Project #19 Patterned Layers and Button Stamps

Above is a mixed media piece by Italian artist Mirko Baricchi. To achieve some similar you can use stamps made with different materials to create a base layer.

Create some unique stamps using old buttons and cut cardboard shapes glued onto corks or bottle caps to use at the handle. With acrylic paint, ink or a stamp pad print the stamps in patterns on paper or fabric.  Don't worry if the stamps do not print perfectly each time.  The end result can be more interesting if they do not.

Tear or cut your print into smaller pieces and rearrange them.  You can apply these pieces onto another sheet of paper or tape together on the back or overlap and glue them.  You may want to add more paint with a brush, add collage elements or draw on top of the printed areas as Baricchi has above.

Handmade stamps using wood blocks and foam by Juan Diaz-Faes are a great example of making your own stamps from materials that you might already have at home.  Use craft foam or styrofoam trays from food and other packing materials.  Bits of wood can be found at Home Depot and Lowe's where wood is custom cut.  They will be happy to give you small scraps that they are going to throw away.