Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Angie Lewin, printmaker

























I've had a serious obsession over this artist for awhile, maybe three or four years now. I'm completely enthralled with the process, the subject matter, and the end result of the woodcut and linocut techniques she employs. For anyone who doesn't know what that means, please read on.

Woodcut and linocut are both printmaking techniques that involve carving into a block, wood or linoleum in this case, the various shapes needed to create images printed from the inked block, usually on paper. The artist carves away the parts of their design to be left blank, and the raised parts will hold the ink and then be "stamped" on the paper.

Angie Lewin's work is a very complex and beautiful example of this style of printmaking, employing many different blocks for each color in her various designs, shown here on this design inspiration blog. The amount of time that goes into each piece, from sketch to detailed drawing to carving each individual block must be staggering. I say "must" since I know little about the printmaking process, as my perception of the time and talent involved has intimidated me to the point of never taking a class! Never having gone beyond carving a rubber stamp myself, I'm content to buy books that Angie has illustrated and save up for an original print. This is a particularly pretty and interesting book that I wheedled out of a family member for Christmas.

Another reason I'm so enamoured of her work is that she uses inspiration that surrounds her everyday, the verdant countryside of her part of England, North Norfolk, as well as Scotland. Her work is featured at St Jude's gallery, and great photos of her process here on flickr.

























Here's a couple spreads from my copy of Garden Wisdom. It's a pleasure to read and see.

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