What is a Relief Print?     To understand what a relief print is, we first need to consider how one is made, which you will see is quite simple.     A relief print is made by cutting or engraving a design on the surface of a block or plank of wood or other smooth flat material. The surface is then inked using a rubber roller called a brayer. The thin layer of ink on the surface of the block is transferred to paper by the use of a printing press or by rubbing the back of the paper evenly with a smooth hard object, such as the back of a wooden kitchen spoon or a special tool called a baren; which, with sufficient pressure applied, transfers the inked image from the face of the block to the paper.

Brayer for Inking block

Baren for printing block

Press for printing block

The uncut surface of the block or those areas standing in relief, will print black or whatever color the artist has chosen, while the areas that have been cut or removed, the spaces that did not receive ink, will appear as white or the color of the paper. The printed image on the paper will be a mirror image of what was cut on the block. In other words, what faces left on the cut block will face right on the paper. If you were fortunate to have created Potato prints when you were very young, have used a rubber stamp, or perhaps been finger-printed, then you understand the basic principle of the relief print.     The technical term for this, the oldest of the graphic arts is Xylography, which loosely translates to mean Xylo (wood) - graphy (art), but is seldom used today except by European artists and the purist. An artist who creates woodcuts or wood engravings would then be refered to as a Xylographer; a name which I rather like myself. In Germany the term used is Formschneider and in France it is La graveur sur bois. These terms apply equally to both the woodcut and the wood engraving although there are differences in the materials and tools used to create each.

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