John Koch's Latest Woodcut - "Four Seasons"

John Koch is our amazing woodcut artist here on ArtCreel. The following is a blog post of his documenting his latest print project. Take a look at the intricate process of making a woodcut print...


It took awhile, but I was finally able to find and transfer the
different images onto the block for the latest woodcut, which I've
entitled (simply enough) "Four Seasons."

My good friend Jon Jacobs contacted me on behalf of Kiap-TU-Wish TU, and
asked if I'd like to donate something for this years banquet. I like
Kiap, and have contributed and benefited from the terrific work they've
done to the streams that I fish. So while I don't put in as much as I
used to (I was the habitat projects coordinator for a number of years,
back before there were kids...), I'm gladly donating another print to
the cause.

I'm hoping it to be this one.



This is one of them projects that you look at, and say to yourself "What
was I thinking?"

I'm pretty sure I can do it, though, if I get to work and not get
distracted by any more Indian summer days that whisper to me about
double guns, setter puppies and grouse woods....




I printed the first two colors of the print, Four Seasons.

After first carving out everything on the block I wanted left
white, I mixed up a batch of ink and spread it out on my inking plate (a
smooth piece of polished granite.) Using a soft rubber roller, or brayer, I spread an even thin coat on
the wooden plate.

To print the plate, I first lay the block onto a sized piece of block
printing paper (mulberry paper made in Thailand):


The plate/paper is then flipped:


I then used a barren, or
hand-press, to burnish the paper onto the plate. The idea is to create
enough pressure on the paper to cause the ink to transfer from the block
into the fibers of the paper:


Satisfied I've covered all the areas with ink, I can then slowly pull
the paper from the plate:


The results are always fun to see:


And so the printing process goes... I've decide to "pull" 24 prints from
this block, so after going through the steps described above 24 times,
it's time to decide on the next color.

I keep a series of print-outs of the images I'm using for this print, my
"color maps." To decide on the next color, I pull one of them out now.


I'll print the lightest pink of the flowers now. Even though it will get
covered up, it will act as a good background color for the two trout,
and for the autumn leaves at the bottom.

But first, I need to clear away everything I want left light green. A
small, sharp hand chisel and mallet make short work of the job:


Once the plate is ready, the inking/pressing/pulling process continues.
This time, the image starts to slowly emerge:



With two layers of ink, I'll leave the prints overnight to dry
completely until I add more.


In truth, the pink is pretty ugly printed over the green right now. It
will stay that way as I add layers of colors, until the darker colors
separate yet unite the disparate blobs of color together into the
finished piece.