Stencils are not something I use frequently. I considered a wide variety of materials to use as a stencil, quickly I noticed the opportunity to blend digital and traditional techniques. The pattern seen in the images below comes from a digital model rendered in Rhino, built using an algorithm in Grasshopper. In grasshopper I used the Voronoi partition to triangulate points on a surface. This diagram is dual to the Delaunay Triangulation, you can read more about how that works here. The geometric angles were rounded, referencing the cell structures found in nature.
To make the stencils I used the Epilogue Fusion M2 laser cutter. Its bed is 28” x 40” so it is considered large format and has the ability to cut through material as thick as a quarter inch.
I made a paper sandwich starting with a 12” x 18” Bristol board, then placed one sheet of 8”x11” handmade cotton, two sheets of cotton abaca mix, one sheet of cotton abaca, and coffee fusion, and a flimsy piece of pure abaca on top. Gently I made sure everything was centered and taped down the edges In total six different sheets were stacked. The laser cutter had no problem with the thickness, all the cut shapes smoothly came out with a little shake.
For this series of prints, again I used the Charbonelle Aquawash Ink. I positioned the cut Bristol sheet as the main stencil. I figured since it is a heavier weight paper it could last for many sessions to come. I did encounter issues with the thickness of the paper, when trying to pick up the ink in the negative space the pressure of my hand roller was not heavy enough to press the paper into the cutout areas.
I did several experiments to see what kind of imagery I could pull up using the different weight papers as the stencil. When little ink was picked up, I used the hand press directly on the paper, the thickness of the stencil produced an embossed effect. When I removed the stencil, the opportunity for a ghost print looked good, using the 400 series dry mixed media paper I was able to get a clear transfer.
As I continued to experiment I used some other laser cut pieces to build up layers of different stenciled shapes. Again, it was challenging to have an evenly pressed color transfer. Another issue I encountered was the shifting of the paper on top of the stencil. Even when it was taped down the paper still moved because of the multidirectional pressure of the hand press.
I am excited to continue finding new ways of incorporating digital elements in this part of my art practice. Stay tuned!
Papers on the laser bed after cutting was complete.
Layers of cut paper in variable configuration.
Ready for printing with Bristol paper stencil and aquawash ink.
Ghost print after the first attempt using 400 series multimedia paper.
Other stencils layered.
Ghost print backed by orange stencil print. Printed on handmade abaca paper with aquwash ink.
Abaca and cotton mix paper stencil with charcoal black aquawash ink.
Handmade cotton paper with shifted stencil pattern using charcoal black aqua wash ink.
Embossed by pressure of hand help press.