Journal
Random Musings on Art and LIfe
As we begin our tour of Rubbing Plate Roundup, I just couldn’t resist showing you a super-sized rubbing I made from a patio table in Chapala, Mexico. It’s slightly off topic, but Paintstik Rubbings are the first chapter in the book. (Wink, wink!) You’ll just have to pretend along with me that I’m working from…
At the beginning of my art residency here in Chapala, I created a stencil from an image of a dancer, and then painted her up using my extreme stenciling technique. She was quite lovely in the shimmering iridescent Paintstik colors, but I wanted to give her dress a bit of pizzazz. So, I dug into…
A couple of weeks ago, I spent a day with Zahava Sherez and Joan Bowers, two of the artists here in Chapala for the Residency Program. Zahava arranged for a driver to take us to Tonola and Tlaquepaque, both on the outskirts of Guadalajara. Our first stop in Tonola was to meet Salvador Vasquez,…
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Victoria Schmidt suggested that we visit her friends Janice Kimball and Francisco Urzua in the neighboring town of Ajijic. Janice is an artist, writer and designer of tapestries and Francisco is a master weaver in the old tradition, working on a loom that has come down through generations…
In a previous post, I showed you how I made a stencil from sign maker’s vinyl using an image of a Folkorio dancer. Today, I’ll show you how I added really bright color using Paintstiks, a brush, and my fingers. Yes, you read that correctly. While I do most stenciling with a brush, the technique…
My big goal for my Personal Art Residency in Chapala is to learn to use my Silhouette cutter. I purchased it more than a year ago, but have done precious little with it since. I decided that my first task should be to cut a stencil and paint up a piece of fabric for a…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In a previous post, I talked about testing paint colors before starting work on a big project. Today I want to talk about a different, and perhaps more important, test that can save you from untold hours of unhappiness. With the new high-tech tools available today, we can make a scale-model of a design to…
Last week I shared an article by Nancy Kazlauckas about how she tests Paintstik colors for a project. I’m not quite as methodical as Nancy, but I did use her color testing method before I started painting on my big 3-panel project. In this case, a couple of hours up front saved me a lot…
by Shelly Stokes, Founder and Creative Mentor One of the students in the Totally Textured online course asked for advice on choosing Paintstik colors for a piece of fabric. Now, I have to admit that I usually “go with my gut” — choosing colors by instinct rather than some set plan. And that’s not terribly…
Today I want to propose a new Universal Law of Art Physics. Are you ready? The New Law is a nice simple equation, kind of like Einstein’s E=mc2 that describes mass-energy equivalence. But, unlike theoretical physics, I know you can relate to my New Law. Without further ado, here it is: Say what? Let me…
I did a ton of stitching over the holidays. With my deadline in sight, I have a serious case of Git-er-Done fever. My backside would be happier if I could stitch while I’m standing up, but that’s one skill I have yet to master. The only downside to all of this stitching, other than a…
by Shelly Stokes, Founder and Creative Mentor No, I have not totally lost my mind. Blue fingers really are happy fingers. And if you must know, it’s because Susan Cleveland says so — and she’s right! Susan Cleveland (another crazy lady from Minnesota) and I had a little confab in my hotel room during Quilt…