Arts and Wellness - Homemade Masks Selection

Welcome to Arts and Wellness post.  It is important to make sure that you are taking part in a creative activity on a daily basis, pretty much as you would exercise, get fresh air, eat your fruit and veg - creativity, is on that list (well at least it is for me).

When you spend additional time on a daily basis in an activity that can either take your mind off events, or help you express how you feel about the events or anything else that is going on in your life it will definitely have an impact on your health and well-being.  I have also been making time for reading, and other creative projects that allows me to come whole to my creative practice.

I have also spent quite a few weeks when the Covid 19 virus started to grow in the news looking at ways in which, if needed I could create my own protection, especially in light of the shortage of masks for those who were on front line services who are exposed to the virus more frequently than I would.

Making Masks

I decided to make a mask and you can see what things I considered that were more suited to how I wanted the mask to fit me.

 

After mark 4 I came up with one that felt comfortable and effective for me.  You don't need a sewing machine to sew them and they are really easy to put together.  

Let me know how you get on, do you have a favorite out of the ones that you have seen.  Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Recycled projects - Paper Stencils and masks

I came across a tutorial by Martice Smith II which was quite inspiring, it was her intricate paper stencils and gift wrap ideas, where she creates a stencil and uses some of the designs in making your own customized wrapping paper.

Always one for having a go I thought I would make a few of my own.  I guess it is similar to paper cutting, which I never thought I would have the patience for, you can get some really intricate and beautiful designs.

For these I took some construction paper which is quite thin that had been used on one side, you can use any type of paper you like, and it is a great way to use up those pieces of paper that you would put in the recycle bin. To cut these I just used a pair of scissors, making it easy to get instant results, you could also use paper punches in some areas.

Keep the designs simple to get really great results

After you have folded your paper into a triangle and then folded a further two times you can mark out a simple design on one side.

Cutting away areas on the paper 

Cut them out, and voila you have some lovely stencils and masks below that you can use in a number of different ways.

Paper stencils - one of my favourites

Squares cut out gives an interesting design

I couldn't resist doing a few more

Simple shapes create lovely effects

and here is how they turned out

The simple designs are the most effective

 These can be used as a stencil or a mask when using the Gelli plate but the possibilities are endless!

I am going to use these to create some more Gelli prints - see my previous Gelli prints tutorial, and I will show you how the designs look on Tuesday and I will probably use these background papers to decorate some handmade books I am toying with. I will also show you how you can take the stencil once you have used it in a mixed media background.

Do check out Martice's site, she has very generously shared some of her designs in a free ebook, you need to sign up to access.  Have fun and allow your creativity to soar!