The Relief Printing Process
Whatever the subject, Glenna’s relief prints begin in her sketchbook or her camera, where she captures the essence of what her eyes and memory first perceive. After re-working the composition, she transfers the drawing onto a wood or linoleum block and uses carving tools to remove the non-printing areas. The carved block is then placed onto the bed of her printing press, secured in place, and the remaining raised (relief) surface of the block is inked with a rubber roller called a brayer. Paper is placed atop the inked block and the cylinder of the press is rolled over the paper and inked block to yield a printed image. The process of inking and printing is repeated to create multiple prints from the same block, and each one is an original piece of art.
Glenna uses one of three methods to color into her woodcuts and linoleum block prints:
Hand-Coloring: Only one color of printing ink is used (typically black) and watercolor is brush applied.
Multi-Block: One block is used for each different color of the finished print. It is essential that the print blocks and paper have consistent placement on the printing press bed so the colors will “register” with one another.
Reduction Block: Typically, only one print block is used, although sometimes more are required. After transferring a design onto a print block, the artist carves off areas that are to remain the color of the paper and then inks and prints the first color (typically the lightest color) onto all the papers to be used in the print edition. Then, areas that are to remain that first inked color are carved off the block, and the block is re-inked with the next color and printed onto each of those same papers. The process of carving, inking, and printing is repeated until each of the colors has been printed onto the papers, and the image is complete. In the end, the block’s relief surface is literally reduced--often very little of the raised printing area remains--and the entire edition of prints is complete.