I’m not exactly sure when I met Jennifer Ferguson online, but I do know that I greatly enjoy our correspondences. I first knew of her years ago when she was a frequent guest of The Carol Duvall Show — she taught how to do these pretty filing cabinets. I’ve since been a fan of her work and thought that I would profile her studio and stencil lines. She also has a few books out with clever titles such as Trashformations: Painted Treasures from Salvaged Stuff and Painted Whimsies.
The Artistic Painting Studio is located in Fresno, CA. Jennifer teaches her workshops using the Faux Effects product line and limits her classes to six students to make sure she has quality time with each student. About her school she says, “I teach everything from basic beginner to advanced techniques in all areas of decorative finishing. Classes include faux finishing and plaster techniques for any surface — some finishes incorporate the art of stenciling but not all.” She has two stencil lines: The Stencilled Garden and The Black & White Collection. Here are a few pictures from her gallery:
Q: Do you have a favorite class?
A: My favorite new classes are the cabinetry and modern/contemporary finishes. We have online samples for each class offered.
Q: How do you go about creating a new stencil line?
A: I’m always drawing down my own ideas or if I see something that inspires me. From this collection of ideas, I start creating line drawings of different designs and sometimes even hand cut stencils to make sure I like the results before sending them to the laser cutter. The last collection I created was called the “Black & White†collection which are all single overlay designs cut in 10mil mylar for the purpose of plasters and heavier based materials. I have many more ideas in my files – I’m hoping to introduce new designs by the end of 2009. (pics following are from the Black & White Collection)
Q: Do you have any favorite websites, blogs and/or message forums?
A: I don’t spend too much time on the Internet – just not enough hours in the day! When I have a moment, I always check out Muralsplus and The Atrium Online. Anyone can go to Muralsplus but you do have to be an IDAL member to belong to Atrium Online – both sites are very informative and comfortable for me. I know many of the community on both sites. I also love to surf for blog sites – I usually start with your site and then just wonder from there, going from one to another.
The above are some of the class sample boards. I do hope you take a moment to look over the Artistic Painting Studio. This month she is also having specials with different stencil designs, so I hope you can take advantage of the offers – savings are savings!
BONUS: Mention “Fauxology” when you purchase a stencil or a studio class and receive an additional 5% off your purchase.
Cool, huh? Thank you, Jennifer! Jennifer also writes a cool newsletter with how-to’s and faux industry updates — sign up on the home page but feel free to check out the newsletter archives. Please be sure to click here to see her class offerings and schedule. She will also be teaching Urban Loft and Artistic Cabinetry at the IDAL Convention in Memphis, TN – it’s her 15th year teaching at the convention. I’m glad we had the opportunity to interview her — hope you enjoyed our brief talk and that you take advantage of the extra savings offered this month! We’ll talk soon!
