Round and Square
You can buy round, cylindrical seal stones but I recommend carving round seals from square stones.
15 May 2016
Talking Seals
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Seal Ink Container Size
For your studio be generous in the size of your seal ink container.
1 May 2016
Cleaning Your Seal
The traditional way to clean a seal is, after use, to simply stamp it over and over on to scrap paper until nothing more appears.
15 April 2016
Seal Paddle
Good quality seal ink is often sold along with a small paddle called, in Chinese, yinzhu 印箸 or “seal chopsticks.”
1 April 2016
Flat Ink
There are several problems with the seal ink commonly sold in small flat tins or in small, shallow ceramic bowls.
15 March 2016
A Ball of Ink
If you roll your seal ink into a ball you are much less likely to pull fibers from the ink.
1 March 2016
Side Inscriptions
Seal artists often write on the sides of their seals (in Chinese called 邊款 biankuan).
15 February 2016
Oil-based Seal Ink
The third main ingredient of seal ink, along with color and binder, is oil.
1 February 2016
Where Does It Start?
Chinese is traditionally written from top to bottom in columns that are read from right to left, in other words beginning in the top right corner and continuing to the bottom left corner.
15 January 2016
Use Quality Ink
You will want to use the best quality seal ink you can find and/or afford.
1 January 2016
Don’t Damage the Knob
Seals stones often have decorative knobs carved into the top of the stone but these can get in the way when carving a seal.
15 December 2015
Where To Buy Seal Ink
A frequent question is where to buy seal ink and, unfortunately for many, the answer is to buy from an art supply store in China.
1 December 2015