it needed something horizontal, so I tried a strip of antique looking measuring tape from my washi stash.

step 3

The page still cried "more more more" to me so I added one of Gwen's art deco/art nouveau corner stencils with Emerald Creek gold embossing powder. I also used some sepia archival ink and white acrylic with  her ornamental petals stencil/mask design, which added more interest to the page, but still kept the vintage/sepia feel.

I felt it needed words so I used some small Dina Wakley stamps that said brave, strong, and worthy and placed them around the page. The words were strong, but they were small and got lost a bit.
I decided to use the same words, but make them larger.

step 4

To make the big words, I used one of Gwen's stencils called "not afraid to try" and adapted the letters to spell out the words I wanted. The e and g were a little tricky since they are not part of the stencil, but I fiddled with the o to create an e, and stenciled an a, then flipped the f to get the curve of a g.

For a finishing touch, I poked holes with my awl, then added three black mini brads.

detail of awl, holes and mini brads

When I look at the finished page, I feel calm and peaceful. The colors are soft and earthy, and the vintage image is serene. The words remind me of my inner strength, and that I am indeed brave, strong, and worthy.

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