"Ghost Printing" and other Applications for TWINSHIP

Twinship L268 is what I titled my 9" x 12" mask shown below.  That title bloomed in my head after I took a photo of two wire baskets hanging side-by-side on a sunny wall.  The twin side-by-side baskets were casting elongated shadows.  This mask is derived from that image.

 

Above:  Altho listed as a "stencil," this is a mask.  In another post, I'll show the difference between the two.  I've posted on this in the past, but the latent English teacher in me feels that the topic deserves a repeat.

Artist Judi Kauffman has used Twinship L268 in many projects, and today's first photo shows a particular favorite of hers.  The original scrapbook paper that she used as her substrate came pre-printed with a soft cloudy blend of colors -- just what she wanted as background for the muted print she made with my 9" x 12"mask Twinship L268.  

Judi's muted print, also known as a "ghost print," was made using Twinship L268 while it was still covered with wet acrylic paint from its use in another project.  

"Ghost printing" works exactly like printing with a rubber stamp. 

Right after using a stencil or a mask in the usual way, the stencil or mask is often still covered with wet paint.  Why waste that?  Just follow Judi's lead and flip the stencil or mask over; then quickly press it to another paper or any other substrate (stretched canvas, etc. -- whatever you're creating your artwork on.)  

Note of advice:  For me, it works best to place scratch paper or a stiff paper towel atop the back of a stencil or mask when pressing it down to make the ghost print.  

Another tip is to use a hard rubber brayer to press the still-wet stencil or mask to the substrate.  Rolling over the scratch paper or stiff paper towel makes for a sharper imprint and uses more of the leftover paint. The barrier paper works to keeps the brayer clean.

Above:  This celebration of colors was printed on an over-sized scrapbook paper.  The slight overlap in pattern creates additional interest -- so don't be held back by the size of your gel plate!  Printed papers like this are to die cut or to incorporate into collage and mixed media projects.

Above:  3 picture postcards created from prints made in dramatic, bold dark tones. These post cards measure 4.25" x 5.5".

Above:  Four more 4.25" x 5.5" picture postcards that celebrate the drama of darks against lights.

Below:  This simple Twinship print of mine was made with acrylic paint on papers that had a past life as a sheet of foreign newsprint.

Below:  a collaged greeting card cover of mine; the pictured flowers pay tribute to a magnificent magnolia tree that once stretched branches over our driveway. For this project, I Photoshopped a photo of those heavenly flowers and reduced it to gray and white.

Below:  More pieces of that red-on-grey print were used in developing this collage on watercolor paper ....

Another way I've used Twinship has been to create a look of "holes" in sections of paintings on stretched canvas.  On the project below, I applied paint in selected areas, then placed the mask over those areas and using a soft rag to rub out areas of paint that remain visible in the mask's openings.  When the paint is still partially wet, the rag can be used dry.  As the paint begins to dry, this "subtractive" technique still works when the rag is water-dampened. If the paint has dried completely, that rag can be dampened with rubbing alcohol.  When using alcohol it's important to (1) work in a well-ventilated area and (2) work slowly to avoid removal of too much paint.

Lots and lots of thanks for visiting this blog today!  And yet another thank-you to my artist friend Judi Kauffman, for sharing more of her art.

To scroll thru the pages of my masks and stencils at  StencilGirlProducts.com, please start here.