◒ August 26th ◒

♒℉ishy business♒

Don't take to the smelling salts just because I am back within the week. I meant it you know. I'm a woman of my word. Which works against me sometimes but that's another looooooonnngggggg story.
It's been a productive week, lots of coming and going, toing and froing, huffing and puffing.
A quick peek-a-boo at some of my moments...

I gathered all my rubber stamps together and made this as a promotional piece. It's all the rubber stamps I have carved recently for various projects. Using my quite ridiculously large collection of inks. (it's one of my cheaper habits)
When I was a porous, diligent art student at The London College of Printing or the LCC as it is known by these days and I extended my printmaking skills, I felt as though I had come home. The thoughtful, meditative quality that comes with printmaking was a great soother to me in those (when I look back on it) quite troubled times. But printmaking is a process requiring equipment and it means making a mess and although I can quite easily manage both of those; the simplicity and ease with which I can quickly carve a stamp is increasingly seductive.
A block of rubber, my trusty lino cutting tools and a selection of ink pads and almost instant results. I teach the basic techniques of this at The Make Lounge.  Everybody can do it once they know how. A few points in the right direction from an experienced maker saves so much time and wasted materials ;-) And we achieve quietness and concentration in class there. Printmaking weaves a spell of contemplation. A yogic focus. If I had a bit more time on my hands I would take a few of the other classes there myself. They all look amazing. 


Here's a few cards I made earlier with some offcuts from book projects, painted watercolour circles and fish and seaweed stamps. I haven't got around to folding them yet, will come back and pop them in the press later when they are dry. It's coming up to lots of birthdays and I love sending cards, HATE buying them.

And in my quieter moments I wander field and woods trying to walk off excess rhubarb cake and keeping the dog happy. It's Spring you know! 

▼ pot/kettle/black ▼

It's not going to be easy to blog about my letterpress experiments. 

It's impossible to see the sumptiousness (is that even a word?)

of the image or type pressed ever so slightly into the paper. 

I'll have to get my super zoomy lens out to prove it when the sun comes out~

oooo ~ about next march.

Ever so many ages ago I bought for half a crown or thereabouts a box of copper plates,

I couldn't see how beautiful they were til I got around to print them

& I love them so.

I have no idea what to do with them, I'm too busy cooing over them like 

a louloulovesbooks in a stationary shop.

But the best bit was finding an unused tin of flouro pink ink

to print with, which isn't showing up too well either on this image.

You'll just all have to come around and have a look for yourselves.

Some other exciting news is that among the many workshops and teaching things I've got coming up I'm teaching 'make your own rubber stamps' at The Make Lounge  for a few dates in October and November, 

concentrating on holiday gift tags and cards. Remember these? 

I'm excited to be working at such a lively venue with so many creative classes being offered.

Sadly, my workshops sold out within a day, you've got to be quick to get on these courses at The Make Lounge .

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