Professional Development
Wood Engraving Workshop
August 2011
Chris Daunt, wood-engraver and block maker led a one day introductory workshop for wood engraving, hosted by Northern Print in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
During the day we progressed through the whole process of producing a wood engraving using a lemonwood block and wood engraving tools, guided by Chris. Lynne Roebuck has worked extensively with lino and the tools for cutting lino. Lino is a much softer brittle block which will not take very fine detail. Indeed the only similarity between the two printmaking methods is the principle of cutting into a block of material to create parts which will not print.
Wood engraving tools above 1) Tint Tool 2) Spit Sticker 3) Engraver 4) Round Scorper.
Above: artwork transferred to the block. Lynne had planned to draw out a very precise idea of what she hoped to work on on the day, but unfortunately found herself too busy to do so. Therefore, during the workshop itself, she quickly laid out a sketch using a small part of another engravers work as a starting point and inspiration, rather than making an exact copy.
It's clear this is a print by a wood engraving novice who has never worked with a wood block or engraving tools before. The engraved marks are clumsy and lack variety, expecially in their fineness, though the tool used was capable to very fine cuts in expert hands. This similarity in the marks means the tone of the image is somewhat too uniform – as a result it lacks vitality and does not allow the sea bird to stand out from the background.
The workshop was above all an "introduction", and only an introduction, to wood engraving. It aimed to provide attendees with a 'feel' for the craft rather than a complete skillset. In this, the workshop succeeded completely. As with anything, becoming an expert takes: practice, practice and when it gets disheartening - more practice.
