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Saturday, October 27, 2007

New Stamp, Paper and a Thank You

Here is my slab of rubber positioned next to the thumbnail sketches I did of possible designs to carve. Every step of carving rubber is pleasing to me. So much easier than all the plywood I slaved over long ago when making woodcuts. Now I can zip out a new stamp in about an hour.

And here it is, stamped on the paper next to the sketches. The last two that I made seemed masculine to me so with the shape and the wavy lines I hoped to make this one more feminine.

I tried it out on my journal pages first thing. Yay, I like it.

So time to finish the paper I primed last night. Here is a shot of the newspaper getting a coat of house primer. I used white on several sheets to play with.

And let them dry overnight.

Then awhile ago I went in and started stamping on them with my new stamps. I was going to use all my stamps but it was so messy that I just stuck to a few.

They look like a real mess from a distance but up close are some sweet spots. I've decided to use the paper in my collages instead of using it for wrapping paper.

The one piece of advice I have for anyone who wants to try this is not to keep the paper in such big pieces.

It's a pain to get around all sides of it when it is big and floppy.

I left a lot of the backgrounds white thinking I can always go back and glaze color over them later.

If you are taking a class from me I'll bet some of this shows up in your goody packets.

So that ends the newspaper project. One thing I like is the way the paper ripples with the paint on it. Sort of like kraft paper only thinner. I love paper, don't you? I have samples of the expensive stuff all over my studio that I just take out and fondle from time to time. But *shhh* my favorite paper of all is used paper bags from the grocery store. I'm saving them up to make my next journal. Yes! You can come along and watch. I'll put it all up here when I do it.

Behold the box of wonders that arrived in the mail yesterday. My sweet angel Carla, because she is thoughtful and herself, gathered up this bundle of love and sent it to me. I wish she could have seen me opening it and admiring each item. I sat right down and glued the red chinese cut out faces in my journal and then cut out the pictures of the head sculptures she made and glued those in my journal thusly:

and painted silly bodies on them. John didn't "get" my illustration; maybe I've been reading too many cartoons out of the New Yorker magazine. At any rate, thank you dear Carla, for making my day special.

Back to the studio now to start tearing the paper bags for the journal project. I don't promise I'll get to it right away but I'm going to start collecting my materials so that when the time is ripe I'll be ready .

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Always a visual treat & you always make me feel like I can do it too! sure rub in the goodies bags, now that I didn't get into your class...lol. Still waiting to see your magazine debut, so I can "pinch you".
oxox
steph b

Sharon Tomlinson said...

Yikes! I'm already behind with the stamp/stencil a day. But the days not over yet. Boy you really got with it and I love your stamps. They seem very large. I will need a new supply of rubber before I can make that size.
Oh don't you just love to grab something from the bag of gifted goodies and glue it down immediately. You know doing that breaks the hoarding curse.

Anonymous said...

you amaze me with your talent...your sharing nature...cannot wait to
meet you!

Ro Bruhn said...

WOW and more WOWS, What a fabulous collection of papers and stamps Judy, soooooo fabulous and thanks for showing us the paper process, I must give this ago.
Ro
xo

Karen Cole said...

You are one lean, mean creating machine!

Your life is SO full. Like your beautiful journals.

lindaharre said...

I love your stamps! I used to do this with the elementary students when I was teaching....the results were always wonderful! Something about printing that really turns me on, pushes my buttons, sends me reeling:D Great post....thank you!

Jonna said...

it's funny how things seem to happen...i also started craving last month....I was rummaging through some supplies and found my craving tools and rubber....must be something in the air. I'll have to try the newspaper thing...I've used rice paper in the past...I love rice paper.

Christine DeCamp said...

Hi Judy,
I am fascinated with the idea of carving your own rubber stamps! Is there a previous post (of yours) that gives a "how to"--or can you direct me to some info? Thanks!
Christine
http://passionforpainting.blogspot.com

Diane said...

Judy,
Thank you so so much for the tutorial. You are a gem of a teacher and artist. The information you share just trickles out so effortlessly. Wouldn't you love to come to Texas and teach a class or two? xoxox

PennyBlue said...

Juicy Juicy Papers! Love 'em! I am so inspired that now I must look into making my own stamps. Happy Week to you!

Carla Sonheim said...

Wonderful papers... so fun!

Tara's Art Camp said...

I love the idea of what you did with carla's photo of the ceramic busts. I own one,,,,and I think i want to copy your idea for my journal too. I love how you usd the face and put your own bodies on them.

love your stamps too,,, and grocery bags. i love paper!