My Stencil Art!! A Tutorial for Beginners!

Here I have written a basic tutorial on how to print stencil art on t-shirt. I have tried various methods mentioned online, and after some basic changes, I have developed this very simple and efficient method :)

Things you need:

1. Some A4 size transparency sheets. (used for presentations)

2. A simple box cutter.

3. A cheap 20 - 40 watt soldering iron.

4. A simple printer for black and white prints.

5. Spray Paints.

6. Masking tape or Duct Tape.

7. Scrap papers, tissues and newspaper.

Step-1:

Take the picture you want to stencil, and convert it in to black and white through microsoft word or adobe photoshop after messing around with it. Its easy to figure out the right combination of black n white through grayscale editing of picture.

Step-2:

Print the picture on a white A4 sheet using any cheap printer.

Step-3:

Tape a transprency over the sheet, and fill any remaining missed stops with black marker or whitener fluid.

Step-4:

Switch on the soldering iron, and when its hot enough in 2-3 minutes, just trace over the transparency sheet on picture.

Step-5:

Simply pull off the transparency sheet from the paper, and use the box cutter to cut any remaining smaller parts missed by the soldering iron. Your stencil is ready to be tested.

Step-6:

Place your stencil somehwere, and test it. I use my rooftop to test new stencils.

Step-7:

Put some stick-on glue on back side of stencil, and place it on an ironed t-shirt and press it, till it sticks, with no opened spaces. Use the masking tape to cover the sides with newspaper and scrap paper.

Step-8:

Spray 4-5 times in layers on the t-shirt from a distance. I find the 'flat black' spray paint to be the best as it has rough texture, and it does not smudge or cross t-shirt layers.

Step-9:

For miniature stencils, glue the stencil as told before, and use the liquid acrylic paint and use a small paint brush andcover the stencil with single strokes in same direction. This not only saves paint, but also provides a very sharp image. The important thing is to use minimum layers of paint when using the brush, so it wont smudge or scrape off later.

Precautions:

NEVER handwash a spary-painted or brush-painted t-shirt.

Preconditions:

Be creative, and outrageous!! ;)

ADAM AND EVE STORY - SOME QUESTIONS!!

I am basically surprised at the illogical approach of average joe when it comes to rationality in belief and religion. To believe in something is everybody's right, and am not against it but the point here is to be as curious in asking religious questions, as one would be in asking questions in a medical school.

Lets talk about the story of Adam and Eve in a little detail. I will not try to delve in to the anatomical mystery of how Eve was created from Adam's bones, since even the imagination makes it seem funny. The interesting point however here is not about who ate apple, and who was the culprit, BUT in fact the real questions arise after Adam and Eve supposedly came down to earth. Islam, Christianity, Judaism and all monotheistic religions have taught us that Adam and Eve had three kids Cain, Abel and Seth. Most Muslim students learn the story of 'Habeel and Kabeel' in their early school days, and how one killed the other. But nothing is mentioned about what happened later? And am surprised at the silence of teachers as well as students in figuring out the confusion. The unanswered questions are:

1. Adam and Eve DID NOT have any daughters, so who did their sons married to for propagation of the human species?

2. If there were any daughters of Adam and Eve, of which there is no historic mention; then too the moral question arises, Was in-marriage allowed between brothers and sisters as incest for the species propagation?

3. Why is there a total ethical vaccum in this story ranging from incest to woman being born 'bended' and also being the one to eat the fruit from forbidden tree of knowledge?

This seems simply like the beginning of a mythical and patriarchal story, with no moral or factual reasoning. No offense to anyone with this writing :)

Save religion - destroy the earth??!!

Humanity has been putting a lot of burden on this poor planet for a long time with this calm idea that they do not belong to this planet. Instead, they think that the planet belongs to them, and the main source of this idea is organized religion that has been passed on for so many ages. Religion has established itself as the central moral auhority that decides all the good and bad by its own knowledge. The usual religion-based moralities make up long lists of dos and don’ts. The problem is, there is no mechanism to revise these as society changes. Over time, they end up recommending silly, or immoral behaviour, and fail to cover many new situations.

An example of this is the religion's negligent behavior towards saving the planet's ecosystem. Since the religious beliefs place the planet at humans' disposal, the religious people really do not consider global warming an issue. For them, decreasing the carbon footprint is not a virtue. Rather they would enjoy contorting personal moralities to tighten the noose of religious slavery around the necks of poor masses. And then suddenly one gets to hear some random assertion by some religious people who pick up issue not because of their interest but because these issues will only make them famous. I have yet to find a church or mosque that put importance on human survival and asked people by heart to stop molesting the environment.

The main reason behind it comes down to the point that unfortunately, religion does not have any interest in planet other then ruling it. Religion tried its best to rule people by dogmatic moralities and will always keep on trying till its death.

Traditional morality has been based on a religious myth that there is some after death punishment if you behave badly. The story is presented with great drama to a child who usually swallows it as a whole. The problem is eventually the clever child may notice there is no evidence for the myth, and that other people believe different myths. This is ofcourse in such an environment where child has the freedom to think and speak. Otherwise there is very little chance of random self conclusion. Without cohesive social pressure, the belief in the myth dissolves and along with it, morality. Those who show an all-powerful God to inflict this punishment have a problem. Why do the good have such a rough time here on earth? Either this God is incapable of protecting them, does not care, or is sadistic in his trials. God may be feared, but not loved, at least not honestly.