Two Color

Woodcut Prints

Marcy Davy
Art 331, Student #3
Visual Arts Education
Eastern Michigan University
 History: Japanese Woodcut Prints
 First achieved
popularity in 17th
Century Japan in Edo
(present day Tokyo)

 Also referred to as
Ukiyo, or “floating world”
prints were first and
distributed at temples
order to encourage the
idea that worldly joys
and aspirations are
transient.

Utagawa Hiroshige  Prints were introduced

53 Stations on the Tokaido; Lake by Hakone to Europe and America
in the 19th Century-- they
became the most
popular Japanese art
form in the Western
world.
 German
 A resurgence in the
woodcut print format
Expressionist
occurred during the early
20th Century; with the work
Woodcuts
of the Die Brucke group.

 Led by notable artists like

Ernest Ludwig Kirchner and
Erich Hackel; the woodcut
became a primary means by
which artists in the group
could explore emotions
through abstracted forms.

 Die Brucke means “the

bridge”— artists created the
group out of a need to
bridge former artistic
movements with the avant-
garde of present day.
Kathe Kollwitz
 German expressionists Die Witwe I (The Widow I)
also invented linocuts.
Contemporary Woodcut Prints
 Contemporary woodcuts depicts a
variety of subject matter, both
representational and abstract.

 Both of these prints were created by

art educators.

Below: Jean Eger Womack; Mountaintop Experience

#1
Left: Betty Bowen; Trivoli
 Vocabulary: The Print Room

Edition

Paper

Chatter Plate/Matrix

Brayer Register

Ink

Proof
Vocabulary
Edition: Prints created at the same time that are as identical as
possible.
Plate/Matrix: The flat surface an image is created on. In this
case the plate is the woodblock.
Register: A visual plan for aligning the plate with the paper.
Ink: Pigment spread onto the plate that transfers the image to
paper.
Proof: A ‘working print’ completed prior to committing to an
edition.
Paper: The flat surface ink is transferred to.
Chatter: Raised areas in the negative space left over after cutting
away. These areas will often print along with the positive space.
Brayer: The rubber rolling mechanism used to spread ink onto the
plate.
Relief: A form of printmaking where the raised image is inked and
 Cutting
Supplies
Small Power or Manual
Saw

Safety Goggles

Rotary Tool with

Sanding Attachments

Birch Plywood

Manual Tool with

Attachments

T-Square
 Printing Supplies
Ceramic plate or small sheet
of glass
Brayer

Printmaking Paper (Rives

BFK)
Oil-Based Block Printing Inks

Palate Knife

Newsprint

Latex Gloves (if desired)

Metal Ruler

Wooden Spoon

Plus basic studio marking tools like pencils, charcoal/chalk, and permanent marker.
Creating a Plate
 Start with a
sheet of birch
plywood

 Determine size
of woodcut plate

 Using a T-square,
draw the shape
onto a corner of the
wood

 Cut out the plate

using a circular or
manual saw
 Preparing the
Image
 Flip the image so that the
impression faces the correct
way.

Tape the original drawing

to a window face out, and
using this ‘natural light box’
trace over the image on a
new sheet of paper.

Tip: You can also create a reverse image by using the ‘flip’ function in
any photo editing program & printing it on a laser printer. Applying nail
polish remover to the back of the image while it rests on the plate will
transfer the ink from the copy directly to the woodblock.
Transferring the Image

 Apply charcoal or chalk

to the back of the newly
created flip image.

 Lay the drawing chalk

face down onto the plate.

 Trace over the drawing.

Cutting Out the Image
 Using a plug-in rotary
tool with sanding blades
(shown at right) remove
negative space from the
plate by wearing down the
surface.

 Any raised surfaces left

in the negative space will
print. This is called
chatter.

 You may also use a

hand tool to complete this
process, but it will take
much longer.
Preparing to Print: Create a
Register
 Place the plate on a
sheet of paper and
outline the edges with
marker.

 Measure 1” around
the top and sides and
1.5” Draw this border
with marker.

 Note: More or less

space can be left as
the artist deems fit.
 Preparing to Print: Tear Paper
 Use the outline
border of the register
to determine paper
size.

 Measure paper size

with a T-square

 Place a heavy
metal ruler along the
lines, use one hand to
hold ruler on paper
and the other hand to
tear a clean edge.
Tip: If you desire a more deckled edge, use an old wooden ruler
with some inconsistency.
 Creating a Proof: Inking the
Plate

 Use pallet knife to mix

colors together and
smear a line at the
bottom of glass/ceramic
plate.

 Use brayer to roll ink

line into a clean solid
area.

 Apply ink to plate in

smooth vertical and
horizontal motions. Pick
 Creating a Proof: Deep Observation
Stage
 Use a wooden spoon to
push the ink on the
image into the paper.

Pull away the paper

and begin an internal
mini critique. Some
questions to ask yourself:
* Is my inking method well
done?
* How much ink is on the
paper? Is the ink thick or
runny?
* How do I feel about the
image? Should I change  Apply changes to the plate
anything before I make an or printing technique if the
edition?
proof is undesirable.
* How much chatter is
there? Do I want less?
 Creating an Edition:
Printing Background
 Position backColor
side of plate on the
register.

 Create a background color and apply

it to the plate with the brayer.

 Position paper on the register

boundaries

 Using a wooden spoon, press on the

paper to push ink from the plate onto
it.

Peel back the paper at each corner to

check for inconsistencies.
Tip: A new plate will require more ink than a
plate that has been printed from several times.
Creating an Edition:
Adding the Image
 Do not attempt until ink from
the background plate is more or
less dry (around 30 minutes)

 Repeat the same inking and

printing process from the back of
the plate

 Check the image carefully

before peeling the paper off– this
is where mistakes will show.

 Repeat until all prints in the

edition are finished.
Creating a Finished Print:
Signing the Print

 Label the edition using a

fraction
o1/3 suggests this print was the
first made of 3 in the edition.

 Add a title to the center area

under the print.

 Sign and date in lower right.

 e ,
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t , F e !
Ma ebraed t
e l finish
C e a ng
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the ing it
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fram
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C o ns o th our
 r i n g fy t
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edi hange with
exc pping ds!
swa r frien
you
Quiz: Know Your Print Room

Question 1:

What do you call the raised

parts of negative space that
leave marks when printed?

e)Chitter
f)Plate Bumps
g)Chatter
h)Background
Quiz: Know Your Print Room

Question 2:

This rolling tool is used to

transfer ink onto the plate.
Its technical name is:

f)Rubber Roller
g)Matrix
h)Inkie Guy
i)Brayer
 Credits
• German Expressionism
http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=ulrich&p=/exhibitionfolder/german
expressionism/

• MOMA Die Brucke Group

http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2002/brucke/

• Japanese Prints. Taschen, 2001.

• How to Look at Japanese Art. Abrams, 1996.

• Jean Eager Personal Website.

http://www.jeaneger.com/mountaintop.jpg
• Betty Bower Personal Website
http://www.bettybowenart.com/images/tivoli.jpg
 Woodcut Lesson Plans
 “Kathe Kollwitz : Never Again War!”
Holocaust Lesson Plan for Art and Social Studies

Florida Center for Instructional Technology

Grades: 6-12

<http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/activity/68plan/war.htm>
 “Woodblocks and their Japanese History”
Methods and Techniques
of Japanese Woodblock Prints
Cleveland Museum of Art
Grades: 6-8

<http://www.clevelandart.org/educef/asianodyssey/
pdf/ woodblocksmi.pdf>
Way to Go!
Better Luck Next Time!