On previous travels in Japan, I had noticed that local travellers love to collect ink stamps from all interesting sites and collect them in a little paper book. These are usually quite large rubber stamps in bright colours mainly red but also in other colours including blue, purple, green and black.
On our journey to Japan last year I decided to collect some of these myself and combine them with my other images in my travel diary. We found the stamps everywhere, they even have a special stamp for every JR station somewhere hiding on the platform. As the trains are so frequent , we didn't always have time to find them but at the larger stations they are quite prominent.
This first stamp was a target for one of the beautifully fine pens I picked up. The Japanese write so finely. As I get older my writing and drawing seems to be getting smaller.
It took a little while and some experimentation to work out how to include these strong designs into my diary pages alongside my tickets and other travel ephemera. They are quite different to some of my previous travel diaries from Japan and elsewhere. I am getting quite a collection of them but they don't take up much room in my drawers. I did show quite a few of them in the "Mind Mapping" exhibition several years ago. Who knows, the new ones might also get an airing sometime in the future.
As I used the same diary for our travels in Tasmania earlier this year, some of the unfinished drawings from Japan were finished in Tassie and the journey continues.
5 comments:
Wow, I love those stamps, Jack. That's so good to know. I'll be in Japan very (very) briefly -- just in the airport really - on my way to Singapore and Borneo in October so I'll keep my eyes open. I have mail ready to send you, but our postal service is threatening a strike so it may be some time yet.
Thanks Adrienne, I'm not sure about the stamps being at the airports as well but I think it's quite possible but what a nightmare trying to find them. Let me know how you get on.
Jack! This post is tremendously inspiring! I love what you're doing with the stampings, especially the one with the octopus drawing, of course! I hope you received my last fat mailing..it was around the time you were leaving to visit Japan.
More diary entries and stamp photos, please!
Cheers, Vizma.
Thanks Vizma, I did receive your last mailing and you are on my list for an artist book soonish.
Hello! I was wondering if this artwork is in any museums or exhibitions, like your other artworks.
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