Hi All,

As promised here is the scoop on this year's Stampfest. Below is the
article that I wrote for the Society for Caligraphers Bulletin. In addition
to what I wrote below a couple of the Stampfesters added a little more
dimension to the Letterboxing experience. Some of them used a different
image to stamp into each of the differens boxes. Someone else wrote a Haiku
poem for each box. Everyone that went hunting had a great time and wanted
to continue this as a new tradition at Stampfest, and a few will be checking
into the Letterboxing site to get more involved.

Stampfest 2000 will be the weekend before Thanks Giving again, 11/17-11/20.
You can also go up a day early 11/16 and stay a day longer 11/21 if you
would like to spend some time hanging out in the Santa Barbara area. Work
space won't be available for those extra days.

Happy Thanks Giving everyone!!!

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STAMPFEST 1999

by Wendy Gault

This year's Stampfest theme focused on sculpting with fabric. Using a
free-form quilting technique, found objects, beads, stamping, painting , and
transferring images on fabric, Stampfesters created whimsical soft art.
Teesha Moore provided the inspirational instruction, materials, and lots of
encouragement.

The first slide show of the week end was a collaboration between Teesha and
Tracy Moore on journaling. The focus was on inspiring Stampfesters to find
their journaling voices by finding what works with your lifestyle and
sensibilities. For example, Teesha creates her art on the pages (leaving
spaces to write) at home (her desk sounds like a fascinating place to
create). She writes while she is out and about waiting for her kids at
their numerous activities. Tracy on the other hand will go to a coffee shop
(or other favorite hang-outs) with all his creative paraphernalia,
spread-out on the table and create (leaving quite an eclectic mess for the
bus boy). He also gets any interested coffee shop goer to join him in the
mess and create their own works of art. Both Teesha and Tracy are
wonderfully generous in sharing their journals, techniques, and enthusiasm.
If you would like to tap into Teesha and Tracy's creative juices, subscribe
to The Studio magazine edited and published by Teesha. Email her at
artgirl777@aol.com.

Other slide shows included wonderfully inspirational lettering art by many
of your friends, and the always irreverent "Mona" slide show.

Show and tell by attending Stampfesters, this weekend included shapes in
oragami demonstration by Cindy Fox. She uses these geometric shapes to
create cards, ornaments and jewelry. She also shared many "negative space"
engineered cards created for her family and friends. June Munger showed us
a wonderfully dimensional star book filled with pictures from last year's
Stampfest, another demonstration of creative engineering with paper. Kate
Lyon (a first timer to Stampfest) showed us how to make a tiny oragami book
that can also doubles as a paper locket filled with treasures. Wendy Gault
introduced the Stampfesters to Letterboxing (a hobby that combines rubber
stamp carving with treasure hunting and hiking), by "planting" Letterboxes
around La Casa de Maria for Stampfesters to hunt throughout the weekend.
For more Letterboxing information check out the Letterboxing web site at
www.letterboxing.org.

All in all another fabulous Stampfest created by Kat Okamoto and friends.
If you are interested in joining us in all the laughter, inspiration and
submerge in co-mingled creative juices at La Casa de Maria, Montecito for
next year's Stampfest contact Kat Okamoto at A Stamp In The Hand, (310)
329-8555. HAPPY CARVING!!!