You Beetcha

Similar to my desire to learn letterpress, for some time I've wanted to experiment with woodblock printing. When it came time to send out invitations for Phoebe's first birthday, I wanted to make a woodblock print of a boar, which is her Chinese Zodiac sign. But since I don't know how to make woodblock prints (and I have extremely bad luck with sharp tools in the kitchen), I opted for a potato stamp. Hey, I taught pre-school--potato stamps are a staple.

Among the art and design blogs I follow, I came across a tutorial for making hand-carved stamps. This was probably over a year ago. The tutorial video is extremely helpful, along with her other carving information. (The artist, Geninne, has an amazing art blog and esty shop. I am inspired by her birds!) Fueled by a 25% off coupon at PaperZone, I gave in and finally purchased the cutting blocks, linoleum cutter and some lovely paper I wanted to stamp and letterpress print on.

With my laptop in front of me, I played the tutorial video while working on first the drawing, then the transferring, carving, and finally the cutting of my stamp design. I felt like I was in high school trying to memorize lyrics to a favorite song, playing, pausing and rewinding the song until I had written down all the lyrics. Doug and I had a deep discussion about whether or not I wanted a negative or positive impression, which led me to rethink the design entirely for about 15 minutes. Throughout my nervousness, I simply tried to focus on the task at hand, to keep it simple.

I guess that worked because to my amazed glee, my stamp came out looking just like Geninne's! Thrilled, I threw up my hands with a breathy, "I DID IT!!" (Excitedly, but not loud enough to wake the kids) I tried not to get carried away until I actually made an impression. Copying Geninne's "pat pat" of the ink pad on top of the stamp, I cautiously placed it on my paper. When I lifted it off, I felt even higher than the moment before. It was exactly as I wanted it to look. A huge sense of accomplishment filled the tingling tips of my fingers.

Doug watched as I took the stamp off the page, grinned and giggled a little when our eyes met. "It's perfect!" I gushed.

He nodded. "Oh, honey, it sure is."

I felt my smile turn inside out. I laughed and gushed and then I cried.

I've never considered myself an artist. I barely consider myself a poet. But with all the transition happening in my life during the last few years, I confess the words have not come. It's been some time since I really wrote anything I felt was significant. So it felt amazing to make something. To imagine and dream something, then take it from the cosmos into the real world. Even if it's just a stamp.