Stenciling with Seth Apter

Well, he wasn't actually here, but his designs were and  I loved using them!

 I use a traveler's notebook as a catalog for my art supplies.  Instead of putting samples in my catalog, last month I gathered the stencils and dies I have that were designed by Seth Apter and made this page in my art journal.  To get the full scope of this stencil I needed a larger space.  And his designs all work so well together, it was fun to use them to get creative.

I used acrylic paint for the stencils.  Book pages and gel prints from my stash for the die cuts.  The background is spray inks, water based stamp pads, and a generous amount of water spritzed on. 

 Close-ups of mixed media pages

I added my signature handwritten French paper scraps.  

Stickles and Liquid Pearls for  dimension.

This month's StencilClub from Stencil Girl is a mash-up between
Seth Apter & Mary Beth Shaw.

How could I not sign up?

Distress inks in rainbow colors applied thru the stencil

Scribble writing with dip pen & permanent ink.

There was so much juicy color left on the stencil, I spritzed it with water and laid the back side on the adjoining page.  Alone it didn't look like much, specially where the yellow inked images were.  But by scribble writing over the stencil, the light colors stand out and I got to write out some of the things that've been bothering me lately.

Rescuing a Tough Day

Yesterday was a particularly difficult day for me.  Last week I called an out of state friend and shared that I was so sad about the current state of our country.  Her response of "Of course you are, dear," made me feel connected.  At least I wasn't alone.  She shared prayerful thoughts and inspirational things to read.  I felt better for awhile.  However, this week I've felt very alone again.  I've been in what a teacher friend of mine calls an "ugly head space" for months now.

At the end of June I shared with a friend how bad I felt about George Floyd's death.  Over the years she and I've gone out to lunch, talked about a lot of things and I really thought she would say something like, "Of course you do, dear, so do I."   Not her response.  Not even close.

I've been trying to sort this friend's response out ever since.  My sorting out has been very clunky.  It became all about me.  Was I clueless about a friend?  Does it say something about me to have a friend who made racist comments?  If we go out to lunch again, do I say something?  Will I ever want to go out to lunch with her again?

I got a call from my daughter yesterday evening -- at the end of the "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."  I was not giving my usual cheerful responses and finally my daughter said, "What's wrong, mom?"  Over the years we've had loads of conversations about social justice.  She's a very thoughtful young woman, who keeps me on my toes about what's right.  She's taught me a lot and corrected me when I've said thought-less things.  Last night all she was was loving and supportive.  She gently suggested that maybe I was just feeling sorry for myself, and then, working to make me feel better, shared all the things she does or doesn't do when she's feeling sorry for herself.  She shared that when she feels hopeless it's because it doesn't look like things will ever get better.  But, she said, things are getting better, even if there's more to do.  And she reminded me there are things I'm doing to help make the world a better place.  She actually said almost the same things my husband had said earlier in the day.  Somehow coming from her I was finally able to hear them and feel better.

My new mantra is from the Dalai Lama:

"If you think you are too small to make a difference,
try sleeping with a mosquito."