I was very fortunate to study with Graham Williams at his Florin Press at the end my wood engraving focused tour of England (March 24 - April 14, 2023). I learned how to modify ink, improved inking of my block (using a brayer and a roller), printing with dampened paper, and so much more. My schooling culminated in my printing a 1st state edition of my wood engraving Storied Stone (which I will continue to engrave to print a final edition).
"Age" - Society of Wood Engravers 85th Annual Exhibit
It is always an honor to have a wood engraving selected for the Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) Annual Exhibit. This year my wood engraving “Age” was selected for inclusion in the traveling exhibit.
“Age” on display at the Bankside Gallery in London in February.
I engraved “Age” to be used on a Wood Engravers’ Network (WEN) Calendar project.
The inspiration was a large aging section of a tree that was made into a chair, it was at the end of a friend’s pier on a lake in northern Wisconsin.
End-grain decay drawn on an end-grain boxwood round, my following the annual rings of the block closely when inking the lines on the toned block.
A Chris Daunt made boxwood round. A joy to engrave.
"Ornamental"
I submitted my wood engraving “Ornamental” for the Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) 82nd Annual Exhibition in 2020 and it was selected. The exhibit occurred during the SWE’s Centenary celebration, unfortunately it was postponed right after it opened due to Covid-19. At the time of the exhibit’s opening, I received an email from Simon Brett which included a photo of the signage at the Bankside Gallery in London where the showing premiered. “Ornamental” was the featured image, it was a wonderful surprise! Here are some in process photos of the making of “Ornamental”.
Felix Senger Studio
As I work on my Barometer Earthstar mushroom engraving, the thicker black lines of my design remind me of the tracery of some of the stained glass windows I worked on at the Felix Senger Studio in Milwaukee, during the mid-1970s. It was my first and favorite job, Felix & Emma were a remarkable creative team, both emigrating to the US from Germany after World War II. Felix already had been to the states, as a German prisoner of war. As we worked together I heard many stories from them about their lives in Germany & the US.