Folk Stencil Doorstep

"There are doors that feel as though they're leading you,
pulling you, to somewhere enchanting". ―HeartFireAtHome

There are three reasons I began this project.  First, I wanted to get rid of the old, cracked concrete paint that has greeted us for twenty years on our front doorstep.  Second, I wanted the step to match not only the painted lintels of the windows on either side of the door... but also the recently added folk-painted shutters on the second floor dormer windows (click here to see them.) And the final reason is that I have been attempting to make my inner appearance match my outer appearance on all levels of being...I know...a lofty goal.

I have always wanted my house to be a reflection of myself.  When I thought about adding a painted stencil to the entryway, it made me think about doorways and what they mean.  I asked myself the question, "What would a folk-painted doorstep imply to someone entering or exiting my house?"  What came to me was "When you enter this house, you are entering a magical space."  I wanted the step to welcome people into our home and to communicate that you are entering a sacred, enchanting, and delightful abode.

And it occurred to me the same was true in reverse,..."When you are leaving the house and stepping out into the world, you are entering a magical space."  Every time a person leaves the house, the step is a reminder that the world is full of splendor, if one has eyes to see it.  In a sense, the step would be a visual mantra to look for beauty on one's path. You are entering a magical space whether you are coming or going!  

"The door is always a threshold for wonder". ― Unknown

PROCESS

Old Paint Removal

When we bought our house twenty years ago the front porch was covered in old, chipping concrete paint.  Just last year we paid a contractor to remove the paint.  They were not overly successful and did not scrape the entryway step at all.

So, for my birthday this year, George borrowed my neighbor's heated paint remover (thank you Mark) and spent many hot days trying to remove the paint.  It was not easy, but it is one of the best birthday gifts a girl could get IMHO!

PAINTING THE STEP

 I spent A LONG time chatting with the man at Sherwin Williams about the best paint to use.  He told me not to use a primer if people would be stepping on the paint, and to simply use their floor paint straight onto the stone.  One problem we encountered was the floor paint color match was not the greatest.  I took the paint that we used on the lintels and they tried to color match it, but the base used for floor paint was a little different.  You can sort of see in the photo below, the step paint was more "purplely."  I ended up buying two different colors and mixing them to try to remedy the situation.  In the end it worked OK, but I wish I had made more to use to seal the stencils.  I just barely had enough. 

STENCILING

Determine location

The first step was determining the location of the stencil.  I measured the entire step and put the middle flower exactly in the center.  If I had it to do over again, I might have centered the whole thing where the two doors meet, which was slightly different.  In the end no one will notice but me.  But it's something to think about if you are reading this and considering your own project.  Please note my adorable supervisor inside...also, yes, I am wearing my ridiculous mosquito net getup because they were eating me alive!

Base coat

The next step, which is super important, was to paint a layer of the base paint color.  This helps to seal the stencil and prevent leakage of the colors beneath the stencil.  (I have also read you can use Mod Podge for this.)

Thin layers

It is also best to do thin layers of paint.  I did three layers and later learned it is best not to let things sit too long.  Do each layer as soon as the paint dries and then take it off ASAP!

Remove stencil

  Below you can see the first stencil worked fairly well, with only a few spots needing touch-up.

“You who long to step over this threshold, do you know what awaits you?”

― Ivan Turgenev

Clean stencil

I planned the design so that I could flip the stencil around to the left side and line up the flower.  I spent a LONG time scraping the paint off the stencil using an old credit card.  When George got home he said, "You could have just rotated the stencil instead of flipping it over."  I don't know why that hadn't occurred to me.  But as I found out later, it is always a good idea to clean the stencil even if you simply rotate it (or make multiple stencils!).

Rotate stencil

 Here you can see the stencil rotated and ready for the next round of paint layers.

Front stencil done!

I was pretty happy with the way everything went on the front stencil.  There were touch-ups to be done, but overall things went pretty smoothly.

Top Stencil

 After completing the top stencil on the right-hand side I decided to chance it and not clean the stencil before using it on the left-hand side.  

Stencil disaster!

