Embossing circles and pebbles...

 A while ago I was gifted some copper remnants from a jeweller friend who had cut disks out of the sheets to use for enamelled earrings. I fell in love with the multiple circles.

This pair of small sheets (about 10cm (l) x 5 cm (w) seemed to me to talk about being book covers somehow.

Somebody suggested maybe they would make beautiful embossings...

And I quite liked what they did. Afterwards, I fiddled around with making marks on the raised bits, using watercolours on them, and simply couldn't find a way to use them. So it's back to book covers I think.

However, as I looked at them on my desk, they did make me wonder about embossing pebble shapes...

Part of me loves how when you have an idea or are thinking about something, you suddenly see it or possibilities for it everywhere!

So I drew and cut 25 pebbles shapes out of tracing paper and drew up a grid in my journal and wondered. Placed randomly in the grid, I liked their subtle movement and individuality.

I decided to cut an embossing plate from a desk mat as a test.

And I chose three papers to test it on - Fabriano Rosapina, BFK Rives and some handmade paper.

I thought they could work well, but I didn't like how the roughness of the handmade paper showed through as pebbles texture. Which made me go - Oh! What if I embossed the shapes, rather than the template??? That way I would get smooth pebble forms maybe.

And so I did. And with a bit more pressure, I think I would get a lovely flat pebble look.

On this one, the shapes moved as I placed the paper and two of them touched.

What a field of exploration has opened up!  I expect one of my next jobs will be cutting out the rest of the pebbles from a desk mat and seeing what patterns they could make...