Relief Print Series
This series of relief print collages present the outcomes of working within a mutable system. The work begins with a woodblock that is scored by a laser cutter. A digital file of parallel lines informs the laser where to cut into the wood’s surface. Intervals between the lines are carved away by hand to produce a relief pattern of stripes. Next, the woodblock returns to the laser cutter where individual squares and rectangles of varying dimension are cut out from the larger piece. These steps are repeated on new woodblocks with variations in the initial spacing of parallel lines to produce a variety of modules with different spacing of stripes. When the laser cutting is complete, the separate square and rectangular modules are assembled together on a press bed to form a larger changeable matrix. The composited configuration is printed with different inks on various papers before being reconfigured and printed from again. Next, the printed impressions are transformed by hand cutting and collaging onto a fresh sheet of paper. The collage reforms the image by establishing new areas of juxtaposition, in some works through subtle exchanges of color variation, and in other works through dramatic effects of interlaced patterning.