 As you can see below, I had what I would call a stencil disaster.  When I went to remove the stencil it was seriously stuck.  When I tried pulling on it, I could see the paint was stretching the design and even pulling up the base paint!  I was a bit distracted because George was making a video of me pulling it off.  I probably should have stopped sooner and gotten an exacto blade...which I eventually did...but not before causing some damage.  It did help tracing around the edge of the stencil with the exacto knife, but I didn't like cutting through all the layers for longevity reasons.  Any time you create an opening you are creating a space for water or dirt to get under your paint.  I wasn't sure if the cause was not cleaning the stencil or leaving it on too long or a combination of the two.  You really can't see how bad it was from the photo below.  

I was also worried the whole darn thing was going to peel off.  When we lived in Houston we painted our kitchen cabinets with acrylic paint.  It turned out the cabinets were originally painted with oil paint, and it all just peeled off the next day.  That memory kept terrorizing me.  To keep it at bay I decided to forge ahead with my touch-ups, shown below.

VIDEO

Below is a short video of the entire project from start to finish.  It is quite satisfying to watch the stencil being removed.  Turn your volume on! (Music by Hung Tran from Pixabay)

Polyurethane

Because of the stencil disaster, I made sure to seal the whole thing with polycrylic.  Hopefully this will keep any water or dirt from getting under the stencil where I might have cut it with the exacto knife.

FINISHED

It is super satisfying to compare the before and after photos below.  As you can see by my decorations, summer turned into fall during this project.  

“Once you cross the threshold,
you will never be the same.
That is a fact.”
― Kamal Ravikant

I'm not sure how well you can see below, but the front step now matches the shutters!

“You come to these thresholds in your life where you need to remember
why you do what you do, to reconnect with yourself.”
— Neneh Cherry 

There always comes a point in every project where things get "a little rough"...in this case "a little sticky."  I have to admit I had a meltdown when I thought the whole thing might peel off.  I was frustrated and I remember saying to myself, "I am tired.  I am tired of doing hard things.  Why do I always choose difficult things?"  I think it is an important point to ponder.

My sister reminded me that I love to create beauty.  And its true, I am always on the lookout for beauty and joy in this world...and it feels like a deep calling to create both in whatever project I am working on.  Why?  I think it's a way of reconnecting with who we really are at the core of our being.  These projects are a way of bridging the inner and the outer.  The process might not always be easy...but through the overcoming of obstacles and the very act of creation we come to know ourselves one small step at a time.  We come to realize we are joy...we are beauty itself.  

"The purpose of craft is not so much to make beautiful things,
 as it is to become beautiful inside while you are making those things."

―Susan Gordon Lydon

A big thank you to my husband George who always encourages and supports my crazy projects.  Also, thank you to Mark for loaning us your heated paint-removing tool.  And thank you to Tiffany and Brian for cutting the stencils!

Taos Sketchbook Workshop

In June of 2025 I attended Amy Bogard's travel sketchbook workshop in Taos, New Mexico.  I attended the same workshop in 2012 and loved it.  That was the very first time I ever used watercolor!  It seems like ages ago in some ways, but at the same time also passing in the blink of an eye.  Before the first trip, Amy taught me how to make my own watercolor journal.  This time I didn't have a chance to make one.  But I did apply an old cigar felt to my cover (seen below).

Our class was again held in the Juniper House at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. If you ever visit Taos, you must visit Mabel's!  It is a historic property with quite an interesting story which you can read about here.  My room was in the Juniper house this year and so each day I made my way downstairs to our light-filled classroom with the beautiful wooden vigas running across the ceiling.

Amy Bogard has now been teaching this class for over a decade, and she is masterful at her craft.  I learned watercolor from her and have taken her Guatemala trip two times (first trip, second trip)... and hope to go again this spring!  She creates the perfect space... just the right amount of activity, slow time, and fun time.  And she meets each person exactly where they are at.  Plus, she is hilariously funny and has a wonderful sense of style as you will see in my sketch below.

I drew the first image in my sketchbook before the trip (at the top of this post).  I selected a photo of a cholla cactus I had taken in Santa Fe a year ago.  I have always loved the plump cholla fruits and wanted to draw them.  I made the drawing with the intent to not outline it.  But after I finished the painting, it felt like it needed more definition.  So I couldn't resist getting out the micron, and as you can see, it definitely made it pop more.  But I was still wanting to explore a less "cartoony" look.

