An area of printmaking I had always wanted to experiment with was woodcutting - but whether correct or not, I had always assumed it would require a certain amount of physical strength - and it would have required investment in the cherry wood blocks and specialist cutting tools. The opening of the Famous Grouse Ideas Centre here in Perth changed that. It is a wonderful, friendly, educational space where you can access a range of digital and technical pieces of equipment which would be outwith the budget of most artists - including a laser cutter.
After a period of experimentation, I was able to create a wood cut on it: a train tracks design. With the assistance of the Technologist in Residence, I learned how to create a vector file, using the software Inkscape. To create a laser cut, the design must be rendered as a vector shape. You need to use certain colours and weight of line to produce a cut. The outline of the train tracks is set at 255 red in RGB, 0.001pt outline. It creates an incredibly precise cut.
This first woodcut resulted in a helpful, learning process. You can see the detail above. Tips I would share would be:
- When cutting, keep shapes fairly simple.
- Do not cut too fine details as this could result in burning.
- For an effective print, soak the wood with linseed oil to raise the grain.
- Place the final woodcut on a piece of mountboard to help while inking and printing it.
- If you are having problems capturing all the detail on the paper, it can help if you dampen the paper.
The woodcut was cut from a piece of 3mm plywood from my Dad’s garage. My father passed away in February 2023, and being able to use materials from his garage brings a very emotional aspect to this project and print. Lasercutting, because of its precision, can be somewhat sterile looking. Using a natural material, such as wood, adds a random element which brings visual interest. The finished print looks wonderful printed up in deep black oil inks. You can see the full print above and a close up below.
This panel was conceived as a tile which forms the basis of a repeat patter. I used this to create both a black and hot pink fabric design available in my Spoonflower shop. I really love the simplicity of this design and the detail produced by the woodgrain. Below, you can see the design sewn up as a baby muslin.
