How to Do Urban Stamping
If you are traveling to a new city and want a unique and artistic way to capture the experience, I strongly recommend urban stamping! Urban stamping involves finding multi-level designs while walking around, then pressing a moldable material into them to create a stamp.
Me doing some urban stamping in our Oslo, Norway, hotel room with Melissa Vickers.
Urban Stamping Supplies
I have found the Faber-Castell kneaded eraser to be the best tool for this fun process. I combine 2-3 of them to get plenty of surface area. I keep the combined kneaded eraser in a Ziploc bag and always have it in my purse, just in case! I use a Ranger black ink pad and also keep it in my bag, but I am sure any would work. Colored ink would be fun!
As for paper, any would work, but I carry a small sketchbook/journal with mixed-media paper and use that.
Urban Stamping in action.
Urban Stamping Tips
I have found that items with an indented negative space design I like better than those with the primary design I am trying to capture, which is raised above the surface. The reason is that it lets you isolate the design and avoid a ton of black around it, so the eraser sits higher than the image. Not sure that will make a ton of sense until you just start playing with it.
Carry an old credit card or a hotel key card to cut around the design in the eraser once you have created it, so you can get a cleaner stamp on your page.
The 2nd or 3rd pull is often better than the first. It helps the paper flatten the design a little.
I have my eraser already pre-flattened in the Ziploc, so I am ready to go and don't have to worry about flattening it to capture the "stamp" in the wild, where there may not be a flat, clean surface.
If you are traveling with friends, you can get several stamps from one pull, so be sure to pass it around!
You do not need to clean the eraser after you use it... It will self-absorb into the eraser.
But carry wet wipes with you to clean the ink off your hands afterward.
Elise Aabakken (right) and me (left) enjoying our urban sketching experience and sharing stamps.
I hope this helps you start your urban stamping adventure and get ready to create some one-of-a-kind entries in your travel journal! Have fun and keep me posted - I’d love to see what you are making. Be sure to tag me on Instagram @michelle.schenker.art
