by Melanie Aves

Created on: September 04, 2010

 Creating a design for a block print presents an interesting design challenge.   In a block print all of the design components must be reduced to black or white.  That sounds deceptively simple, right?  It is not. 

 A block print is created by carving away the surface of the printing block, whether it is linoleum or wood, inking the remaining raised surface and printing it on paper.  The printed image on paper will be the reverse of the block image.  This makes it necessary to reverse letters and numbers in the carved design so that they will print correctly.

 The artist starts by making a sketch of his or her design concept, and then traces it in reverse by holding the drawing paper against a window.  This reverse design can be copied freehand to the printing block surface, or can be traced onto the block using carbon or transfer paper.   All of these steps must be completed before the actual carving or cutting of the block begins.  Negative spaces will be carved away.  Positive spaces will remain to be inked.  Multiple copies of the image may be made from a single block. 

 The underlying idea is that the artist must become aware of the edges of shapes.  Every element of the design must fit against the next element like the pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.  So a black shape cannot be placed adjacent to another black shape and still retain its visibility.  A white line or a white shape must separate these two edges.  Imagine that the sky is to be white.  Then the sea that forms the horizon line must be black.  The clouds in the sky will have to be black.  The ripples in the water will have to be white.  A sailboat breaking the horizon line would have to be white below the horizon and black above the horizon. 

 Once the artist masters the concept of shapes and edges, the development of tones through the use of texture will result in more subtle and complex designs.   It is possible to create the illusion of a medium tone or a grey by texturing the surface of a black or white shape.  In a cube shape, for instance, you might have a black side, a white side, and a side where a black shape has been textured with white lines.  It sounds confusing to describe this verbally, but if you try sketching it out on paper you will quickly see the effect of the three tones resulting in a three-dimensional effect. 

 Many accomplished block print artists are successful in expressing through this challenging medium. A well-composed block print design is not only pleasing to the eye; it is a testament to the artist’s skill and understanding of composition.  It is truly a work of art.

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