Was there something particularly challenging in the process?
I found the entire process of creating stamps challenging. Firstly, carving out the stamp letters was difficult. Secondly, if you did not cut your potato evenly, some letters did not show in the imprint. Lastly, if you did not place enough paint on the stamp or added glitter, the word was not clear. This is portrayed in the picture below.
How much time did it take for you to create the stamps?
Making the stamps took me around 1 hour. This time included the set up process. I used my Halloween pumpkin tools, instead of a knife to carve the letters out which helped in carving out the letters. I completed this activity with my 6-year-old daughter and we both enjoyed making stamps. She made a stamp of her name which is Arya and also made a heart stamp. For us it became a fun crafts activity we completed together! I have included an image of the stamp my daughter Arya made below.
Have you noticed anything particular about the letters that you have chosen to reproduce?
Each of the words I chose to use had many vowels. The first stamp I created was of my daughter Aisha. However, I did not think to carve out the stamp letters backwards. As a result, the image was backwards which is portrayed in the images below. Most of these vowels when used in capital form, for instance, A and I, were not affected if I did not carve out the stamp backwards. I also made a stamp of my sister’s name, Vrinda as I later realized we were supposed to make a word of 5 letters where no letters repeat. The letter A was difficult to carve as it had many parts to cut out, and by mistake, I cut off a portion of the letter. Additionally, it was difficult to cut out the curvy letters, for instance, the letter S. It is clear in the photographs that both images produced by the different stamps are distinctive as they look different. Furthermore, the various paint colours provides a unique aesthetic feel to each image.
Considering the time and effort that took you to create a 5-letter word, how do you feel about the mechanization of writing?
I think we take for granted the tools we use for writing, for instance, pens and the computer. These tools make it much easier to write. I cannot imagine trying to handwrite on hard surfaces, such as a scroll or ivory as you are not able to edit your text. Similarly, in the potato stamp activity, you are not able to edit your text produced from the stamp. I prefer using a digital tool, for instance, the computer as my handwriting is not very neat. Additionally, it helps edit my work and points out any spelling errors.
Final thoughts
“As technology, writing extends human beings’ ability with others across space and through time” I wonder how tools of literacy have impacted my individual development, and how it has affected culture (Haas, 2013, p. 6). I have realized I have become more dependent on technology to assist me in completing my assignments more accurately and quickly, as I can type faster than I can handwrite. I wonder how future generations, for instance, my daughter will be further impacted by technology. From the development of text messages on cell phones, I have noticed some of my students are not able to communicate formally in their lab reports and they include slang words in their assignments, for instance, cuz, instead of because, or write words such as u, instead of you.
References
Haas, C. (2013). “The Technology Question.” In Writing technology: Studies on the materiality of literacy. Routledge. (pp. 3-23).
