white line woodcut | I Made That!!

This summer I taught a two-day workshop in white line woodcut at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, MA. I had three talented students and we spent our time together discussing the whys and wherefores of making things while carving lines into clear pine boards and painting watercolor onto the boards to create printed images on Japanese paper. No answers as to why it is so satisfying to learn about color and texture and to explore new materials and to engage in creative problem solving, but we did all of these things as we worked and talked together.

Octopus print my Katie Boulter-Dimock — Octopus print by Katy Boelter-Dimock

Octopus with painterly watercolor backgroud — Katy’s octopus with painterly watercolor background added

Beautiful subtle colors by Elizabeth Pyle — Beautiful subtle colors in landscape by Elizabeth Hammond Pyle. Check out Elizabeth’s blog: http://www.bottlebranch.com

Inspired by Blanche Lazells prints, Patti Ryan created a fanciful still life — Inspired by Blanche Lazell’s prints, Patti Ryan created a fanciful still life

Katie made a second print and refined her watercolor technique — Katy made a second print which shows off the wood grain in subtle washes of watercolor

I love the textures from the wood. You paint one section and then rub the back of the paper. Deceptively simple. — I love the textures from the wood. You paint one section at a time and then rub the back of the paper to transfer the image from the woodblock. Deceptively simple.

I took a class with Amy McGregor Radin in April of 2013 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. I discovered a technique that brings together printmaking and watercolor painting: two of my favorite things. White line woodcut was developed in Provincetown, MA in 1915, and made famous by Blanche Lazell and a number of other artists who embraced this simple technique as an alternative to Japanese woodblock printing (which requires a separate block for each color).

Below is a new print entitled Evening Owl. I love the subtle gradations of color and the textures that are transferred from the wood.

I Made That!!

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White Line Woodcut at Mass College of Art

White Line Woodcut Fever

Art as it Happens