First Friday Artist: Seth Apter

Detail of Stenciled Page

Seth is a wonderful artist and a fantastic community builder and supporter of art and artists through his blog The Altered Page. Many of you know him through teaching, his blog and his two books: The Pulse of Mixed Media (in which I'm proud to be included) and most recently The Mixed Media Artist. Here is Seth with a tutorial using stencils in an unexpected way.

Art products are like boomerangs. They may disappear for a while but you can always expect them to return. Stencils, for example, are having a renaissance. Today’s stencils are made of high quality material, have artist-driven designs, and are being used in new and innovative ways.

I am always experimenting with stencils in an attempt to find new ways to use them. I have recently been using stencil resists as a way to create background pages and add to my stash of designed paper to tear up for collages. In my exploration of possible products (all of which were already in my studio) to use for the resist technique, I discovered the Sharpie Meanstreak Permanent Marking Stick. This is a fade resistant, waterproof marker with a thick tip that is very effective for resists. Be aware though that while this marker is non-toxic, it does have a strong scent.

As a demonstration, I painted a piece of watercolor paper with acrylic paint.

I then used my three stencil designs from StencilGirl Products (Story Time, Unfinished, Numbers) and the Sharpie Meanstreak to create the resist. I simply placed sections of the stencils on the paper and rubbed the Sharpie over the stencil cuts. The application is imperfect but that only adds to the uniqueness of the final design.

I then created acrylic glazes by mixing Golden Fluid Acrylic Paints with Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid. I brushed the glazes over sections of the paper and used a paper towel to pull some of the glaze off. The area that was covered with the Sharpie designs resists the glaze but not so much that you are left with a stark white design. Note that the more glaze you pull off with the paper towel, the stronger the resist. 

Thanks for this fun tutorial, Seth. How neat to see the evolution of this page. I'm going to be on the lookout for Sharpie Meanstreak markers. Can't resist a good resist :) Here is Seth's workshop lineup for 2014.

Have a happy weekend everyone. xo - Diana

 

Comments

[Darlene Campbell]

Love this stencil of yours SEth...actually I was using this very one yesterday.
Had no idea about the Sgarpie Meanstreak..but will try it!

Diana, great first Friday events. Thanks! I think I've told you before but when I need a good art pick me up I always sit and browse through your book,Journal Spilling.

[elle]

Happy New Year, Diana. I have never heard of these markers either and will also be looking for them. Thanks, Seth, for the heads up on these!

[Wendy @ the Late Start Studio]

I was curious enough about the marker to find out a little more . . . just LOVE white markers. Apparently I can get it here in NZ and it's promoted as a "Permanent marking stick that works well on cold, wet, greasy or oily surfaces. Writes underwater and on concrete, metal, plastic, rubber and glass." No wonder it resists the glazes. AND it comes in yellow! Cool! I hope Sharpie appreciates the advertising!

[Karenliz]

Love, love the resist with that marker! I must find one! Thanks Seth for sharing your technique as always it's truly appreciated.

[angi eharis]

love that seth! always making the best connections for me and always sharing and inspiring! aloha, angi in hana

[Aloquin]

This is awesome! Thank you for sharing, Diana! I love the artists you feature here!

[Robin Parton]

Love your piece, thanks for the tutorial.

[Jo Murray]

Certainly a good tip. Great result Seth.

[froebelsternchen]

FANTASTSIC !

[Mary C. Nasser]

Fabulous stencils and art by Seth!
Great seeing the process!

[Renee Zarate]

Going to see if I can find this marker today. Thanks for feeding my addiction. Great tut, wonderful colors.

[QuinnCreative]

Resists and stencils are an irresistible combination!

[Laura Spano]

Great post Diana- I'm getting back into the swing of things after a setback this year, and this is the first blog I went to. I did manage to go to Seth's class December 7th and am going to bring the pages I made to the next meetup. See you then. Best, Laura S