by Laura Peck

Break free of the stamps! 

At the Big Show last month, I was delighted to showcase some of my 2024 stamp collages on cedar board. Four of them, mostly nuanced monochromes. My daughter also had a few pieces and we enjoyed this special mother & daughter time at Community Living. Either discussing with other artists or chatting about this & that–sometimes about art. My art. 

“I sometimes find my collages boring,” I said to Martha, “What could I do to make them more alive? Less minimalist? How would you recommend I work with my stamps?”

A dear friend gave me her precious collection last December. I discovered a few hundred of them, sometimes several sheets of the same kind. I was moved & mesmerized.  What a lovely Christmas gift! I HAD to do something with them.

Martha who’s been painting and creating art works for over ten years is never shy to give me her opinion. “Break free of the stamps,” she replied bluntly. “Play with them, draw on them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t stay stuck with the stamps. Use them, cut them to create something different.” 

That kept me thinking for a few days. Then I spent some time with my stamps, getting them out of their jars & slips. This is when I saw beyond the stamps. Well not really beyond, more like inside the stamps. Colours & patterns. I had in front of me: Ocean Canada – that was in the Big Show. And another one called Big Fish.  As I started to sort, cut & adjust more stamps on the Ocean, I enjoyed diving deeper. In less than two hours, Ocean Canada became Ocean Before Plastic. At the same time, I noticed my left hand automatically almost put some cuttings aside on Big Fish.  

I was delighted to use more stamps, to play with the shapes & objects on them to fit my ocean theme – my ocean love really.  No, I’m not sharing pictures of Big Fish. I hope it will be fished by the Jurors for the Juried Show at the end of May in Williamstown. As Ocean Before Plastic. Plus one. 

Aha! Sharing the thinking, the reworking, the to- & fro-ing of the creative process. Tell us about your journey(s)! Send a few words & images to cagac.ca@gmail.com