WOOD CUTS

For Mellow Yellow Monday
For Ruby Tuesday

Lost all my pics taken in one year 'cause not only my computer, abut also my backup drive crashed this last summer. Excuse for new pics of my Christmas woodcut party that our friend John D. puts on every year.


He's a graphic artist. Most of the people who come, are not! He's the most patient and helpful man who listens what you want to make
and gets everyone through the process of making a Christmas card.

First:  a design on tracing paper. Then I transfer the design onto the woodcut by "coloring" my design heavily with the graphite of my pencil.
Second:  I put the design facing the wood - or upside down -  and color heavily now on top of the paper, this is supposed to transfer the design onto the wood

Let's just say that it gloriously bummed, because the graphite was not put on thick enough!
That means I'll have to start over again. Miss Impatience draws her design directly on the woodcut.

This is only part of one of the two rooms where people are making their card. The fun part is that there is plenty of food and drinks. Friends or family may come with them to play music, or have interesting conversations.

Since most have some artistic genes in them,  some may bring some unusual things, like rice milk (have forgotten the actual  name and country it came from).

You can see I'm supplying myself with food:) -  because wood cutting requires much concentration (if you like to keep your fingers in the process!) 
 I'm holding the wood block with a work glove, because these professional grade tools are very SHARP!

Here I'm fine tuning my design.
For that hubby puts paint with a paint roller over my design, so I can see where I need to cut deeper int the "wood"
(if it would be real wood,this would take weeks - so the upper layer of this block is of a soft rubbery substance)  .

This post is not finished, because the card isn't there yet.

Our host will print around 25 cards for each participant

on a hand press from around 1904

(this press was the motivating factor

 to start this open House at the beginning of each Dec.)

so  everyone could make handmade Christmas cards.
Whenever I receive them, I'll post my handmade card!

Are you getting the pre-Christmas jitters yet?

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