PennyPenny, I have an art background too and think that probably is going to be more of a boon than actual carving practice (I mean, if I had to choose one or the other). I still haven't carved my signature stamp yet, and that art background may be the reason why-- high expectations! When I saw yours, I right away figured you were a fellow artist. But kudos for getting right to it! When I first joined this group, I wondered aloud why people didn't use linoleum blocks, since they seem to be the carving medium of choice in art school printmaking classes. But the group let me know that linoleum doesn't hold up through the major weather changes that letterboxes have to endure. At that point, I'd have never thought of that. Someone suggested though that linoleum would be fine for a signature stamp since it wouldn't be out in the weather. I've run into a couple of very handsome stamps recently. I've also come across a couple that weren't carved deeply enough, so that my daughter whose book has very slightly textured pages had a hard time getting the image to show up. We all have art sketchbooks, so that's another thing to consider when choosing a book & when carving. --lunaryakketyact



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