International studio (33.1907/1908(1908))

Mr. Norman Garstin on Stencil Cutting

ON STENCIL CUTTING: AN
OPEN LETTER FROM MR.
NORMAN GARSTIN.
Dear Mr. Editor :—When I accepted your
invitation to write something on the subject of my
stencils I had hardly realised how difficult it is to
speak of one’s own work without falling into the bad
taste of a seeming egotism, or the absurdity of an
affected modesty, more particularly when the matter
was one of such small importance as these few
essays of mine represent. Still, as you persist that
you would like me to say my say in the matter, I
will try and steer as simple a course as I can, but
first I wish to explain that these examples of mine
are only Christmas cards designed with the double
motive of pleasing myself with an excursion into
(to me) a new technique, and my friends with a
little memento of good fellowship with which to
mark the calendar of our years. In this way you
came to have them, and if your friendship has
warped your judgment it is not the first time such
a thing has chanced in the history of art.
You ask me to say how I do them. This
reminds me of the Irishman who on being asked
how a cannon was made said, “Oh, ye jist take
a hole and pour iron round it.” Substitute
colour for iron and you have the stencil, but
in both cases it is the hole wherein lies the
difficulty. The cutting of stencils is an art
that can be carried to almost any degree of
delicacy, from the lettering on a packing-
case to the delightful pictures which you
published this summer by Herr Jungnickl,
which seemed to possess all the qualities of
admirable draughtsmanship with a depth
and mystery that raised emotions untouched
by the most intricate and beautiful pattern-
work of the Japanese—those past masters
in the art.
It is this possibility of producing some-
thing pictorial and not merely designs, admir-
able though they be, that seems to me a
delightful and somewhat unexplored region
in the very closely populated art world.
The stencil as a means of producing and
multiplying your work has much to be said
for it. The apparatus is so simple,—a knife
and a few brushes (flat topped) is about all
one wants for the old-fashioned methods —
but with the air-brush or the syringe of
Herr Jungnickl’s method, a little more com
plication results.
But the mental and artistic discipline which
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the stencil entails is even more valuable—it is the
most severe and exacting master of simplicity. It
teaches one how to sweep away all that is trivial and
unnecessary ; it shows one the value of broad, flat
tones combined with accurate drawing, and proves
conclusively the vital importance of composition.
Then its power in helping us to a good selection
of colour is a distinct point because, having the
drawing fixed, one can experiment until one arrives
at a harmonious combination. That it is extremely
delicate and difficult, and requires patience and
neatness of handicraft, is also in its favour, for it is
certainly not an artistic short cut, and is not likely
to be vulgarised by a host of cheap performers..
To anyone who is so uninformed as to the pro-
cedure of stencilling that my advice might be of
service, I offer these few remarks.
Having chosen some simple decorative design
you must, if you wish to work it in several colours,
think out the various plates, the greatest care being
necessary to avoid the ever-present difficulty of
stencil-making, which is of the same nature as that
which meets one when trying to cut out the letter
O. The centre drops out and ingenuity must be
exercised so as to retain essentials without the
clumsy device of unmeaning straps. Care must


STENCIL CHRISTMAS CARD

BY NORMAN GARSTIN