The art of woodcut

I am a complete novice in the art of woodcut and found the whole process at once challenging and very satisfying. Being a beginner meant that I had to think carefully about the process and inevitably made a few mistakes, The most difficult part was the cutting of the block. I think for a first attempt I set the bar quite high and wanted a degree of detail that, due to my limited abilities, I simply could not accomplish. However, I am pleased with the result and I found it to be an art form that I am keen to explore further.

History

Relief printing is the oldest form of printing. Developed in China and Japan and later in Europe, it has the advantage over other forms of printing in that a press is not needed to create a print. Whilst multi-coloured prints of incredible complexity can be achieved, the relatively simple technique is capable of producing single colour prints with astonishing graphic power. It is this potential for reducing an image to its essentials