Rubber Stamp Printing at Salt Cafe

Rubber Stamp Printing at Salt Cafe

New workshop coming up at Salt Cafe!

Tuesday 28th February 2017

9am - 12pm

£35 per person

Half Day Rubber Stamp Taster Workshop with Mog Fry of eightfivepress

what you get

An introductory workshop for anyone wanting to have a go at rubber-stamping and hands-on printing. The opportunity to make time and space to create your very own personalised cards and prints.

play

The workshop is suitable for total beginners. This will be your space to explore and experiment with mark-making and rubber-stamp cut images (hand-carved by you) in the light and airy space at Salt Cafe. With an emphasis on your own creativity, come and play and print on 100% recycled card and paper.

All materials included.

Tea & Cake!

A complimentary £5 off Salt Cafe's delicious range of tea and cake will be included as part of this workshop. Yum Yum! : ))

Book your space via Paypal button below.

Salt Café Deli

01173292970
mail@saltcafebristol.co.uk
120 St. George’s Rd, Bristol, BS1 5UJ

Workshop Terms

If you are under the age of 16 you may attend with a parent or guardian. Both of you will require a valid workshop booking and be present at the workshop.

Refunds And Cancellations

All workshops are non-refundable with the exception of cancellation on part of the workshop facilitator. Not showing up to a workshop means you forfeit your money and will not be eligible for a refund or change to a future workshop date. Rebooking is only available as an exception in emergency situations. A rebooking fee will be required.

Okimono - Dog on the Roof

A couple months before New Year my sister brought Bella into her home. A new member of the family. Part bat, part monkey, part gremlin, part human. A magical creature from Planet Pug. She instantly reminded me of a drawing of a similar creature I sketched at Bristol Museum back in November 2015. I had thought it was a Japanese netsuke but found out later it is an okimono (置物), an ornament purely for decoration. The absolute joy of meeting Bella, gave me the inspiration to make a woodblock print from this little dog snuggled up on broken roof-tiles.

"Okimono - dog nestling down on 2 broken roof-tiles - signed Gyokuyosa"

Not long after making the decision to print this little dog, I overhear a conversation about wood in MAKERS shop and gallery while working upstairs in my studio. It's Alan from Alan Hosegood Restorations whose workshop is just around the corner from my studio. I lean over the bannister and introduce myself. I'm interested to find out if he has any off-cuts of wood to test out on this little dog. Although I enjoy working on the magnolia, I fancy exploring some different woods for carving. I also remember master carver, Motoharu Asaka, at Spike Print's Japanese Woodblock Printing Demo Workshop, who mostly uses mountain cherry wood as it is much better for carving due to its fine grain and sticky consistency. Alan is very happy to have a look for some off-cuts so I pop over a bit later and he kindly gives me some lemon, lime and cherry wood.

Test Carvings on Cherry and Lime wood

I carve the lemon wood but don't get on with it at all so give up and concentrate on the cherry wood. It a hard wood, quite nice to carve and and the print shows up a nice grain. The lime wood is extremely soft almost like carving a rubber stamp. I wish it had made a good print but it's rough, lacking definition. I make quite a few prints just incase I have over inked the block but it doesn’t matter how many times I print the image, it’s never as good as the block from the cherry wood. I re-carve the image on the other side of the block and try printing again.

Dog on the Roof - Final Print

After not much success with the lime wood and three and a half attempts later I try out my trusty magnolia woodblock. It all feels so familiar and I feel more at ease carving the image. This time the magnolia produces the best print. I find the perfect frame for this little print and write in capital letters "FOR BELLA" to my new pal, part bat, part monkey, part gremlin, part human, part okimono.

Linocut Workshops - Advent Special Offer!

10% discount on Linocut workshops for 2 or more participants.

Today 10% Discount on Linocut workshops as part of the Christmas Steps Advent Calendar Countdown to Christmas!

See Linocut Workshops - Advent Special Offer! for more details.