Penstemon

With that intent, on the first day I decided to draw the penstemon flowers that I had seen blooming everywhere in New Mexico.  I absolutely love the stunning lavender flowers stacked tightly along the central stalk.  I began my drawing trying not to outline at all.  But in the end, the light lavender flowers needed a little more definition.  I grabbed a sepia micron to see if I might like that better than black.  Overall this wasn't my favorite sketch; again more cartoony than I wanted.  But the good thing is, this is the exact place to experiment with this kind of thing.

***********************************************

Beauty Way

And so the next day I was determined not to use any outlines.  Amy led us outside to sketch in the courtyard of the Juniper house.  I was immediately attracted to the berries on the ivy growing up the adobe walls.  I did a pencil sketch and took a photo as the sun was burning me up!  Inside I added color in the way Amy taught us that day.  She encouraged us to first paint any color except the actual color of the plant we were drawing.  So I chose to paint orange and purple first.  Then I came back in the with green afterward.  I loved the effect!

"Today my heart will have harmony,

My spirit singing the songs of happiness,

My mind will seek balance,

One with Mother Earth and the Creator,

My eyes will look for good,

And there, I will find it,

My mouth will whisper the words of gratitude,

Today I will walk the Beauty Way."

—Howard T. Rainer, Taos Pueblo Creek Indian

***********************************************

Ristras

My next page was inspired by our walk to dinner in town.  On the way I noticed a building that had a ristra (dried chilies) hanging on the wall.  The door to the building was so tiny-looking and was painted blue.  I just read today that the blue doors in Taos are supposed to keep out evil spirits.  I think the doors are beautiful and cheery and can see why unhappy spirits would be deterred.  After I sketched the building and the big ristra, I had an empty vertical spot on my page.  I filled it with a sketch of the St. Francis statue I had seen at Jackalope in Santa Fe.  He is found everywhere in New Mexico, always tending to some animals.  

"It's the most wonderful place you can imagine...

It's so beautiful there it's ridiculous."

—Georgia O'Keefe

One of the fun exercises Amy had us do was to paint little icons.  You can draw anything that tickles your fancy and then edge it in gold.  She also asked us to make an extra icon for a card for the staff at Mabel's.  I drew two butterflies in the indigo batik style that I love.  Below you can see the effect of the gold edging.  It doesn't always show up when you photograph it straight down.  Adding this gold edge started my obsession with painting a little bling on almost every page.  Taos seems like a magic place to me and the hidden metallic element seemed a perfect way to capture that feeling.

***********************************************

Om Guadalupe

My next pages were inspired by the Virgin of Guadalupe postcard that I bought in town.  I pasted it into my sketchbook and copied the motif in the postcard to surround it.  It was my first time using gouache.  Amy loaned me her paints to try, and I am definitely interested to do more.  It has been a goal of mine for a while now to try them, but they are a bit more tricky if you want to keep them in pans as they can dry out.  You can always squirt them out of a tube, but I have become accustomed to the ease of the watercolor pans.  She had a nice setup with each color in a little vial that was sealed when you shut the lid of the whole container.  

The right-hand page was inspired by a few different sources.  The rabbit border came from a plate I saw at the Couse historic house that we toured one day.  Walking home from that tour I noticed an "Om" windchime hanging on a door and took a quick photo to sketch back at the studio.  You can't tell from this scan, but I used the metallic paint on the bells and it creates a really nice effect in the light. 

"Stop the flower of your words,

Open the window of your heart,

and let the Spirit speak."

—Rumi

"All forms are the Mother.
The Divine Mother has the whole universe in her."

—Adilakshmi

The corn painting was the very last image I painted in the whole book.  I was going to leave that space empty, but every time I flipped through my book it bothered me.  I knew I needed a vertical form that would connect with the quote above it.  Corn was the perfect shape and I liked to imagine that whole universes of colorful kernels magically appear when you open the leafy ears of corn.  I had also tried posole (nixtamalized corn kernels, aka, hominy) on the trip and found it delicious!  Below you can see I tried to photograph the gold edging before I pasted it into the book.

