This is one of two WOOD BLOCKS from India that we used in our early married days to save money on gift paper. The floral design makes a border; the other block (see below) is for filling in the middle. I think that these may have been originally designed to print fabrics. When we bought them (in wonderful Austin TX), they already had ink residue on them. The clue in the poem(s) was in the first line: "would block." That's why you had to read it out loud. Be sure to click on the pictures to see them at a larger size.
Are you watching the Olympics any? The new snowboarding events are pretty dramatic. I don't think that I would want to participate in the snowboard cross--it looks rough. But it is fun to watch. Too bad that Lindsey Jacobelli tried to show off at the end of the race and wound up with the silver medal. But to hear her tell it, that's just the culture of snowboarding. Yeah, kids, just as long as you're having fun, that's the main thing.
Annie asked about the other block, so here it is. This view shows the face of the block. Notice how regular the alignment is, and this is hand-carved! You can see that some of the thin circular portions of the design have gotten chipped. Probably this block was to be discarded, but some crazy American said she or he would buy all the discards. When we print using this block, the pattern has its consequent defects. But it yields an organic, artsy-craftsy look.
This photo shows a side view where you can discern the handle which has been nailed to the block. On this piece, I attached a wire loop to the handle and we used to hang the thing on a wall as part of our "young married days" decor. Now it sits rather forlornly with the other block accumulating tiny cobwebs on the cabinet above my computer.
11 comments:
Well, if that is not the coolest thing! I suppose the nail is what holds the handle on. What does the other one look like?
Annie, I amended this post just for you. Hope you like it.
SWEET! Block art fascinates me. I keep meaning to try my hand at it - starting with a potato but I keep forgetting. I bet you made some really cool stuff with that .
That is so cool! It must have taken a lot of patience to carve! Thanks for posting a photo of it.
I bet it does yield an interesting, artistic look when it is used.
Okay ... maybe I'm just blindly missing something, but you said there was a clue in the poem. Where was the poem?
Nevermind. Found the poem(s).
How cool! I love that sort of stuff. (I have tried the potatoe thing, Captain Wow, but I ended up with little more than an inky potato.)
If you want to make your own printing block, use a large rubber eraser. It's not nearly as messy as a potato and provides a durable stamp. I made one with Cat's name on it and used it to decorate her birthday card envelopes.
That's a really good idea! Especially since I huff those art gum erasers. You know the kind I mean? I keep a couple in my desk just for sniffing purposes. (Oh, and I do the same thing with playdoh. Hey - it beats sniffing white out!)
I used to huff play doh too! Then I moved on to Marks a lot Markers and then they came out with those fruit flavored ones and I nearly spiralled into oblivion with those. Now, I try to refrain.
Tanks for the rubber eraser tip!
Oh, dear we have left the poetry and stamped art behind, and are now sniffing Play-Doh?
I love the smell of Play-Doh, almost as much as the smell of crayons.
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