Friday, August 27, 2010

heart carved potato - crashdown print


heart carved potato - crashdown print
Originally uploaded by nicciwashere

When the time comes to start printing these days, the first thing I reach for is a potato. That may seem a little odd until you've actually used one to stamp. Nothing cuts more easily. The problem, however, is that they dehydrate quickly, so your stamp is constantly changing as you use it. Add to that the potato is soft and pretty fragile, and you're looking at a pretty tiny print run. I made it to about 27 before the heart started to deform too much to use for my purposes. (18 prints and about 9 envelopes.)

If you decide to use potatoes to stamp, be sure to rinse and wipe them before you use them, so the surface is dry and free of extra starch. I used straight acrylic paint to stamp with. It works pretty well with vellum.

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