I thoroughly enjoyed it & it is an art form that I will continue to pursue.
I checked out a couple of sites on the internet before I left & I also talked to an artist I met about materials I would need & how to do the rubbings.
Tombstone Rubbing is a fine art & was popular here in the states several years ago. It's not done here as much anymore, but it is my understanding that it is still pursued in England, regularly.
I have learned several things from my first attempt at doing the rubbings.
Being in a cemetery has a very calming effect on you. It is most generally a very quiet, peaceful setting.
Tombstone Rubbing is a way to remember or recognize the deceased. As you walk through the cemetery, & look at the dates of births & deaths that are registered on the stones, you wonder about the person... What was their life like? Was it good? What about their families? How did they die? Are there still family members who are alive & who care about & remember the deceased?
I've seen headstones from the plague era. (But I wasn't in to rubbings then.) This week-end I saw a lot of gravesites from the early 1900's where the deceased persons were only 24-40 years old when they died. It makes you wonder how they died... Maybe lack of medicines & medical knowledge...
The places on the stones that didn't rub clearly are usually places where the stone has crumbled. Since some of these stones are hard to read, I will include photographs for some of them. I will also put in photo's of stones that were too deteriorated to rub. I found them to be interesting even when rubbing was not possible.
This was taken from an old logging cemetery in Alcona county, Michigan.
Ellen's tombstone & one from a soldier that had no dates are the only stones left standing. In fact there were only two others whose stones had been knocked down. I understand that at one time the cemetery was quite large.
Ellen's headstone after it was cleaned.
This stone is 120 years old.
This is a picture of what is left of the cemetery.
In "Real Life" the cross is not there...
I have heard stories about images appearing in photo's that the eye can not see. This is one of those images.
Curtisville Cemetery
Alcona County, Mi.
Curtisville Cemetery
Alcona County, Mi.
The lonely old man
Who looks on
As others live.
His longing for companionship
is buried beneath his wrinkled brow.
The world doesn't need him now.
His love has died ~
And with her,
his purpose in life...
His need for love is there,
buried beneath his tattered clothing.
But no one sees him.
And there's no one left
to remember...
(Written by Evermind)
Curtisville Cemetery
Alcona County, Mi.
"I have faught a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith."
"She has done what she could. She has gone to rest."
John's was the first rubbing I did. The inscription was overgrown with a really hard fungus. I tried the toothbrush & it didn't even phase it. I hadn't brought anything to pick away the encrusted fungus because I wasn't aware of that problem. I ended up using the tips of my fingernails & the crystals popped off! But by using my nails as a file, I ended up with very worn down fingernails...
John's was one of the worse stones that I found in the cemetery & cleaning it was very time consuming. I ended up spending about 2 hours on it. But when I was done, the stone looked almost new! I now have the satisfaction of knowing that his stone will be readable for another 80 years.
Claria's engraving was actually done on the other side of John's.
These are more pictures from the Curtisville Cemetery.
This cemetery was very unkempt.
The sunken grave was fairly fresh.
My daughter & I cleaned up lots of overgrown brush as well as the tombstones.
This has become a family hobby!"
"Do not save your loving speeches
For your friends till they are dead;
Do not write them on their tombstones,
Speak them rather now instead.
- Anna Cummins
List of Materials
Charcoal
Chalk
Crayon
Oil Pastel Sticks
Brass Wax
Scissors
Masking Tape
Spray Bottle of water
Soft Cloth
Toothbrush
Soft Brush
Tweezers
Rice Paper or Tracing Paper
Butcher Block Paper or Freezer Paper
Sealer Spray
I have found that charcoal sticks & chalk sticks are very soft & crumble. They seem to work ok if you can get the effect you want rubbing in one even downward stroke. However, going over the stone only once will miss detail. When you go back over the stone using chalk or charcoal, it leaves more dust & you seem to lose the detail you were going after. I haven't tried crayon yet. The oil pastels were suggested by my artist friend. They seem to work the best out of the materials I've tried. However they are very soft & break easily. Using them in pieces doesn't seem to be a problem. I found that it usually takes 1 oil pastel stick to do 1 rubbing. I bought 12 in a box for $1.09 so the cost per rubbing is cheap. I saw a rubbing done with Brass Wax. It was beautiful! Brass wax is very expensive & hard to find. I will keep looking for it to do special rubbings with.
You will need scissors to cut your paper.
You will use Masking tape to tape your paper securely to the headstone before you rub.
You may need a spray bottle filled with water to clean dirt or mud off of the headstone. Wipe dry with a soft cloth. Make sure the surface is completely dry before you secure your paper.
The toothbrush, soft brush & tweezers will be used to clean the stone to prepare it for the rubbing. As a tombstone ages it becomes encrusted with a type of fungus. As it dries, it can become crystalized & almost appears as a fossel. I found that because of this substance, a lot of the engravings on the headstones were covered & could not be seen. If soft enough, it can be easily removed by using the toothbrush or soft brush. (I use about a 1 1/2" paintbrush. Another suggestion was a shoe polish brush.) If the fungus has crystalized, it can still be easily removed by using tweezers or another object to "pick" it away. Please take care though, not to scratch the stone.
This cleaning will help restore the headstone & it will last anywhere from 50-100 years longer! Besides enjoying a relaxing hobby, you will be helping to preserve someone's memory & history!
The site I found on the internet suggested using rice paper or tracing paper. I tried this & it did work on a few of the stones. I found that the freezer paper I bought did a better job though, and it didn't have to be pieced together. Tape the shiny side down against the surface of the stone & use the flat side for rubbing.
Finally, to seal your rubbing so it won't smear... I used a sealer for many crafts. Krylon (name brand) seemed to work well. A cheaper sealer that may work also would be hairspray. It is used to seal many craft projects. Make sure the sealer is dry before you remove the paper. I simply roll the rubbing up & tape the ends with masking tape. This works well using the freezer paper because the shiny side ends up outside & the tape can be peeled off easily later without damaging the paper.
I will add different materials & suggestions to this list as I practice & become more knowledgable. I will also be adding & changing the rubbings & pictures. I hope you try doing the rubbings & that you'll enjoy it as much as I am.
This is a soft fungus that is slowly covering the whole stone. It usually brushes off quite easily, but tends to leave a discolored spot, looking almost damp, on the stone.
This is the type of fungus that has already hardened & crystalized. Once it has reached this stage, it will usually come off without leaving too much of a change on the stone.
Find out information about burial Sites of Famous People.
