Well... I managed to get something started on the weekend! Finally. Elka has some pretty intense moments of separation anxiety these days and the prospect of being able to see me but not be in my arms makes for a pretty noisy afternoon, but we all struggled on.



It's been a very long time since I printed anything, not that I really knew what I was doing when I did, but this first attempt is just that. I cut the image out and moved it around, and made quite a mess in places, I either didn't get enough paint or had a little too much, and I used cardboard so too much paint came out and it's a little darker and thicker than I like, but anyhoo... I will finish it and probably use it for myself, and I'm going to redo the same design using a photo emulsion screen, I know that there is more mucking around at the beginning of this process, but I've always found it so much easier to print that way. I've got to fill in the white bits with the same red stars and then I'm going to do a second layer of smaller stars over the top. I'm a bit worried about how the pattern will repeat... that's never been my forte!

And I've also been mucking around with some stamp ideas too... elephants, I love elephants! It's the first stamp that I've ever made and it's a little rough (well, probably quite rough), but it's using some very good Japanese rubber that my friend Riyo gave me ages ago and I've been too afraid to use it. I have one block left and I really want to re-carve a better version of the design, neater, but I'm still a little apprehensive because I only have one piece and once it's gone, it's gone, I don't know if I can buy it here in Australia.





I'd also like to do some line drawings of elephants on a photo emulsion screen, but this may have to go on my 'wish list' of things to do which is growing longer and longer by the day! Especially with Elka taking her first steps last weekend- she isn't even 9 months... oh boy, it sounds very impressive I'm sure, but it's hard to keep up with her and there are lots of bruises, tears and dangerous, dangerous moments at our house right now!




B.