Do you use stencils in your art? I do. Stencils are one of those tools that I just can’t quit.
Watch this artist vlog all about it:
Stencils Come and Go from the Rotation
My relationship with most art supplies is cyclical. There are periods where something completely takes over my studio and my brain and then, just as quietly, it fades into the background. Sometimes it comes back. Sometimes it doesn’t. And over the years, I’ve realized that this ebb and flow isn’t a problem to solve. It’s just how my art practice works.
Stencils, however, keep looping back.
I’ve gone through many stencil phases: intense enthusiasm, designing stencils, using them constantly, teaching with them…followed by stretches where I barely touch them. And then one day, almost by accident, I’ll pull a stencil out again and think: oh right… you’re amazing.
What keeps bringing me back to stencils in art isn’t novelty. It’s flexibility.
Stencils are Flexible
A stencil can act as a strong focal image, creating something that feels complete all on its own, as in both this face stencil and the floral design:
It can also disappear into the background, leaving behind texture, pattern, or negative space, as in this example where I used the two stencils you see pictured below:
Sometimes the most interesting result isn’t what prints through the stencil at all, but what’s left behind after it’s removed, as seen here on these tags:
You can also use the same stencil over and over with slight tweaks to get different results:
Which leads me to….
You Are the Boss of Your Tools
One of the most freeing realizations I had with stencils (and honestly, with art in general) was that I didn’t have to use the entire thing. I could isolate a small section.
I could make a smaller pattern bigger.
I could abandon the “finished image” entirely and just take what I needed.
Stencils don’t need to be finished. They don’t need to be used correctly. They don’t need to be used completely.
Stencils Offer Me Easy Contrast
I love contrast. Hard edges against soft marks, manufactured geometry against hand-painted layers…it’s so yummy! This is a recent 16×20 gelatin print using plastic and paper stencils.
Stencils in art do something my hand simply can’t do, and I like that tension. I like when different kinds of marks push up against each other and create visual friction, as in this mixed media collage I recently finished:
Repetition Does Not Mean Cookie Cutter
I think a common misbelief is that stencils dilute your voice as an artist. Playing devil’s advocate for a moment, I’ll say that they can. Especially if you only use commercial stencils and never mix them with any of your own mark making or images. And if you only use them in the exact way they were meant to be used. But, if you use stencils as a tool, that’s just not true.
Stencils don’t erase your voice as an artist.
They don’t make the work less personal.
Stencils are a tool—no different than a brush, a plate, or a favorite color. Your voice lives in the decisions: what you choose to use, what you choose to ignore, and when you decide you’re done.
A Few Stencil Videos
If you’re in a stencil phase right now, here are a few older videos where I go much deeper into the how of working with stencils:
- Stencil Storage Made Easy
- The Fastest Way to Stencil
- Stencil 101: Avoiding Roll Under with Stencils
- How to Get Great Results with a Stencil when Gel Printing
There are more than 100 free stenciling videos on my YouTube channel, so check them out!
Tools Have Seasons
I also think it’s okay if stencils aren’t exciting right now. Tools have seasons. Something that feels flat today might make perfect sense later, when your work is asking different questions.
For me, stencils in art are less about mastery and more about permission to experiment, to repeat, to crop, to change my mind, to walk away, and to come back. That’s probably why they keep finding their way back onto my desk.
If stencils are part of your art practice right now, I hope these resources are useful—and if not, they’ll be here when you come back.
PS: Be sure to check out the stencils I designed for Joggles. It’s a great release with lots of possibilities!
