I am the delighted invitee to particpate in several months of blogging, both here and on the blog of RubberMoon, a great place for finding interesting and creative stamps.  They give me stamps and I make things from those stamps and write about it!  I needed a bit of a push to start blogging again, even if sporadically – you never know when the old writing enthusiasm will jump start – so I always say yes to opportunities that may help me along.

I decided to pick 4 stamps from the RubberMoon collection that could be used for collage as well as for jewelry making, some clay work,  and maybe even some copper etching (but all that is yet to come – I’ll be posting on my Facebook page as they are completed).

I browsed through RubberMoon’s amazing collection of offerings, looking for stamps that would lend themselves to multiple uses, with simple clean lines (required for jewelry and clay work), that could be combined in different ways and also stand alone.

I chose lots of David Brethauer – his designs are perfect for me: strong lines, delightful subjects.  Starting in the upper left, db4263 Wishing Tree, 2354 Monica Holding Heart, 4254 Leaping Girl.  My final choice was Marylinn Kelly’s mk570 Alter Ego – you’ll see that one later.

I decided on something really easy for this, my first post – something that I didn’t have to think too hard about.

I chose an 8″ x 10″ canvas to keep the scale friendly with the stamps, randomly picked several complementary colors from my acrylics, squirted them on the canvas and ran a brush erratically through them to create the background.

I have lots of interesting texture makers for background – it seems that oddities that make great texture in clay pieces are also good for spray painting over for background textures for collages.

Here I used two intricate wood pieces and a small bit of lace – not big enough to be a doily of any kind – perhaps something that was meant to be sewn on a jacket.  At any rate, thrift and antique store are great for discovering these little treasures.

I put the pieces on the canvas, spray painted over them – and wah-la!  instant fancy background!

I made a copy of one of my paintings, and picked out a snippet of  Neil Gaiman writing (I just adore Neil Gaiman’s work!) and was ready to use the stamps.

Apparently if you don’t put something under the open backed canvas, the stamp will not come out clearly.  No problem – when a piece of art reminds me that I am the conduit and that the energy will decide, I never argue.  It usually means that there is something better coming than my own original thought – I just have to be open to it.  And so I found a purple pen and went over the stamp lines, and am pleased with the result.  And nothing like some oil pastels for added color.

The concept behind the finished picture is that grace falls down on us all the time (the stars in the tree), that we, like The Fool of the Tarot, do best when we leap into the unknown, and a reminder in the lower right corner to love ourselves as we leap, knowing that wherever it is we are going, it usually takes several leaps and lots of grace to get there.

Gaiman’s words:  “And don’t forget to make some art – write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can.  And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.”

So there you have it:  the stamps, the finished piece,Surprise Yourself,  and the energy and thoughts behind it.  Enjoy! (If you click on the final picture, it will take you to a single page with the picture on it.  If you click on it again, it will enlarge the picture so you can see it better)

And oh, by the way, this year I have indeed surprised myself by realizing a dream I’ve been cooking up for about 5 years:  creating tiles for and making a mosaic floor in my hall bathroom.