Christmas Card Template

Working on Christmas cards for Schuyler House. This is a section plucked out of a previous woodblock to work with. I was thinking of going landscape but then when I googled a mess of Japanese winter woodcuts I discovered that the majority of them seem to be in portrait, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I'll be adding a tree over to one side, subtracting the sheep and adding a deer or three. Also opting for a uniform sky, probably dark blue fading to light blue, hanga fashion. Don't think I'll be doing it hanga style however. Probably black and white with watercolor. Have to see how it developes.

Paleo-Gobbler Print

Paleo-Gobbler in yellow ochre water-based ink, with accents in red and black.

The block needs a little more carving to open up some lines that swelled with first inking. Pretty much there tho.

Paleo-Turkey

this is a faux print (i.e., mirrored and grey-scaled)


this is a scan of the block

Fall is not the turkey's favorite season. The block is not very good. Kept chipping across the grain. I'll have to find out what this is so I can avoid it in future.

Turkey still needs a little detail.

Paleo-Gobbler

My paleo-gobbler for another fall exchange. This one's got me giggling. I've taken half the turkey jokes out but it still strikes me as funny.

Fall's the time of year when every turkey has to keep looking over his shoulder. Even paleo-turkeys. ;-}

A Pile of Leaves

This is the one shown being pulled in the previous post.


Red skies take warning.


Copper skies.


This one's a double -- I pulled two different prints off this plate.


Night Fall. This one's my entry in the autumn EAST challenge on Etsy.

Most of these can be seen in detail in my etsy shop: http://ellenshipley.etsy.com/, if anyone's interested. 8-]

Spiral Dance

Here's a fallish-looking leaf spiral monoprint. The plate just gets richer the longer I ink and print. 8-] I love monoprints with stencils (and leaves).

A Good Day in the Print Lab

One of many monoprints I pulled today, playing with leaves and spiral stencils. This particular print is a ghost, generally paler than the first pass.

Fabric on Ground

Ran a zinc plate thru the press with fabric on the soft ground, and I got a pretty good impression, but I didn't etch it long enough. 4 minutes. Should have done 8 at least. I'll try printing it again today -- I was rushed on Monday at the end of class. But if I don't like it I'll re-etch it.

Don't know if I'll just run anothe piece of fabric/soft ground thru the press, or what. Have to see what Jim thinks.

Ti22 full size url

Ti22 -- recarved image

recarved for a sharper image

Titanium, atomic number 22, is light, strong, lustrous and resistant to corrosion, even in sea water. It is a silvery-white metal and can be alloyed with iron, aluminium, vanadium and other elements to produce many lightweight alloys. It is used in everything from spacecraft to dental implants, and because it can burn in both air and nitrogen, it makes great fireworks.

Titanium was discovered in England in1791 and was named for the Titans of Greek mythology. I took my inspiration from the Titan allusion and have displayed the most famous Titan, Prometheus, who brought fire to mankind, against the wishes of an angry Zeus.

Here is Prometheus with a high-tech, titanium robotic arm, holding aloft a burst of fireworks. As serendipity would have it, fireworks can look remarkably like a spray of fennel blossoms, the seed of which Prometheus hid fire in to sneak it past the Gods.

No good deed goes unpunished, but that’s another story.

Ti22 More Colorways

magenta, black oil based ink


yellow added to magenta; black


more yellow added to magenta; black

Red was rolled on, black was tapped in. Interesting and more like I envisioned the image, but now that I've worked with both, I think I like the yellow ochre water based inks better. The colors look more antique.