Woodcutting with cut wood

Josef Albers, Asiatic Image, 1944

I have always really enjoyed printmaking much more than painting or drawing. I like the flat colour and the random errors. During high-school I spent quite a bit of time in the art rooms doing crappy linocuts: my favourite being a particularly anatomically correct illustration of a womb complete with foetus that made a great t-shirt . . . oh to be fifteen again! I don't have a lot of experience in woodcutting but it is always one of my favourite things to see. Many moons ago I did a little bit of volunteering at the Melbourne Printing Museum with my lovely friend Emily. There we were introduced to the both the realities of lead poisoning and the beauty of wood type. Wood type and wood cut —together at last in a beautiful embrace.

Edvard Munch, Two People, The Lonely Ones, 1899

Then several years ago there was a big Munch show at the National Gallery of Victoria. I have never really been a big fan of his work but his woodcuts were an absolute revelation. He pioneered the idea of using a jigsaw to cut up a wood cut so that parts could be inked separately in different colours and then put back together to get a multi-coloured print in just one pass. Thus avoiding the troubles of registration and colours shifting.

Josef Albers, High Up, 1948

At the Mohly-Nagy and Albers show at the Tate last year there was a lot to enjoy. But Albers' woodcuts were a definite highlight. The contrast of the wood grain, white, and rich black was stunning.

At the moment I am working on a project where the whole front jacket of a book is being printed by letterpress printer Phil Abel at Hand & Eye using antique woodtype and a little woodcut that I 'cut'. . . more on that in a couple of weeks when I have some fun pictures to show.