The challenges in November were all about stencils, stamps and masks and I liked getting my templates and ink out last week – it had been a while.

November 7
November Theme: Stencils, Stamps & Masks
Art Challenge: Stencils – Made or Bought
Journal Prompt: On the edge of uncertainty… what are you afraid of?

Most of my stencils show abstract patterns. I like those the most as I can use them over and over again. On this page the red stripes (bottom left) and the red circles (to the right) are made with a stencil. I started this page with the idea of putting a figure on the edge of the stripes but I didn’t like that much (you can still see some sort of black figure on the red stripes) so I went with the flow and this page is what came out.

November 14
November Theme: Stencils, Stamps & Masks
Art Challenge: Use a Hand Carved Stamp
Journal Prompt: Tapestries

For my hand carved stamps goes the same as with the stencils: I like the patterns (and hand carved alphabet stamps) best. I used a pattern stamps on the left and at the top (the border/stripes) but I also took out my ‘hand-stamp’. I stamped with red paint but it didn’t show very well, so I outlined the image with a white Signo uni-ball pen.

November 21
November Theme: Stencils, Stamps & Masks
Art Challenge: Use a Mask
Journal Prompt: “Mask”arade

This page shows a mask that I made myself. I found a fashion photo in a magazine and liked the silhouet, so I cut it out of plastic to use as a mask. It’s quite outstanding, and I don’t use it much, but it did well on this page. The quote is by Frank Sinatra and fitted the image.

November 28
November Theme: Stencils, Stamps & Masks
Art Challenge: Combine the Three (Stencils, Stamps & Masks)
Journal Prompt: “Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” ~ Henry James

For the challenge “combine stencils, masks and hand carved stamps” I started with a page that I already had in my stash. It was an orange-yellowish page that showed a white figure. The colors ánd image felt quite happy, so I added more color to enforce that feeling. For the green/blue circles (flowers?) I rubbed paint through a stencil. For the purple images I used Julie Balzer’s stencil “pomegranate” and purple spray Dylusions spray ink. I used hand carved stamps in the border.

Are you following any projects, challenges or workshops this year? Did you in the past? Do you ever give up or get behind, and how do you handle that? I’d like to know.