Topic: The 'Personal' Face of Printmaking
Facts! Facts! Facts! That's all you find in an Encyclopedia! Yes, one needs to have the facts in order to learn how to do something, but there is always so much more to the story ...
No matter how detailed the descriptions become, if the discussions remain purely technical, then a completely false view of any topic is given. Woodblock printmaking is something done by people! This section is devoted to those people - some of them 'grizzled veterans', some of then still 'wet behind the ears'.
Their stories will bring you another face of woodblock printmaking; here are the men and women behind the chisels and barens.
'Letter from the Studio'
These 'letters' were written by practicing woodblock printmakers, both professional and amateur. Some of them are 'philosophical' discussions - why they chose this craft, what they think prints really 'mean'; some are simple descriptions of a studio or workspace. Each one offers a glimpse into the private world of the woodblock printmaker.
Newbies' Journals
Those of us who have been making prints for many years are frequently asked to offer advice to newcomers. That of course, is what this entire Encyclopedia is about. But we have forgotten just what sort of problems we faced 'way back then'. It is easy for us to ramble on about the exact consistency to which the paste should be cooked - meanwhile the beginner is reading all that and thinking 'Paste? What's this paste for?'
This section tries to redress that imbalance. Here are stories from the 'front line' - stories written during the battle itself, the battle to try and get a handle on the myriad of small details necessary in the production of a woodblock print.
These people are not experts - far from it. But their experiences can be just as valuable to other beginners as all the multitude of detail in other sections of the Encyclopedia.