72 hand carved stamps. 3 sketchbooks. 100 days of hand stamping patterns and textures.
This is the result of my 100 Days of Printmaking with Mixed Media, 2022.
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| 100 Days of Printmaking: First print (left) and 100th print (right). |
Stamp improv in the sketchbook
This printmaking project started with some ink pads from previous projects and a few stamps. With ideas gleaned from Instagram and Pinterest posts, I began to broaden my stamp carving and printing designs by doing a daily page or two of "stamp play" or "improv stamping" in the sketchbook. One experiment definitely leads to another... and before you know it, it's down the proverbial rabbit hole.
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| Experiments and play in the sketchbook. |
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| Exploring stamp and color combinations. |
Repeats, patterns and textures
My initial thought at the beginning of this 100 Day Project was to create overall textures with the stamps. Sometimes I added another color or two while making the repeats. There is a mindfulness when creating a page full of repeats.
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| Repeat patterns with hand carved stamps. |
Symmetry and rotation
Making repeats led to carving stamps that, when rotated, would create a secondary design. Squares, half or quarter circles, and 45-45-90 degree triangles worked well for this.
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| Triangle stamps with rotation. |
The compositions started to look like quilt blocks and patchwork quilts. My stamp carving got more detailed.
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| Using symmetry and rotation. |
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| Triangle stamps using symmetry. |
Ghost prints
Printing with the stamp and following up with a second print without re-inking the stamp is a ghost print. The second print is a lighter version of the original image and sometimes can even look like a different color of ink.
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| Ghost prints. |
Medallions
On Days 53 and 54 I started to combine stamps and print them in a medallion format. Sometimes I would use multiple ink colors. This got to be a lot of fun.
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| Medallion format. |
Nature inspired
The stamps lended themselves to nature inspired prints. Here are a few.
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| Nature inspired compositions. |
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| Making trees. |
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| Abstract landscapes. |
Stamping and Slow Drawing
As time went on, the compositions became more intricate, detailed and interesting. I added slow drawing and sometimes watercolor to the stamped compositions.
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| Stamping, rotation symmetry, and slow drawing. |
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| Medallion, nature inspired, and slow drawing. |
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| Circular stamp with slow drawing. |
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| Medallion with slow drawing. |
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| Stamping, watercolor painting, and slow drawing. |
Learning and improving by working the 100 Day process
My primary goal for doing a printmaking 100 Day Project was to learn more about working with hand-carved stamps and improve my skills in this activity. In looking at my compositions over the course of 100 days, I can see improvement and a higher level of exploration.
I discovered new-to-me materials—round stamp blanks, acrylic mounts, and VersaFine Clair ink pads—and other artists using this medium. Other revelations are listed on the Day 50 blog post.
My collection of hand-carved rubber stamps has exploded: 72 stamps with 3 that I use both sides.
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| Hand carved rubber stamps. |
I have three sketchbooks from this 100 Days of Printmaking project. I've continued to use my stamps to make new compositions, although without a daily commitment. I know I would not have done this and experimented with this printmaking technique without making it a 100 Day Project.
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| Three sketchbooks for printmaking from The 100 Day Project. |
Do the 100 Day Project!
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