Our customers are ALWAYS finding new and creative ways to combine decorative paint techniques with ornamental patterns and stencil designs on unique surfaces. We like to applaud these innovative artists in our Stencil Star™ series, which seeks to showcase creative artists worldwide and their inspired work. Today we feature the fun and lively Kathy Wear of Artistic Finishes in Tennessee!

ABOUT KATHY WEAR

Kathy Wear is the owner of Artistic Finishes in Tennessee.  Artistic Finishes specializes in custom wall finishes and hand troweled plasters as well as murals and decorative concrete.  Kathy has won numerous awards over the last 10 years including six awards for Best Faux Finish from the Middle Tennessee Builders Association for her work in the Parade of Homes. She was recently named one of the top three decorative concrete artists in Nashville. Her work has also been published in many local and national  publications and also been featured on Southern Homes and Lifestyles TV.

Fabulous ceiling she stenciled with a custom Modello™ Designs stencil pattern and a great color scheme!

What draws you to Stenciling?

I am drawn to stenciling because I can really customize the work I do for my clients as I try to never do the same finish twice.  My clients love the fact that they have something unique to their home.  Over the past few years I have done many stenciled ceilings and more recently I have done quite a few floors.  Doing a stenciled ceiling or floor can add a very dramatic focal point to a room and turn a plain space into something fabulous.

Kathy creates Custom Commodes™ for her clients which use metallic foils and leaf combined with our Modello™ Designs vinyl stencils!

How does Stenciling enhance your creative business?

What I love about stenciling and using Modello® Designs masking stencils is that I can talk with my clients and designers and get a sense of what they are looking for in the space and then create a drawing and send it to the Modello team. They customize it into a beautiful work of art and I use this to create exactly what my client wants.  The last floor project I completed was a joy to work on!  I worked with Melissa at Modello Designs to do a large custom border stencil on a very irregular shaped alter floor and it fit like a dream.

This stunning faux marble floor was created with a concrete overlay, one of our Modello™ Designs Ornamental Tile vinyl stencil designs (OrnTil180) for the large center element and additional custom designs.

Please share your top Stenciling Tips with us.

My top tips for stenciling are, number one DON’T be intimidated!!  It is not hard to do.  Once you get in the swing of things it progresses very quickly.  If you are using a Modello® Designs masking stencil, be sure to have you measurements correct. If you get these right, your stencil should lay down quite easily.  Any small gaps or errors that may occur can quickly be corrected by a bit of blue tape.  If I don’t personally prepare my substrate, I always roll on a quick coat of Guardz as this way I can be assured that the stencil will pull off quickly and cleanly.  A second pair of hands and eyes  is always helpful when laying the stencil.  So, try it!  My favorite part of all is when I pull the stencil and reveal the beautiful design!

Kathy is no stranger to glam, custom works! You can see her unique treatment above with an Ornamental Stencil border (OrnBor125) around a niche and below with a canvas created with a Modello™ Designs vinyl motif stencil from our Art Deco Collection (DecMot120).

We hope you’ve enjoyed seeing Kathy’s beautiful work and inspiring creativity with both our Royal Design Studio stencils and Modello® Designs masking patterns!  You can find more of her work in her Artistic Finishes website!  If you’d like continued inspiration, don’t forget to visit our Pinterest boards filled with design, pattern and finish ideas and our Facebook fan page for stencil projects and more!

 Another fantastic  Stencil Stars™ showcase! Our latest Stencil Star is Texas-based Heather Sanders of 5th Wall Surface Design, an incredibly talented artist who applies stenciled design patterns in creative ways on various surfaces.  We’re proud to feature her stenciled decorative painting projects! We love to share our customer’s use of our Royal Design Studio mylar wall stencils and Modello™ masking stencils on walls, ceilings, floors and more and are always looking for new artist’s to feature. Don’t be shy…..shoot us an email with YOUR projects and you could see yourself featured here too!

This outstanding feature arch and wall had a little help from a Modello® Designs Eastern Border vinyl stencil (EasBor344) along with handpainted elements and Swarovski crystals! We love the dreamy colors and find this a great way to accent a nice niche!

ABOUT HEATHER SANDERS

Heather has been working in the decorative arts industry for over 10 years now.  She and her partner Sam manage their decorative finish studio, 5th Wall Surface Design.  They enjoy the interaction with their clients almost as much as they love the work they do! Based in Rollingswood, Texas, their company offers a full-range of decorative and stencil finishes.

Stunning Modello™ Designs Marquetry finish using our MarqAll105 pattern — you can see how amazing the results are! You can learn this faux marquetry technique for wood, cork and more with our fab tutorial manual.

What draws you to Stenciling?

I will admit that when I first started in the decorative painting world, I refused to use stencils.  I felt that it was “cheating” in a way.  And I spent hours laboriously hand painting the same scrolls and flowers that I now employ in my stencil work.  At some point, it occurred to me that despite the cost of the stencils, I could save a LOT of money on labor, and also achieve a very clean, exact design.

After our first custom order,  I was hooked!  I also realized that I could add hand painted detail to the stencil work, but not spend hours measuring and making templates.  I love the ease of use and the fact that I can achieve a beautiful “custom” work of art in a matter of hours now with Modello® Designs.

(above) An incredible ceiling that add depth and size with pattern!  A Modello™ Designs Ornamental Center vinyl stencil was used with a wonderful neutral color scheme! (below) A different Modello® ornamental center stencil pattern graces a ceiling with a striking color scheme.  You can see how Heather uses color and pattern expertly to add great interest and dimension to spaces and places that are calling out for attention!

How do you determine which pattern will work for your project?

There are many factors that influence our pattern choice.  Of course, the customer’s style is first and foremost.  We take into account the scale of the room and area to be embellished.  We also look at repetitive patterns occurring in the drapery, floors, furniture, etc…  I also have certain stencils that have become my “go to” designs when all else fails.

The Large Feathered Damask stencil from the Allover Ethnic Stencils Collection adds fantastic color and pattern to this space. Heather used a “drop shadow” stencil technique to add extra dimension to this look. Find out how to create a drop shadow stencil technique on our website here!

Please share your top Stenciling tip with us.

My favorite method (right now) is to do a base of plaster, because it seals up the stencil and doesn’t bleed like paints and glazes do.  It  adds a beautiful dimension to the design.  It also gives me a raised surface to add hand painted work to, which cuts down on the touch ups.

(above) One of our Modello™ Designs Ornamental Center stencils (OrnCen170) pulls double duty! On the left is a beautiful plastered hood and the right has the design stenciled onto glass. (below) An incredible rusted dome ceiling created with Modern Masters Metal Effects products and our Floral Medallion Stencil Set B.

Heather and Sam of 5th Wall Surface Design are truly creative with patterns on any surface and we always love to see their gorgeous work with our stencil designs!  Do be sure to keep up with them on their Facebook page, 5th Wall Surface Design.  Many thanks to them both for sharing their finishes and projects with both our Royal Design Studio stencils and our Modello vinyl stencil patterns!

Don’t forget to pin these images to your boards for inspiration — and check out our Pinterest collection of design, pattern and finish ideas! You can always catch great new projects in our Facebook page, too!