The Eyes Have It

I recently uncovered a bag of stuff I'd purchased from Dharma Trading last November to make holiday presents with (oops!), several blank scarves, toddler shirts, etc. And this stamping stuff too. Wasn't up to dyeing the wearable blanks, so I chose the stamping setup. I tried out a new stamping ink from Dr. Ph Martin and a different Speedball Speedy-Stamp carving block. I've never used the pink kind before, I found it to be nice and easy to carve (maybe too easy), and not crumbly like the white version.

Before I started any carving I first loaded up the dry stamp pads with the ink.

It takes a while for it to really soak in and get nice and juicy like a stamp pad should be.

I wasn't in a very good mood so I drew an angry face with a hat on the large piece, just with a pencil. Then carved it out with the Speedball Cutting Set using a fine tip and then larger tip, and an exacto blade for the biggest areas.

This is how the stamp looks after being inked up and printed. I think I might mount this to some wood because it is pretty large 3x5" and very flexible, I wouldn't want it to get flexed the wrong way and broken.

And here is how the first stamping went. The stamp pad was a little uneven at first, thus the blotches. I've learned the hard way that you always, always, always have to do a test stamp first if you're stamping on something critical and un-replaceable.

Then I felt like making a smaller stamp after that big one, so I took one of my leftover white pieces and carved these worried eyes. This is what happens when I make art while listening to NPR.

Worry Worry Worry! or Angry Angry Angry!

You can see how crumbly the white stuff is compared to the pink. Just like one of those old erasers. It is a lot firmer though, and very different to carve.

Here is how the orange ink printed up on the goldenrod fabric. Pretty nice and subtleThe last stamp of the day that I carved was a single eye. Not worried or angry just alert and intense.Here it is stamped out on part of an old sheet in the turquoise blue.
I like how the single stamp almost looks like a pair of eyes when stamped at the right distance apart. I think I'll be using this stamped fabric on the back of a shirt, so I can keep a good lookout when I'm out and about.