Oriental Relief Printing

Relief printing is the oldest form of printmaking. The most common form of relief printing is woodcut. Paper is laid over a inked wood block and printed by hand or a press. Rice paper, light weight and absorbent, meets all requirements of relief printing and is overwhelmingly used.

The first cutting of images into wood blocks took place during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), China. The early emperors were enlightened patrons of the arts and literature and tolerated a variety of religious doctrines - Buddhist, Christian, and Confucian. Few of those prints have survived, since they were cheap and considered expendable, but they inspired in neighboring Japan of the popular style of print known as Ukiyo-e.

Equipment

• Wood block
• Cutting knife
• Ink or watercolor paints
• Brush
• Baren
• Rice paper

1. Square wood into block and cut design as in woodcut. Make sure the blank area is clean enough, for burrs would catch unwanted ink.
   
   
2. Dampen finished block with clean water and cover it with a damp rag for about two hours, allowing it to absorb enough moisture for slowing the drying time of ink. Room humidity is crucial for ink printing. In case of not equipped with humidifier, do printing on a raining day.
   
   
3. Dampen rice paper for ink printing and stack the papers between newspapers.
   
   
4. Brush a coat of ink or color evenly over the wood block by a flat soft brush. Avoid giving too much ink - over-inked block produces a smudging image.
   
   
5. Lay rice paper carefully over the woodblock, one end down first. The paper will immediately take up the ink from the block. Give the back of the rice paper a gentle rub by a bamboo sheath baren, making sure it is printed evenly.
   
   
   
   
6. Lift your print carefully.