Peaceful Reflection Challenged Me!

Peaceful Reflection was a stamp set I won at the April Stampin’ Up! On Stage event.  At the time I was excited just to win a stamp set! But when I really looked at it, I was definitely intimidated by this set. I could not figure out what I would ever be able to use this for! Then I looked at again this weekend and it dawned on me that I really love Asian inspired design.  I mean, my entire living room is Asian inspired! I love the simplicity, peace and calm of my Asian inspired living room. I thought, well that is what this stamp set is all about. So,  I decided not to be intimidated and just dive in and do my best interpretation of Asian design!

When you have a piece of Asian artwork, every element means something.  Anything from the way a bird’s wings may be or the way the waterfall flows, or how many trees are in the scene has a meaning.  I don’t have a great deal of knowledge about Asian art and all the subtleties of what each element means.  I just know that I like the simplicity and the “zen” or calm feeling this art gives me.

So, this is my own interpretation of the Peaceful Reflection stamp set.  The stamp at the lower right is my “chop”.  A friend brought it back from China for me.  In Asian art, an artist will have a personalized “chop” they stamp on all of their artwork. (Just like our customer stamps!) My friend knows I like stamping and decided I needed a “chop” of my own. The characters in the chop are a loose interpretation of my name in either Mandarin or Cantonese. I am not sure which. The other calligraphy and sentiment is from the Artistically Asian set from Stampin’ Up.

The background was watercolored on watercolor paper using Pool Party ink.  I stayed with a grayscale look on all the other inks just because it made the design simple. In the end, I think I got my calm and “Peaceful Reflection”.  I am definitely going to try more Asian inspired design.

Products Used For This Card