Name Seal
The most common seal is a name seal, and the most common name seal contains both first and last names.
15 May 2015
Talking Seals
Read More »
Looking at Seals: Sadness
A seal from two thousand years ago certainly tells a story, we just don’t know what it is.
1 May 2015
More Than One
If you have both a first and a last name seal the one with your family name will usually go under the signature.
15 April 2015
Seal Phrase: Not as Good as Good
The Chinese say that “more is not as good as less and less is not as good as good.”
1 April 2015
Use the Masters
Artist’s often struggle over where to place their seals on their artwork. One of the best ways to learn is by looking at the old masters.
15 March 2015
Where Do I Put It?
Probably the most common question from beginning artists is where to put a seal on their art.
15 February 2015
By Any Other Name
The Chinese word yinni 印泥 can be translated into English as seal ink, ink paste, or seal paste.
15 January 2015
Don’t Eat It!
The red color of seal ink comes from the mineral cinnabar, which is then made into the color known as vermillion—and it’s poisonous.
15 December 2014
What’s On a Seal?
Most seals have the name of the artist and are used along with a signature or in place of one, but seals can also include favorite phrases, poems, religious texts, pictures, or any combination of these.
15 November 2014
Not Too Fine
If you sand down your seal stone for any reason don’t use too fine a grit of sandpaper.
15 October 2014
Not Too Tight
Unless you’re working on a very hard stone I suggest you wrap your seal stone in a bit of cloth, tissue, or soft leather before you clamp it into your seal vise.
15 September 2014
Seal Ruler
Although usually translated into English as a seal ruler (印規 yingui) this tool has nothing to do with taking measurements.
15 August 2014