Tumbling Blocks Woodcut

I made this block back in my studio after the course run by Jonathan Ashworth, at The London Print Studio.

I really enjoyed the cutting part, but I have to say I find the print process more challenging. I seem to get ink in all the wrong places. I have not yet made a two colour version of this block. I may cut some more wood away and do some more prints.

I have used the block with various colours and right now I love the block itself, I have inked in the places where the wood has been cut away, the other colours are  the remains of past imprints.

I have still not properly mastered the skill required to make a good print, there are lots of ways of pressing the paper onto the block, probably the best is by using a professional press but they are expensive. There are lots of smaller cheaper presses on the market or available for ad hoc use at various print studios.

The options for independent studios is to use a hard rubber roller, a barren, or the back of a spoon. These all require a certain amount of time, the spoon method takes the longest. I have discovered by watching  helpful videos on You Tube, that it is possible to lift the paper, One end at a time, to scrutinise the progress of the print, so you can go back over any inadequately pressed areas.

These prints below are not in any particular order apart from the first, which I made before cutting lines across some faces of the block.