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.

New Year, New Studio, New Class

Whether it's because September is the start of a new school year, or because so many of my childhood classmates celebrated Rosh Hashanah, this time of year always signals a new year to me.  I know it's only mid August, but I'm ready for the end of Summer and new beginnings.

We live in a large Victorian farmhouse that is too large for just the two of us.  The kids are grown and flown and only come home for the occasional garden clean-up weekend, Thanksgiving, Christmas.  We don't need this much house.

garden bed needing weeding

But a large house lived in by two packrats, has a large amount of stuff.  The process of getting it ready to sell is, well daunting, to say the least.  I have an art studio in the house (plus a barn full of creative and antique treasures).  My husband has stuff.  And over the years we have spread out, so there isn't a room without clutter!  All this has to be cleared out for the house to show to advantage.

cool stuff, but in such a cluttered state, who knows what's there!

A week ago I decided to move my art studio downstairs.  Where it was located was better viewed as a bedroom -- upstairs and near a bath.  Where I am moving is better viewed as a den and on the first floor.  It's a beginning nod to eventually staging the house.

Instead of moving everything that is art-related, I've just moved the supplies I use all the time -- paint, stamp pads, washi tape, glitter, paper, scissors, etc.  I figure if I don't move anything else in here for the next three weeks (except what I specifically need for projects and classes) it will help me clutter-clear the old studio, barn & various craft supply hiding places!  There are way too many of those in my life/house.  I have three tall IKEA bookcases and I am determined to fit everything I need in them.  If it doesn't fit, out it goes.  I need to be ruthless.

On Monday, I started a new online class called "Mastering the Layers," all about gel plate printing.  It was a great impetus to make the new studio a place I could work and learn .  Check out the link to see all about the class and a fun video with the teacher Carolyn Dube.

This is just the paper I used to clean off my brayer.  I love the colors and imagine with what I learn in class I will be able to turn it into something special.