Bound Hearts

I've been playing with the book form I call

Bound Art which is a soft covered book sewn on tapes. A group of us carved a heart themed stamp and then shared them while we made paste paper. I haven't sewn that one together but the photos I am posting here are of the sample I used to inspire the other artists to do this project.

Using hand carved stamps brings a kind of earthiness to the work. At least the ones I carve do! They don't have to be perfect. There are several ways to get the image on the carving material, some allow more detail than others. Mostly my method is just to draw with a ballpoint pen on the rubber and carve away. Changes or design modifications (mostly to try to hide mistakes) are part of the fun.

On another note, there is a drawing for free registration for Art Is You. If you have registered already or register before midnight January 31st you will automatically be entered. http://www.art-is-you.com/mysitecaddy/site3/generalinformation-westcoast.htm

I hope I see some of you there.

Stella the gorgeous calico cat who shares my home, or is it who shares her home, with me is longing for springtime. It hasn't been a very cold winter here, but it has been dreary and grey. I am lucky because in a couple of weeks I head on down to Los Gatos, California to teach at An Artful Journey. I bet it will be sunny there. So here is Stella contenting herself by mousing around inside while she waits for the sunshine and warm weather to come forth to lure her outside.