Netsuke - A Quail Tale

Quail's Nest

Poem by John Clare (1793 – 1864)

I wandered out one rainy day
And heard a bird with merry joys
Cry 'wet my foot' for half the way;
I stood and wondered at the noise, 

When from my foot a bird did flee--
The rain flew bouncing from her breast
I wondered what the bird could be,
And almost trampled on her nest. 

The nest was full of eggs and round--
I met a shepherd in the vales,
And stood to tell him what I found.
He knew and said it was a quail's, 

For he himself the nest had found,
Among the wheat and on the green,
When going on his daily round,
With eggs as many as fifteen. 

Among the stranger birds they feed,
Their summer flight is short and low;
There's very few know where they breed,
And scarcely any where they go. 

Quail Carving

Quail Print

Original Netsuke 'Quail (鶉)Crouching over 2 Ears of Millet' from Bristol Museum. Signed Okatomo - Japan.

BBC Tweet of the Day (2mins)

"The Sōken Kishō - (Strange and Wonderful Sword Fittings by Inaba Tsūryū) - published 1781 - of the seven volumes that make up this work, the last comprises a supplement on netsuke, with additional sections on inrō and ojime. The information It contained in the Sōken Kishō formed the backbone of netsuke studies and the West until the twentieth century. Okatomo (active 1781) - mentioned in the Sōken Kishō is widely associated with with netsuke of bird subject, especially quail and millet." Japanese Netsuke (Far Eastern Series / Victoria and Albert Museum)

Kimono Kimono

Kimono Kimono is a magnificent treasure trove of Japanese collectables, from vintage Japanese Kimono, silk scarves, wooden clogs, masks and elegant opera costumes to antique hanging scrolls, parasols, paper fans and lanterns.

Japanese Woodblock Stamps

Phil Porter, who runs Kimono Kimono, allowed me to photograph his own personal collection of antique woodblocks and stamping books used on the Shikoku pilgrimage. Each stamp is intricately carved. On one of the blocks, some of the background has been re-carved in an attempt to revive the original stamp which has been worn down from the years of stamping. Another stamp is carved on both sides to enable a two colour print be made from the one stamp.

The woodblock stamp is solid but softened from the years of being held. It reminds me of my netsuke drawing session at the Bristol Museum where I had a similar feeling holding the netsuke. These tactile objects built for practical purposes, slowly shrinking with use, are taken away to be preserved and now have a new purpose. To become historical reminders, time capsules, precious objects for adoration, reflection and meditation.

Nokyo-Cho

These beautifully stamped books (Nokyo-Cho) are given to each pilgrim as they begin their journey in the 88 temple pilgrimage of Shikoku. The pilgrimage is to honour Shikoku's most famous Japanese Buddhist monk, Kobo Daishi. As part of their pilgrimage they will collect the signature and seal of each temple they visit.

"This is not just a pilgrimage to places made sacred by his name. This is not just a visit to temples founded by, or visited by, the Daishi. This is a month's long walking ritual where you ask the Daishi to walk with you and then completely turn yourself over to his care. And if asked, he long ago vowed to walk with anyone who requests it. In return for your efforts, the rewards are unimaginable." Pilgrimage to the 88 Sacred Paces of Shikoku

Phil Porter Seal

Phil gives me a Kimono Kimono postcard with his own personal seal stamped on the back. He tells me that it is Japanese tradition that all families have their own seal or stamp (called Inkan or Hanko in Japanese). These seals would serve the same purpose as a signature for all kinds of documents, from signing important contracts to confirming a receipt of delivery.

I thank Phil for his time and in exchange I offer him a netsuke woodblock print and pick up a little Sakura notepad, some Japanese incense and head back to my studio.

"KimonoKimono holds an extensive range of Kimono and Obi, along with dressing accessories and object d'art. A treasure house for Kimono lovers,textile collectors and interior designers." Kimono Kimono

Kimono Kimono

13 Perry Road

Bristol