Monday, June 23, 2014

StencilGirl Blog Hop Featuring NEW Artist Orly Avineri

Do you believe that stencils can heal?
I don't know if I actually believe that either, I mean they are just Mylar after all. I do know that the day I used Orly's new stencils, I was working through some issues and it seemed like they had a magical effect on me because I gained instant clarity into my situation. It must have been the stencils, right?
I'll be frank. Orly's stencils probably aren't for everyone. They are intense. They are raw. They are beautiful. The symbolism is rich. These are stencils that make me think and I absolutely adore them.
Here are some of the ways I've been using them.
First of all - to make backgrounds. Those intricate bits are so gorgeous, I can see using them literally all the time.



 Deli Paper anyone? I had some extra paint on my palette and made a collage bit.
And here is the spread that I did. I used several of the stencils and love the way they work together as well as separately. The drips are pretty darn fab if I do say so myself. You know with 'real' dripping you lose control.  (I mean duh, rigth?). This is different because you can place it exactly where you want. Does that make me a control freak, wanting to 'place' my drips? 

Take a visit to everyone in the Hop and be sure to enter comments for our contest. And if you don't win a set of the stencils, just hurry over to StencilGirl and get them for yourself. I think you will be pleased. You can see all of Orly's new stencils HERE.


Monday, June 02, 2014

StencilGirl, Linda Robertson and Enkaustikos Blog HOp

Last year I was fortunate to attend encaustiCON in Santa Fe, a meeting of the International Encaustic Association. I had been invited to present a demo/class on 'Addressing the Substrate' and felt truly honored to be among some of my encaustic heroes like Linda Robertson. She was so authentic and down to earth, I instantly liked her and felt a connection. Naturally I gave her stencils because I knew she liked them and wanted her to use ours.
Enkaustikos Linda Robertson set
Flash forward.  Linda was working with Kathryn Bevier from Enkaustikos to create a kit of materials and wanted to include a stencil, ultimately she picked Pippin's Dragon Flower.  
Imagine my delight when they went this awesome kit for me to try! Wowzers!! In addition to all the items shown in the picture above, this Set includes video downloads from Linda. And I am here to tell you they are awesome. She is a terrific teacher and her Set is well worth the money. 
Here are some shots of the project I made. 


I started out with the fantastic cradled substrate that was furnished (nice!!) and randomly use the Enkaustikos paint and medium to build up a background. These paints are SO loaded with pigment, they really go a long way and I enjoy the Snaps format, you can snap off a bit at a time so nothing is wasted. 
Being the abstract person that I am, I decided to use Squared On, a stencil of my own design that is a real 'go to' for me. I placed the stencil on top of my piece and painted the encaustic paint over top the piece, moving the stencil several times and fusing in between each layer.


Next up was the Pan Pastel. Oh my is this blue ever a gorgeous color! Once again, I place my stencil and used the Sofft sponge to apply the Pan Pastel right on top of the wax. It simply 'grabs' the wax in and a quick fuse is all you need to add this delicious pigment. LOVE using Pan Pastels with wax.


 I then played with the other tools furnished in the kit, namely the pointy tool and the scraping tool. These both allow you to pull back some wax and create interesting texture effects.


 Here is a close up of some of the texture I obtained.


And finally, here is the completed painting.

In my opinion, this kit is a wonderful value. It includes everything you need to obtain fantastic mixed media results with your encaustic work. The paints and tools are super high quality - no corner cutting here!! And you are going to love Linda's instruction. A class and supplies, what more could you want?
Before you leave, make sure you comment to win the prize from StencilGirl Products and Enkaustikos!



Giveaway includes:
(4) 9" x 12" Stencils from StencilGirl Products Retail Value $56
(3) Online Lessons from Linda Robertson (RobertsonWorkshops.com) Valued at $45
(1) Collection of Wax Snaps and Hot Sticks from Enkaustikos Valued at $75
All to ONE lucky winner!!
Giveaway will close on June 8th at 11:59PM Central Time. Every comment in the hop is eligible for the giveaway. The more blogs you comment on, the more changes you have to win. One comment per blog please.

Blog Hop Order