work in progress

i caught an hour to work on this this morning {older son at kinda, younger one in the cot}. am still loving the carving, in fact it's very therapeutic! i wish the green was a paler one tho as my eyes feel like i've been staring at op art after a while. i've learned that it's best to start on the hardest part with these, then if it doesn't work there's not too much time wasted. i will get to test this one out on saturday . . .
we've been watching Dexter {a great series about a serial killer forensic cop who uses his skills/obesessions for 'good' - only killing other ruthless killers, not innocent people} and as i laid out my tools on the table i started to get flashbacks! funny how things you watch or read inhabit your brain!

hand printing

my first attempts at carving stamps for printing by hand! {inspired of course by the lena corwin book, printing by hand}. these are so much fun to make, will definitely be working on more over the weekend. i've had some ideas floating around that i think will look best in this medium. i need to do some more to work out what weight i can/can't achieve with the lines and whether a little circle is actually possible to create. the rubber is so soft that breathing at a slightly different pace creates a wobble on one or the other side of the carving tool. there are 2 sides to every line to be thought of! and i've already damaged one stamp by scratching it with my nail when cleaning up.
must learn to take more time with cleaning up etc. . .

three books and a review

in 2004 when i brought my maternity leave forward by a couple of months i bought this book. i had plans to learn new techniques, make heaps of things and paint. the book {which is excellent} still sits on the shelf – it's for people who are streets ahead of me. i don't have a massive studio set up with all the appropriate equipment for starters.




last week my son, who is nearly 4, and i made this book with a recycled floridex box, some paper, a potato and some red acrylic paint. it was lots of fun to make together and it inspired me want to learn a thing or two about hand printing. . .


printing by hand by lena corwin is a great book. it's right up my alley and it is full of projects and techniques that can actually be created and achieved at home. the projects are varied and they are things that i want to make. i love it! the instructions are clear and easy to follow and her style is frank and informative. there are lots of tips that could save a frustration and too much trial and error {i'm hoping}. and best of all the book looks good – it's beautifully photographed and made.
i bought if from amazon.
i was interested to find that lena corwin has a website and a stylish blog
happy reading and making!

the book has arrived

first thing this morning . . .
can't wait to read it.