Diana Trout's blog

January Journal Jump #3: Stamp Carving

Stamp carving goes with art journaling like paint with brushes. It isn't a difficult job: a spot of practice, the right tips and tools and you have a personal stamp with a distinctive look. I've used the leaf image from the cover of the Flow journal and copied it.*

It's fun to come up with your own little drawings for stamp carving. Look through motifs from rugs or wallpapers. I like to look at ancient and African symbols too. If you want to carve letters or words, make sure that they are reversed when carving! 

*I've used imagery from one of Flow's designers so it's not my imagery. I cannot sell it or use it on any piece of my artwork that is for sale. This is very important: please respect your source.  

Use what you have. The following are affiliate links. I get a percentage of the sale at no cost to you. Thanks for helping support my channel/blog this way.

 

Mistakes, Missteps, Misguided

Mistakes: A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. Albert Einstein

Missteps: Use missteps as stepping stones to deeper understanding and greater achievement. Susan Taylor

Misguided: I tell the truth, and I expose myself as the weak, misguided, misdirected, dysfunctional human being I used to be. Russell Means

 

I ordered my new 16 month Erin Condren planner today. I am a trendsettin' suckah! No. It's a fantastic planner and it's helped me a lot. I did my own front and back covers *above and below.

 

 

 

And I don't think that was mis-anythinged. I've been thinking some lately. Staring off into space. I'm thinking it's time to let go of another art school block. More later but think about those quotes. I loved them all. The last just made me snort.

 

If you find yourself wanting an Erin Condren, this is my referral code. I'm not at all sure of this but I think it gives you $10 off. 

https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/dianatrout0418

Perfectionism and Craftsmanship

Perfectionism and Craftsmanship is a topic I've been wanting to bring up for awhile now. I've given this a lot of thought over the years. Shall we discuss? This will be posted in the Taming the Critic category.

From Anthem, by Leonard Cohen

A perfectionist, as I define it, constantly criticizes her work. The notion that the work is not perfect inhibits the individual's ability to show her work or take any pride in it. This harsh attitude brings the creative process to an abrupt halt, you can't progress in your craft. I'm not sure about this, but I think it's a confidence issue. 

A devotion to craftsmanship is the artist's ability to look critically at her work and and see what could be improved and how. I take great pride in my craftsmanship and deeply respect it in others. The craft in everything from writing, to dance, to music to painting inspires me to better my craftsmanship. Craftsmanship = practice.

Here is the link to the original post on Taming the Critic. If you click on Taming the Critic under Categories in the sidebar, you'll have all of the posts in this topic. 

This post just touches the surface of my thoughts on this. I have more posts planned delving a bit further. And I'm sure many of you will have lots to say :)

In the meantime, the chorus of Anthem by Leonard Cohen is quite thought-provoking

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in anything
That's how the light gets in

 

Van Gogh Images and Quotes (Free PDF)

If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint,
and that voice will be silenced. 

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. 

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream. 

            One must work and dare if one really wants to live. 

Download Van Gogh images and quotes

Free Printout: Quotes

... having nothing to do with this post, but isn't it pretty?

Quotes are excellent journal starters. Here is a list I recently compiled having to do with Nature and Travel

Download Nature and Travel quotes

Have a grand weekend