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Cutting and carving stones for Japanese and Chinese stamps

At the November 篆刻 tenkoku (seal engraving) group meeting online by zoom, Blair gave an in depth demonstration of carving techniques to directly guide participants and give them tips on this exciting part of the process!

Japanese and Chinese Seal Engraving – Tenkoku

This covered how to handle and work with each of the traditional materials including the stones, clamp, and cutters of varied sizes.

We also looked at the layout of stamp compositions and tips on how to have enough breathing space and balance, depending on the style.

Japanese and Chinese Seal Engraving – Tenkoku
Japanese and Chinese Seal Engraving – Tenkoku

He also helped advise folk with their kanji or names and their designs for stamps. Lots of great ideas from folk (thanks for your photos) and very varied 印  stamps, including ookami wolf ?, a Zen name, and an English first and last name converted by Blair into four kanji for a white letter 白文stamp ?

Cutting and carving stones for Japanese and Chinese stamps

Our next session↓?