***********************************************

Bighorn Sheep at the Gorge

One evening after dinner someone in our group proposed a spontaneous trip to visit the gorge.  Taos is about a ten minute drive to a jaw-dropping gorge where the Rio Grand begins its journey.  When we parked the car we could see people in the distance looking at something.  Then we realized they were looking at bighorn sheep!  We quickly scampered out to have a closer look, and I couldn't believe how close we were able to see them!  We were probably about 15 feet from two of them nibbling on vegetation. 

We watched the two for a while and then took a walk out onto the bridge that spans the gorge.  When we returned to the parking lot we got to see about nine males rubbing their heads against the bushes.  We had pretty much finished watching them when all of a sudden we heard a very loud "CRACK!"  Two of them were butting heads and fighting!  That got our attention, and we again watched them for another fifteen minutes or so before heading home.

"In some Native American traditions, bighorn sheep are seen as guardian spirits, associated with the sky and connected to cosmic regeneration.  They represent a source of spiritual guidance and protection." (LiveScience.com)

The bird symbol above was drawn from an incredible carved wood door of a storefront in Taos.  

***********************************************

Couse Sharp Historic Site

The Couse-Sharp Historic Site was the location of the home and studios of two famous Taos artists, Eanger Irving Couse and Joseph Henry Sharp.  We took a two-hour tour of this historic property and it was amazing!  The original building was a chapel built in 1835 by Juan de Luna.  When the Couses bought the property in 1909, it had grown to seven rooms.  In 1915, the Taos Society of Artists was formed, with Couse and Sharp as two of the founding members.  Both men were incredible painters and built studios on the property.  While looking through the website I came across black-and-white photos on them.  When I saw the following photo of J.H. Sharp I was moved by the incredibly kind nature that came through the photo... so much so that I decided to sketch them both.

Eanger Irving Couse (Left) and Joseph Henry Sharp (right)
Photos from Couse-Sharp.org.

"Think about the drawing, the color, the composition;
don't work without thinking equally about all these things,
because nature, your only real master,
has forgotten nothing."
—E.I. Couse

The house still has much of the original furniture and art that the family lived with throughout their years.  I was particularly struck by the painting below that Couse did of his wife Virginia.  She had wanted to be an illustrator, but due to eye trouble "she relinquished her pen and brush for shovel and hoe; the soil became her canvas and flowers her colorful palette" (WomenOfTaos.org).  Below are the two paintings I sketched from the house.

Peonies (left) by J.H. Sharp, Virginia Couse (right) by E.I. Couse

I also want to mention our tour guide, Steve Talley.  He gave us a really informative and lovely tour.  At some point in the tour he mentioned he was also a painter.  I looked up his Instagram and WOW!  His skill and love of painting came through the tour, and I had to include a small sketch of him in my book (above spread, bottom right).

***********************************************

On the next page I drew a few of the flowers from the garden at the Couse property.  "Over 100 years ago Virginia Couse planted the first seeds in  the 'Mother Garden of Taos.'  It was one of the earliest flower gardens in the area and was generously shared with the town.  She would give seeds and seedlings to newcomers to town, so they could start their own gardens." (WomenOfTaos.org).  I also added a sketch of my classmate Sandy.  Sandy was from New Hampshire and was a joy to sit next to the first couple days of class.  I am hoping she comes to visit me soon. 

The plate on the following page was also from the Couse house.  It was my favorite plate from the whole trip (and I LOVE plates... and there were a lot of good ones!).  No one understands my Rumi quote because I only put half of the line.  The complete line reads, "You should wish to have a hundred thousand sets of mothwings, so you could burn them away, one set a night."  It is a quote about longing, and every time I read it, it strikes a chord in my heart.  If you want to read the whole passage in its entirety, click here.

The motif above (lower right) is from a leather bag I bought in Sante Fe a couple years ago.  I needed a horizontal band of something and I happened to see the details of the bag one day while stretching on the floor with the cats.  You never know when inspiration will strike!

***********************************************

My next sketch from the Couse house was the image below on the left.  It was a motif from the marble fireplace.  I liked the simplicity of the design made with just holes.

