Liz Runkle: block printing

Here are some of Liz’s wood block prints and her proof press. The toad demons are the newest, and I think she said they still have one more layer to go. The multi-color prints are reduction prints. After each layer is printed, subsequent prints/layers are  made by carving away more and more of the original block. By the end, you just have your outlines/shadows. If you make a mistake, you’re just screwed. And once you’ve moved on to the next layer, that’s it–you can never make another print, ever.  It’s crazy and completely awesome! I don’t know if I’d be capable of creating with that kind of abandon.

Liz is teaching a free linoleum block class this Sunday, and there are still a couple spots left. Details on registration are here.

The blocks she prints from are beautiful in themselves. You can see a print from the bear wood block (above) below. She carves both sides of each block. The reverse for the bear block is the woman below. The reverse of the man in the tie is the toad. The double-sided blocks make me unaccountably giddy.