Marie Price has been using washi, japanese handmade papers, for years in her inventive and versatile printmaking.

I asked Marie to share with us some of her techniques she uses to make prints. I like these ideas because you could do this without a press. It would be challenging, but worth the experiment. Thanks Marie!

"One of my favorite techniques is the "lift" print. It is a very simple method of printmaking that involves rolling out a thin slab of ink onto a glass surface using a roller that corresponds to the size of the image you want. The artist draws on the back of a sheet of paper that has been placed directly onto the ink slab face down, and once the drawing is completed, "lifts" the paper off to reveal the image. Because I use washi papers exclusively, I always place a sheet of newsprint over top of the washi to protect it, and draw on the newsprint rather than directly onto the washi. Where the pencil has pressed the sheet of paper as you draw, the ink gets taken up from the slab, giving you a fuzzy rich line or texture of ink. You can draw with a pencil, the back of you hand, a finger, or an old toothbrush, anything that is handy. Each implement will render a distinctive mark".

"Sometimes I draw a figure on a sheet of washi and cut it out. After cutting it, I place the figure face down onto an existing inked plate, either a woodcut or etching plate. I may put the cutout upside down or sideways on the plate. I may run it through the press several times placing it in a different spot each time. By doing this, I ensure that there are all kinds of marks on this one little cutout. Now I have a single image that I then glue onto a completely new sheet of paper. I repeat this process for all the other images or figures and finally combine them all to form the final image. Each figure of that final image comes from a variety of different plates and is glued onto the support paper through the chine colle process".

To see more go to http://www.marie-price.com

It’s back to business and school...here are a few suggestions to prepare yourself.

You won't loose these bright notebooks in the bottom of your stuffed bags. A different color for each class or project is an option. You get an A for organizational aptitude.

Calculators are not phones, or is that, phones are not calculators, whatever, how about a calculator as a calculator! You get A for knowing what's what.

And finally, prevent loosing your books when you so graciously loan them out. Slap an ex libris clearly inside the book with your name and phone number, clearly written within. There, another A for showing initiative.

You are so smart!

Shower these gifts on the lucky parents at the next Baby Shower you attend.

It’s more fun to learn about telling time when the clock is a cute elephant!

Babies deserve art too. Adorable prints on wood already matted and ready to be framed.

Silk-screened bugs and letterpressed sea life. Ahhh.

You don’t have to be a baby to enjoy these gifts; just having some “kid” in you is sufficient.

Funky and useful! Get arty in your wrapping.

This Japanese tape is a kinder, gentler version of the old fashioned fabric based rubber adhesive duct tape. It is actually more a kin to gaffer tape. We carry them in 3 sizes and 5 colors. For extra decorative touches add our washi tapes.

Finally to complete your parcel masterpiece, present your taped items with these retro gift tags. 

You will find these and other surprises in what we refer to as “craft corner”.

Unleash your creativity with stamping.

I like words and the history of words. I like looking up words in the dictionary, especially old dictionaries. I wanted to tell everyone about our new stamps we have, which I LOVE! So, of course I looked up “stamping” in the dictionary.

Stamping present participle of stamp (verb)

1. Bring down (one's foot) heavily on the ground or on something on the ground.

2. Crush, flatten, or remove with a heavy blow from one's feet: "he stamped out the flames before they could grow".

Ok, not quite what I had in mind, but quite expressive, isn’t it? Rubber stamping, is different, instead of a foot you use the rubber stamp. And you don’t have to put it down heavily, in fact you put it down firmly with gentle pressure. And you don’t have to stamp the ground, you can stamp paper, boxes, fabric, glass, wood, your arm. You can scan your stamping images and miraculously use it in your emails. Wow, what a superb idea?

Several months ago a customer bought up all our most expensive and highest quality paper we offer, and requested more...that peaked my curiosity. What is she doing with all this amazing paper?

Karen Garrett de Luna has produced an exquisite body of embossed and inkjet prints using Gampi Torinoko. When I viewed her photographs at the Emily Carr University I was astonished to see that she had chosen the perfect paper to express her artistic statement ...”both visible and invisible illnesses and injuries as seen on the skin, while focusing on the fragility and resilience of the human envelope”.

Unbeknownst to me as I began exploring printmaking papers, gampi torinoko comes with a pedigree; according to Steven Saitzyk's Art Hardware: The Definitive Guide to Artists’ Materials, “The Treaty of Versailles was written and signed on this paper because it was believed to be the most permanent paper in the world” (Saitzyk 110). I fell in love with the silky texture of the paper and it was strong enough to withstand the embossing process. In an instance of synchronicity, the paper is composed of 100% Philippine gampi (i.e. fibre from Filipino gampi trees)." 

Karen Garrett de Luna holds BAs in Dance and Mathematics from the University of Washington and an MAA in Visual Arts from Emily Carr University of Art + Design.http://delunatic.net/illBody/  

Paper and textiles have long since shared a commonality, both being made from the natural world using plants and fibers.

Lotta Helleberg’s beautiful journal covers are made with environmentally sound production methods using water based non-toxic inks. Nature is her inspiration. Each of her pieces seem to exude a calmness. Soft coloured linen is screen printed with images of leaves, flowers and other plant materials. The cover holds the moleskine notebook with perfection. We also have her sage sachets if you require extra calmness!