Whenever I travel to New Mexico, the stores are full of wooden saints or painted icons of saints.  And I am always on the lookout for a particular one that is hard to find.  My Grandma's favorite saint was San Martin De Porres.  He was a Peruvian friar noted for his kindness, his nursing of the sick, and his charity.  He was an animal whisperer and the patron saint of mixed race people, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony (Wikipedia).  I knew I had to create a drawing of him in honor of my Grandma and Dad.

The right hand image is best explained by the following poem.

Rabbit Paints

In the land of Taos where the desert dreams,

Our sketchbooks filled with adobe scenes—

With ink and wash and dusty boots,

We painted bison (and their... attributes).

Then Amy B. appeared one day

In pants that took our breath away—

Not silk or cashmere from Fifth on Sax

But adorable hares on cotton slacks!

“Rabbit pants!” we cried as one,

And knew our sketching day was done.

Forget the brush, forget the tree—

We had a fashion emergency.

So down the road we marched in glee,

Led by our bunny muse, Amy B.

We found the store, we struck gold twice—

Cathy and Amy P. paid the price.

Now three stood proud, in pants of bunny,

The furry joy that can be bought with money!

Those rabbits gave each other the eye, 

I daresay they did multiply!

I knew that this, I had to draw—

six legs, twelve bunnies, I was in awe!

This does conclude our cotton tales

Hasta luego mijitas, and happy Trails!

—my 1st poem written with AI collaboration

 

Above: Gold detail of San Martin
Below: Rabbit Pants!

***********************************************

Buffalo

One of the things I had been looking forward to on this trip was visiting the pueblo to see the buffalo.  Since my last class in 2012, Amy has become friends with a member of Taos Pueblo named Harold.  Harold generously offered that we could come and visit him and the buffalo early in the morning when they are still close to his house.  Due to the unusually rainy weather, our trip to Harold's was cancelled two days in a row.  But luckily, on our last day, Harold said it wasn't too muddy and we could come out for our visit. 

Harold warned us to speak softly as the herd would probably leave when they noticed us.  Just as he said, as we rounded the corner and saw the herd, they all stood up and started running.  It was pure joy to see the handful of little ones darting amongst their families.  And it was amazing to see such large creatures galloping through the field, although they were dwarfed by the mountain behind them.  I so enjoyed seeing them.  A big thank you to Harold for letting us visit.

"What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.
It is the little shadow that runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset. "
—Crowfoot

I bought a notebook in Taos that had a lovely motif on the cover.  I thought it was a perfect image to pair with the bison.  (Notebook design by Robert Tenorio of the Kewa Pueblo, can be purchased here.)

***********************************************

One of my goals for the sketchbook was to draw everyone in our class.  Penny was the last person I illustrated, and she was the only one where I didn't use a pen... and I thought it was the best one!  Penny also gave me Mabel Dodge Luhan's book, "Winter in Taos."  She purchased it and read it before we left for home.  I am now almost finished with the book and have loved her description of life in Taos in "the early days."  

"up here under the sky,

winter and summer,

one can lie in the sunshine

and bathe in it until

untied are the knots in the heart,

for there is nothing like the sun

for smoothing out all difficulties." 

—Mabel Dodge Luhan

Above are Penny and Jeannie's sketches in more detail.  I have to admit that drawing people is not my favorite thing.  But the idea came about one day in the Couse house.  Steve Talley, our tour guide, was talking about how Couse had visited Europe and was inspired by the use of dramatic light by the masters, such as Rembrandt.  As he was talking, I looked over at Jeannie and my jaw dropped.  Jeannie was lit up like the sun in such a dramatic and beautiful way!

"Beauty encodes the structure of the cosmos." —J.M. White

On the way to the workshop, I drove the High Road to Taos.  I stopped in Las Trampas at this gorgeous adobe church.  The name of the church is San Jose de Gracia Catholic Church, and it was built between 1760 and 1776.  The sign next to it said the parishioners periodically re-mud the adobe walls which are as much as six feet thick.  It is considered one of the best preserved examples of Spanish Colonial architecture in New Mexico. 

