The Stencil Class

First off, let me say I woke up at 4 am before this class thinking of all the things that could go wrong with a room full of #11 exacto knives and cans of spray paint.

I imagined trips to the emergency room and overspray on the hotel walls.

Rain and wind and bad alignment of the stars. Because this was a class that took a lot of work on the part of the students.

I tried to cram so much into it.

We cut stencils and collage papers and had to compose them. We sprayed our stencils on plain decorated paper first.

And then cut wee little paperdoll clothes for our images.

It was demanding and we had to keep busy every moment.

For that reason I didn't get photos of all the student work and many of the photos I did get were poor.

But I'm including as many as I can because I think the work is wonderful.

The students looked rather horrified when they heard all that was expected of them.

But look; didn't they do wonderful?

And everyone agreed that if we had an extra day the next group would be even better as we learned so much about how the cuts work and composition and all of that.

After all that work we encapsulated our stencilled collages under a layer of encaustic medium.

So we even got to play with beeswax.

Some of us stippled and all of us got to spray and see which we liked best.

It was an amazing experience.

And next time I teach this class I promise to make it a tad easier.

Would the lady with the vintage wallpapers please contact me? I forgot to pick up my paper pack at the vendor sale. Love the vintage wallpaper.

A big hug to everyone willing to play with me and try my zany ideas. I love each of you. xo