I love the bold black and red forms of this print by Sir Terry Frost, entitled, “Red and Black Solid.”
Inspiration
Snail Mail Saturday – Vintage Stamps
Stumbled upon an amazing Tumblr this week, simply called Vintage Stamp Designs. It features tons and tons of beautiful stamps from all over the world, many of which seem to have been collected and compiled by Karen Horton, who also posts her beautiful finds on her vintage stamp collection on Flickr. She does an amazing job sharing information about the stamps, and I admire her dedication to cataloging all these beauties. I spent way too long saving all my favorites, and then compiling them into the collage above.
Print of the Week – Woodcut by Bryan Nash Gill
These incredible prints, made by Bryan Nash Gill, are created using remnants of tree stumps, which the artist inks and hand prints to make these large scale records of trees that have been felled. The printing process for this series is incredibly laborious: after rolling out the ink, the artist gingerly places the thin Japanese paper atop the section of wood, and uses the pressure of his fingertips to impress the ink upon paper.
You can see a more in depth explanation of Brian Nash Gill’s process on the Ashes & Milk blog, or take a look at his portfolio.
Looking for more creative inspiration? Check out the archives, and see all the amazing artists who inspire my work as a printmaker.
Patterns Everywhere
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I post a lot of photos of patterns I encounter out in the world. Here are a few shots from my summer outings, all which feature awesomely bold patterns.
From top left, clockwise: My cat Frida, lounging with my Bookhou purse and an Ikea pillow // My Bookhou purse and Keiko‘s Shelter bag // My friend Nina in an art installation in Hayes Valley // Some Falconwright pouches, spotted at Poketo.
Field Trip: Bolt Fabric in Portland, Oregon
While I was visiting Portland last week, I had an opportunity to visit one of my favorite fabric shops in the Pacific Northwest: Bolt Fabric Boutique. Located in the Alberta Arts District in NE Portland, Bolt is near my old stomping grounds (my old print studio was just blocks away). It’s a great little neighborhood shop, and the employees always make an effort to remember you, and what projects you were last working on.
Their selection of fabrics is fantastic, the staff has a great curatorial eye, and keeps the shop stocked with all the best new designs. It’s not the largest fabric shop (Fabric Depot out in SE Portland has got them beat, square footage wise), but they manage to fill the space with so many awesome fabrics, it’s hard to leave without buying at least a fat quarter of something.
They stock some beautiful Liberty of London prints, of course.
These quilting cottons from Denise Schmidt’s new Chicopee collection caught my eye as well.
Bolt offers a full-range of supplies for sewing, quilting and craft projects, and their fabrics are selected purposefully to be versatile so they can be used in applications ranging from quilts to garments to bags and accessories. They have all the basics (like this rainbow of Gutermann thread above), as well as tools for more advanced projects.
They have a great selection of DIY books, too!
I love that Bolt is committed to sustainable practices. They cut fabric to 1/8th of a yard to help reduce waste, they’ve eliminated packaging when feasible and offer most tapes, elastics, ribbons and embellishments in bulk, so you get exactly what you need without excess packaging or materials. They carry a broad selection of natural fibers, as well as organic and alternative fabrics, such as soy and bamboo.
If you’re in the Portland area, you really should drop by Bolt (2136 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211). Check out their website and their blog to learn more about this awesome shop.
Snail Mail Saturday – Rainbow Snail Mail Supplies
I refuse to believe that summer is almost over. For one, it’s still 88° around here most days, and it’s not going to start cooling down anytime soon. Secondly, I still can’t get enough of summer brights, as you can tell from this rainbow hued roundup of snail mail supplies that I compiled this week.
1. Spectrum Eagle USPS stamp 2. Neon Pink Heart Card from Banquet 3. Neon Stamp Pad 4. Presentation Envelope from Paper Source 5. Neon Alphabet and Number Stickers from fromsoul 6. Block Card and Envelope from Present and Correct 7. Hi Stickers from Sparrow Nest Script