I also had to include a sketch of the blanket I bought in Taos.  The very first day I was too early to check in at Mabel's so I walked around the square.  I happened to notice a gorgeous blanket in one of the windows.  I assumed it would be too much and thought I'd put it out of my mind.  That is until the final day of our trip.  A group of us decided to do some last minute shopping and somehow I found myself at the Six Hand Hat Store.  Of course I had to ask the owner if the blanket was indeed for sale.  And it was! And at a price I could afford!  It seemed too good to be true.  I still wasn't sure I should do it and all the girls found me at the store and convinced me I should purchase it as friends are wont to do.  I am now the proud owner of a vintage wool Saltillo blanket.  Every time I look at the blanket it brings me joy.  And as I worked on drawing the motif, I found the motif was working on me. 

"When I looked down at the image I had just drawn of a folk design from an old Mexican blanket, I realized the design was "me."  It's hard to put it into words exactly, as the image was not human... but a pixelated embroidery flower.  The Mexican blanket had two rows of woven flowers.  Due to the nature of weaving, the flowers were squarish in their design... reminding me of the old space invaders Atari figures.  Nevertheless, when I saw the shape, something ancient was remembered in me.  That shape lived at the core of my being... and I loved it."
—writing from my Mythopoetic Awakening class

***********************************************

Mabel's

When I got home from the trip I made a list of things I still wanted to draw.  The list was long... maybe twenty items or so.  I knew I wouldn't be able to sketch all of them, but thought I would give myself two weeks or so to finish up.  I put stars next to my favorite items on the list. 

I am not a quick illustrator.  As one week turned into two, and then four, I was starting to feel like I needed to finish this project up!  Sometimes I'm not sure how long to let myself go... because the ideas are endless.  But there is only so much time.

The very last starred item on my list was Mabel's.  However, I knew that I didn't just want to do a small, quick sketch like I did last time.  I wanted to do a whole two-page spread!  I knew if I thought about it too long I wouldn't do it.  Sometimes you have to push all thoughts away and just proceed.  And so I printed my photo out to size and did a light tracing of the basic outlines.  It is a simple step that usually gets me going.  The thing that took the most time was the trees and vegetation.  I altered them a fair amount from my photo to make the house more visible.  I also like to give them a little character. 

I wish you could see it in person because the photos don't really do it justice.  In fact, the whole post seems that way to me.  I especially liked the metallic watercolor elements that don't easily show up in a photo.  Below I tried to show the way the light reflects the paint.  Hopefully you get a sense of it, although you can't see it on the chicken weather vane which IMHO was the perfect use of metallic paint.

I truly can't put into words how much I love staying here.  On my first trip here, my friend Christina stayed in Tony's room.  His room is the one on the second floor with the incredible covered patio shown in the image below.  I have also stayed in Mabel's room and hope to one day stay in the solarium, the very top room with all the glass windows. 

So much time and energy went into this sketchbook.  At the end I scanned all the pages, and thought I would make a video.  I spent hours one night listening to A LOT of music.  I wanted to find the perfect song.  I didn't want it to be Mexican music, but New Mexican music.  In the end I narrowed it down to three songs, all of which were perfect.  I literally had to call my friend Tiffany to ask her to help me narrow it down (Thank you Tiffany... you always tell it like it is!).  All this said to encourage you to turn on your volume while you watch the video!

Conclusion

Sometimes I question my sanity.  Why spend so much time on something very few people will ever see or read?  I do it because it is my work to do... and it brings me great joy.  And because I have been blessed with the time and means to do so.  I absolutely love walking around with the intent to find beauty... to see what catches my eye.  No one but me can make those decisions.  No one but me knows what I love.  This work helps me to know myself.  I imagine it is my assignment to go out into the world and feel what tugs at my heart. 

I know for sure that the biggest tugs on my heart this trip were the women who took this journey with me. There is nothing like the magic that happens when a group of women comes together with the sole purpose of creating.  The bonds that are formed and the stories that are shared create an intimate atmosphere of safety, joy, and love.  It was a precious gift to spend time with these beings and I hope to see them again in Guatemala! 

A deep heartfelt thank you to Amy for creating this space for us. 

Photo taken by Steve Worley

"Do not leave your longings unattended." —Austin Kleon

I would also like to thank our dear friends Bruce and Nancy who hosted me before and after the workshop (and loaned me some wheels to get there!).  In addition, a big thank you to my husband George for putting up with my sketching obsession the past month, and for always supporting my artistic endeavors in a thousand ways.