Nothing Pointy, Please

I've tried my fair share of crafty activities. Some of them have worked out better than others.

I've learned that sharp objects and I don't mix. I once nearly severed a finger while carving a linoleum block. I've learned my lesson and stayed away from knitting needles.


Silkscreen squeegees are much more my style. Rubber, wood, paper, and a bit of paint, and you can make yourself some prints that look almost as cool as if you'd maimed yourself sticking with carving linoleum blocks.

Besides, creating a stencil from a sketch or a photograph (like my guitar tree below and my dragon at right, respectively) doesn't take as many hours of work before you can see the end result. If I start a project I like to finish it, so taking on a manageable art project definitely has its appeal.

Letterpress is another great way to create art with a similar aesthetic, but those machines can be dangerous--at least to those of us known to skewer our fingers with carving knives.

Last month I wrote that I wouldn't have time to make hand-made holiday cards this year. I was sad about that, so I changed my mind.

I didn't manage to pull out my silkcreens, but I took an old letterpress poster I made at the San Francisco Center for the Book and found a font on my computer that captured the same feel.

And when I have time to step away from my computer, I'll stick to a craft where getting paint on my shirt is the worst that can happen.

--Gigi