Mineral Paper and 9" x 12" Stencil BLOOMING WHERE PLANTED

Today's post was created with my 9" x 12" stencil Blooming Where Planted. 

Above:  On the StencilGirl website, this image is rotated 90 degrees clockwise.

When I ran across a You Tube video about using stencils with mineral paper, I was stumped:  Mineral paper?  What's that?

Turns out, it's been available for about 5 years already!  It comes in tablets like the one shown above.  And it comes in three sizes.  If I remember correctly, it's made from calcium carbonate.

There were two reasons I wanted to try this paper -- (1) A sheet is thin and translucent enough for a stencil to be placed under it for the technique of dry rubbing; (2) it wall accept wet media without warping.

I did three quick tests ...

For my first approach, starting with the photo below --

-- I slid my stencil under the paper.

Next, I used a China Marker (grease pencil) to do a dry rubbing across the top of the paper.  You can click on the image below to enlarge it, to better see details.  I chose a China Marker for this first approach because I wanted a medium that would repel water.

Above:  I sprinkled the surface with alcohol ink.

Above:  I added rubbing alcohol and tipped the paper to encourage running.

Above:  A close-up of the paper after it had dried.

For my second test, I pulled out watercolor pencils.  This time, I wanted to use a dry medium that would be soluble in water.  The photo below shows the dry rubbing created with these pencils.

The next step was to spray the surface with water.  (I was to discover I'd used too much water!)

The photo above is a close-up of the final results, after the paper dried.  Because I'd sprayed on more water than needed, the effect was a washed-out look.

(If you think I learned my lesson about a heavy trigger-finger on the water spray bottle, you would guess wrong!) 

Above is the start of my third test on mineral paper.  This time I used Art Bar crayons.  These were the easiest to use for the dry rubbing technique; because they can be laid sideways, they reduce the number of strokes across the top of the paper.

The photo below shows my water spray bottle and my box of Brusho powdered pigments.  Other brands of powdered pigments are available; this happens to be the one I have on hand.

 Next, I sprayed the surface with water -- again using too much! -- as shown below left --

Above:  I sprinkled Brusho powders onto the wet surface.

My photo (a close-up) below shows the final result --

Of today's three approaches, my favorite is this last one.  But next time I'm hoping for better results overall.  I really like this paper and I want to do it justice!

Thanks for visiting here today!

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