So, you say potato . . .
So, that was hilarious. I simply did not have any of the write (yes, pun intended) tools . . . so my knife was too big and dull, I used water colors not paint (which could work, though, I think) and I needed a template. Drawing freehand just wasn’t a good idea. I also tend to leave things out when I do them without a plan to follow. One course I took in Adult Education had me build a map of Canada and I forgot to put Quebec in . . . hahahahahaha . . . Freud would have loved it . . .
It only took me about one hour to create the stamps–if I leave out having to run to the store for more potatoes. I went to that Thieves Hide-a-way, Save On Foods just off campus–paid more than $1/potato . . . so it was gonna take one potato or nothin’ at that price. I also had to buy some rough cloth. I do have some linen, but I want to get it right first before stamping it.
The thing about doing things by hand is, if you have the time, why not? Now that I don’t go to classes physically, I spend a lot of time walking . . . I mean, if you don’t have the time, you want the automation, but if you do, well, what better way to spend it?
I loved doing it. If the potatoes had been cheaper, I’d have done a few iterations, but I admit, beyond the price, I hated wasting the food.
I think I am going to try this in a class. I’m not too sure why, except that it does create awareness of words and that they are an act of creation and made of, by and as a result of decisions by people. And nobody said the letters had to be in the same direction . . . 
Yours is so cool! Loved the way you documented the whole experience too. You are a storyteller!
I totally agree with your comment that this could be a waste of food. I wonder if this could have been done with food coloring, then you cook the potato after. Or maybe if there are other media we could use to accomplish the same result. A bar of soap? A block of dried air dried clay? DIY mud bricks? Watermelon rinds? A salvage block of wood?
Another comment you made that made me laugh out loud was: “drawing freehand just wasn’t a good idea.” That’s totally what I did…freehanding it because I couldn’t get any paint or pens to mark up the words properly.
In a way, I guess our approach reflect our life rhythms. You mentioned in your comment on my blog that you had the opportunity to slow down due to the pandemic, so taking time to buy a potato and plan things out makes perfect sense! Enjoying the process. For me, I was “rush, rush, rush”‘ because I have been juggling my boys, work, and studies the past few months. So, I was more impatient, used a dying potato, and didn’t bother tracing it first. Yikes!