Eraser Carvings

Late in 1999, I got interested in eraser carving: making rubber stamps by carving erasers or large blocks of carving material produced for the purpose. I joined the Carving Consortium, an internet mailing list devoted to carving, and was soon on my way. This page is a gallery of my carvings to date. For more information about eraser carving, including how-to instructions, a gallery of carvings, and a list of vendors, visit the Carving Consortium web site.

NEW: I've recently gotten into Artist Trading Cards. To see my carved ATCs, check out my ATC Gallery.

See the art from the Carving Consortium Pokémon Swap I hosted in March 2001.

Hermit's Lantern. My first carving, made in November 1999. The alchemical symbols of the four elements are positioned around the lantern.

One of the things that got me interested in eraser carving initially was the prosepct of making my own tarot deck in a style similar to the old woodcut decks of previous centuries. I doubted that I would be able to pull it off in wood, but rubber seemed a possibility. My second carving was the ace of batons for my deck, done in December. In January, I have completed the back design and Love (Lovers) card. The cards may be seen on the Cartae Triumphorum page.

The Moon. Made in December 1999, this was my first carving for a Carving Consortium swap ("By the Light of the Moon", conducted by Barbara Miller). The design is based loosely on the 16th-century Milanese tarot cards in the Cary collection.

The Eternity of the Dragon. Also from December 1999, this is my second CC swap entry (for Barbara Miller's "Year of the Dragon" swap). The lemniscare formed by the large dragon and the small ouroborous within its tail are both symbols of eternity. I like the sense of energy in this one.

In December 1999, I carved the Telperion Productions logo, my name, and email address (separate carvings) for use in decorating correspondence. Although simple, these ones get used a lot!


Tarot Postoids. I'm carving a series of faux postage stamps based on tarot cards. These are carved from actual erasers, not carving blocks. Top row: Fool, Magician, Papess; bottom row: Hermit, Angel, World. The Hermit and World were carved first, in January 2000, followed by the Fool and Angel. The Magician and Paperss were carved in February, using a different type of eraser.


UU Chalices. The flaming chalice is a symbol of the Unitarian-Universalism, my church community for the last 5 years. All of these were done in January.

Chinese chop seals. Well, sort of. I got my name in Chinese from a website, and then made a carving (left). I also did one for Anne-Marie (middle) and one for Cecilia (right).

La Chalupa. Card design made for a Loteria swap hosted by Honey Comer (February). Loteria is a Mexican game similar to Bingo. This is one of my favorite carvings to date. Most of the "textures" (water, trees, dress, landscape) was done impromptu during the carving, rather than being part of the original drawing. No, this has nothing to do with Taco Bell.

Labyrinth. This was made in March for the Carving Consortium Labyrinth swap, hosted by Susan Scheel. The design is that of the famous Chartes Cathedral Labyrinth, and I decorated the corners with creatures of the four elements: gnome, dolphin, sylph, and salamander. The labyrinth is unicursal: there is no way to get lost.

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