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| Taken the day he was born |
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| Taken today as he was trying to help me by making a mess with tape. |
It is wonderful having helping hands when I am doing something, however, I do not want Timothy around my carving tools. They are sharp!! So I gave him a roll of tape and he tried and tried to unroll it. Here he is frustrated, handing me the tape. He was removing small pieces about the size of a dime. He placed all these tape stickers all over my pants. I laughed and laughed. It is amazing how much he has grown in the past 2 years.
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| Carving material |
Here are a few samples of carving material that I use on a regular basis. There are others and depending on what you are carving for will determine what you carve on. I do not have linoleum blocks (mounted or unmounted pictured) as I do not recommend them for long term use. If I am carving to make a standard block print with limited use I might use linoleum with an ink press. Good for decor, invitations, cards, but not good for outside use, with markers, or with excessive use. They can break and crumble. Above I have OZ, PZ, NZ, Orange A and speedball pink. I also carve on wood, however, I will be focusing on rubber type materials. There are other carving materials out there, but I do not recommend them so I will not be reviewing them.
All carving blocks should be stored flat prepped to be carved on and with a clean paper or clean cloth between each piece. Each piece should be free of debris.
There are several ways to prep your material for carving, but I will focus on my process. When I receive a carving block the first thing I do I wipe it down with a slightly damp rag and then wipe it dry. I then take a fine grain sand paper and sand it lightly from corn to corner. Takes about 1 min. DO NOT USE CIRCULAR MOTIONS. Remember you are not digging into the material, but you are giving it a quick sanding to help take ink or paint. After you give it a sanding wipe it off with a slightly damp rag.
I also use acetone (get at a hardware store). I use tissue paper (the kind you would wrap a gift with) by getting it slightly wet with acetone and then wipe it down quickly with the tissue paper. I do this twice. Wipe it on the block just as you would grease a baking pan. The acetone should not drip off your tissue paper. I use this process when it is warm outside. This is a garage or outside project as it can give you a headache. Many are hesitant to use acetone, but I use both depending on the weather.
To answer questions:
This is a slip strop it is used in polishing and sharpening your tools. Keeping the edges nice and free of nicks. I also use a whetstone and honing solution. Here is a look at all sides of my slip strop. As you can see it is well used. I put away my tools polished and polish before I use them and then frequently as I carve. When carving anything you need sharp clean tools. If your tools are sharp then your carved image will be crisper.
Now I love my needles. Everyone enjoys different tools, but this is by far my favorite. It stays sharper longer than the rest of them.
This is how I put it together. To the left I have a pin vice. There are many types, but I prefer this one. It came with drill bits that I put in a drawer somewhere. Next to the pin vice is a needle. This is how they come when you purchase them. This is a 16 gauge. It is easier to see, but they come in many gauges. The larger the gauge to smaller the needle. I do not trade needles - I have different pin vices for different gauges. You can purchase these at any store that sells live stock items. You can get 20 and 22 gauge from Walgreen's. You have to ask the pharmacists I remove the needle from the sheath. To remove the needle from the base I use wire cutters. (hint - put the lid over the tip as if you put a lot of pressure on the metal it can shoot across the room, real pain) I then place it in the pin vice and tighten it up. Ready for use. This is not a gouge, but more of a knife.
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