Entering My Analog Creation Era

At the end of January I escaped an ice storm to spend nearly 3 weeks in Japan surrounded by the most snow I’ve ever seen in my life.

My husband, two of my dearest friends, and I spent a few days in Tokyo before we headed to snowy Sapporo. This was my 3rd visit to Japan but my first time experiencing the northernmost island, Hokkaido.

The trips to and from were a challenge, but while we were there it was a perfect wonderland.

I ate the best ramen, drank Sapporo beer straight from the source, and witnessed artists from all over the world build the most magical snow and ice sculptures.

We ended the trip with a few luxurious days in Osaka (one of my favorite cities) and Kyoto before heading home.

Then I crashed out for a full week because the jet lag and sleep debt I accumulated was REAL. 😮‍💨

But I wanted to pop into your inbox to let you know where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to.

I’m currently writing this from a plane seat on my way to Whitefish, Montana for a ski trip (past me is not very good at managing future me’s energy levels 🙃). I’m exhausted but also excited to visit a new state and mountain for skiing.

Throughout my entire trip to Japan, I was feeling so creatively inspired and I couldn’t wait to get home to make some art.

However, I felt a pull to create differently from how I usually do. Typically my workflow is almost all digital, working ideas out on my iPad before bringing them into other digital software on my computer.

But this time I wanted to go full analog.

Last year I experimented a bit with some rubber stamp carving and block printing, and this year a signed up for a course to dive deeper into this craft and learn how to make repeating patterns with my stamps.

The process so far has been fun and connecting, but also very challenging. I’m used to hitting the undo button every time I make a mistake, so permanently cutting into a moderately expensive piece of rubber is a tad stressful. The finished product is so worth it though.

To be able to physically hold something I made is the best feeling. And the process is teaching me to loosen up, embrace the mistakes, and let go.

I left my carving tools at home while I ski because I didn’t think TSA would be too happy with me bringing knives and sharp gouges on the plane, but I can’t wait to get back and go on a total block printing frenzy.

I’m going to need a lot of practice to master my carving skills, so I plan to create and print a lot of blocks this year. Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading. Talk soon,

Rachel