I wanted to create a stamp out of rope. I was curious to see if the woven texture of the rope could be transferred onto paper using ink or paint.

First, I cut two pieces of rope, one slightly longer than the other. I melted the ends of both pieces together to create two loops. After that, I used a miter saw to cut a small block of scrap wood. I laid both loops onto this block one in a circular shape and the other in a square. I then secured the rope to the wood using a nail gun, which created a very strong bond. I noticed that the sections where the rope had been melted together were slightly higher than the rest, which isn't ideal for stamping, so I cut those parts out. Next, I applied paint to a piece of cardboard and spread it out to use as an ink pad for my stamp. I then pressed the stamp onto a blank sheet of A4 paper. Because it was difficult to get enough paint onto the rope, I used a small piece of cardboard to manually smear more paint onto the fibers. I also tried placing the A4 paper on the floor, putting the stamp on top, and standing on it to apply maximum pressure.

Stamping with rope is quite difficult. For some reason, very little ink actually transfers to the paper. I also feel that the shapes I created in this experiment aren't particularly interesting. I suspect that using more rope in a single stamp would allow for better paint absorption, which might lead to a more interesting result on paper.

Is it easier to transfer paint if there is a larger surface area of rope? If I use more paint, will I actually be able to capture the woven texture, or will it just become a blotch?

I want to create another version using more rope in the stamp design. This will help me determine if a higher density of rope holds more paint and produces a more visually interesting result.

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