Woodcut initial progress

Further exploring the woodcut techniques I discussed with Don Gorvett on New Year's Day.

The design is from an initial from a long out of print version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales from sometime in the 1800s.

The plywood is at least 10 years old and had been exposed to the elements for a good part of that time.  The first layer of ply is brittle and friable that requires the tools to be at their sharpest.  Complicating matters is that the ply had become abrasive due to it's exposure.  

My thought was that these flaws would help created a natural aged look in the prints.  I will likely need to use some sort of sizing to stabilize the final surface before I make any prints.




2022, unknown plywood, in progress.

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