Printmaking at the Mall

On December 14th I went to the Carlsbad mall, not to shop, but to check out the Oceanside Museum of Art's Exploring Engagement project called "Winter Wonderland" by artist Armando de la Torre .  That day they were offering a free card and wrapping paper workshop, open to anyone who stopped by.  The space was a creative workshop in action and I enjoyed every minute.  I decided to make a card and came up with a deer head design that I cut out on a sheet of foam "paper".  One of the participating artists found me a piece of wood scrap that I used to mount (peel and stick - so easy!) the foam "stamp".  I rolled brown ink on the deer stamp and went to work.  It was fun, and the artists there were enthusiastic and encouraging. 

Here's a photo of the printed cards.  I didn't think the brown would show up that well on the navy paper, but it actually it does stand out.

They had a variety of printing inks available for people to use.  The wrapping paper project is a very cool idea using cardboard mailing tubes and foam sheet cutouts to make printing rollers.  My cards are at the bottom; at right is my mounted block with deer stamp.

I chatted with the lead artist, Armando de la Torre (below), for a bit - nice guy with a great concept: get art into the community.  What better place during this time of year, than the mall?

Some Recent Sketches & Carved Stamps

In October I met up with the San Diego Urban Sketchers group at the Fiber Arts Fest at the Antique Gas & Steam Engine (outdoor) Museum in Vista, California.  If you want to go back in time to see lots of antique vehicles and farm equipment, this is the place.  There is also a building filled with looms that weavers still work on.  The festival even had the yarn suppliers - alpacas - in attendance.

 

An inexpensive and easy way to carve stamps is to use erasers.  I made one for my "logo" and another for the Day of the Dead, using a star-shaped eraser.

 

In November I met up with the San Diego Urban Sketchers again for some sketch time at the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe in Vista, California.  This is one of the historic original ranchos that predates California statehood.  This sketch was done using a black ink pen, color pencils, and watercolor pencils.