Yesterday, I posted this older project because I found my “stamp carving” bin while reorganizing my craft hoard stash. Then later the same day I opened and went through that bin and found the original print out for this Ex Libris stamp I carved for a friend.
He’s a photojournalist who has put out 3 books on Weird Sportshttps://www.solneelman.com/WEIRD-SPORTS/BOOK-2/thumbs. When I made this he had quite a collection of photography art books and they were something we used to meet for coffee and look at together in our early adulthood. For his Weird Sports project over the years, he has appeared at photography events wearing a lucha mask. Another thing to note is that he doesn’t close his “other eye” when shooting.
I used an illustration from a friend of his, clipart image of hands holding a camera, his actual signature, and downloaded fonts to make an image in Photoshop that I printed and transferred to the stamp medium (an easy-carve stuff). It’s mounted on a scrap of 1-by lumber.
I mentioned in my post yesterday that I had already collected inspiration and ideas to make myself a bookplate stamp, back when I did these in 2015, but never got past that stage. I hope this year, I will. And I will use mine!
I like the idea of it being in volumes long after they’ve gone on to the next reader. Like an old library book sign out card, the marks of everybody who read it is in there for all time. Sort of a letterboxing/geocaching of literary works. We should all have our own wee stamp we mark in our books somewhere, showing where they’ve been.
