{points of two week #34: number play!}

 

Points of Two is an experiment in journaling with myself and Roben Marie! Check out our archives to see the previous weeks' pages.

This week, we decided to play with numbers.

I was reminded a few weeks ago that I do, in fact, own several sets of beautiful brass stencils, each set an inch or so apart, with letters and numbers that duplicate just enough to make signs. So when this prompt came up, I grabbed my box of 2” stencils, grabbed a bunch of random numbers, and started stenciling with my Copic airbrush.

Which is tons of fun. One of my favorite effects (and there are several) is being able to make graffiti with it. “Graffiti?” you ask. “You can do that with spray paint!”

And yes, you can! But the spray size on spray paint is perfect for doing so on buildings or other large surfaces, while our journal pages and canvases are much smaller. Airbrushing lets me get those awesome spray painted words at a smaller scale, meaning it looks awesome in a way I’ve never before been able to achieve.

This translates to the stencils, which I purposely sprayed off the edges of. I love that look — it’s almost like using a mask instead of a stencil.

Most of the numbers are going off the page. I like using letters and numbers as images, bits of added visuals that are captured for their shape, not meaning. By going off the edge, you not only add the illusion that something exists outside the boundaries of the page, but you purposely remove part of the recognized shape — yes, the brain can fill in the blanks, but you’re only guessing at that point. They’re no longer numbers, but bits of interrupted imagery.

Of course, I couldn’t pass up the jumbled set in the corner. Overlaying them in the same color has the same effect as running off the page. And why use numbers only when the # is also read as ‘number?’ I’ve been learning about making patterns through repetition with stamps, so I just went crazy with a discovered set of number stamps.

And do you notice the date is on here twice?

Overall, I love this page. The numbers add a certain degree of chaos, which is exactly how my brain feels today.

Materials: acrylics, scrapbook paper, copics, airbrush, pencil, pen, & stamps 

And Roben-Marie's page! Be sure to check out her blog for her story!