Lost Blocks
Left: color reduction woodcuts (lost blocks)
Right: Patience Among the Lilies, Color Reduction Woodcut, 25 x 31"
For the month of January the Gallery Annex is featuring Lisa VanMeter’s prints. Vanmeter uses the reduction block printing technique. This process uses a single block for a series of prints where material is removed between each inking. This separates it from other printing techniques, which use many different blocks to produce a similar effect. Once the first layer has been printed, the same block is carved again; then, a new color is printed over the first print.
The title of the show, Lost Blocks is a way to highlight VanMeter’s favorite part of the printmaking process: carving. “I do color reduction woodcuts,'' says VanMeter. “Another term for that is lost block because you lose part of your block every time you cut out a color. Your block is also lost because you can’t use it anymore.” The show is exhibiting the blocks VanMeter creates alongside her prints.
In Plain Sight
Color Reduction Woodcut
18 x 24"
Vanmeter feels that printmaking can often be an overlooked medium. People often mistake her prints for paintings. Printmaking is a complex process. Vanmeter begins by finding and collaging images, then doing a woodcut in which she carves out the negative space of the image. Then she goes through the pressing process for each color she uses, often pressing several times for one print. Vanmeter is inspired by the Indiana habitats and creatures that she encounters in her everyday life.
The show can be viewed anytime during the months of January in the Gallery Annex during Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. The works can also be viewed and purchased on our online gallery through February.