Acres and Acres of Woodcut Goodness

December 7, 2010 1:05 PM

If you enjoy the sublime beauty of woodcut prints, you'll be in heaven when you check out The Society of Wood Engravers online Gallery of Annual Exhibitions (4 years running!). Examine the individual engravings that make up the Millenium Ark. A short explanation of "What is wood engraving?" and the Process for your edification. Video: Woodcut printing 1450-1520. Also checkout artistandy's YT channel for more engraving videos.
posted by spock (5 comments total)

these are so beautiful.
posted by PinkMoose at 1:53 PM on December 7, 2010

Not to be a stickler, just to clarify - woodcut and engraving are two very different things. They are both forms of relief printing with a wooden plate, but they differ in the cut of the wood used for the printing plate, tools, and technique. Woodcut uses wood cut parallel with the grain (as shown in the video), whereas engraving uses end cut wood, cut perpendicular to the grain, very tight and hard. The tools for engraving are much finer and the process is, considered by most, more difficult than woodcut. Woodcut tools are very similar to linoleum block tools (linocut) as the surface is much more forgiving. That said, still a great post with incredible links!
posted by pdxjmorris at 7:18 PM on December 7, 2010

I love this! Thanks for posting. And of course, if anyone hasn't seen it, be sure to see the website of MetaFilter's own woodblock100.
posted by various at 1:37 AM on December 8, 2010

I appreciate the clarification, pdxmorris. Both would be considered "woodblock printing", correct?
posted by spock at 5:19 AM on December 8, 2010

Absolutely, the differentiation is between "woodcut" and "engraving." Thanks again for the post - the Andy English stuff was really cool! I've never seen an Albion in action - made my day!!
posted by pdxjmorris at 7:09 PM on December 8, 2010