Studio: international art (77.1919)

COLOUR-PRINTING FROM WOOD-BLOCKS

When thoroughly dry, cutting the out-
line may be commenced. Before doing
this it is well, unless the paper is of the
thinnest, to rub off the top film of paper
with the finest sand-paper, being careful
not to obliterate the tracing, which should
show quite clearly through the paper. A
smear of oil increases the transparency.
The cutting-knife may now be brought into
play. This is a three-cornered knife, two
views of which are here shown. The

knife should be held in the right hand, and
the back of the blade pushed with the
middle finger of the left hand. The left
hand supplies the power, the right hand
guides and controls. If the finger-end
becomes sore, some paper may be bound
round the blade, or a short piece of india-
rubber tubing slipped over it. 0 0

With the flat side of the blade against the
line, and the point a sixteenth of an inch in
the wood, a cut should be made along the
line, and slanting away from it. The block
should then be reversed and a second cut
made into the first, forming a V-shaped
ditch adjoining the line. Another ditch
should be cut on the other side of the line,
the ends cut round, and the line is then
completed. If the little sliver of wood
from the ditch does not readily detach, it
does not matter as it serves to protect the
line for the present. It will be noted that
each line requires four cuts, so the amount
150

of work on a given design can easily be
estimated. 00000
When the whole of the line has been
cut in this way, the intervening spaces
should be removed with a small quick
gouge and mallet, a trench being made
as close to the V-shaped ditch as possible.

DITCH CLEARED
WITH MALLET AND
QUICK GOUGE AFTER
LINE HAS BEEN CUT

The spaces within the trench may be re-
moved with flattish gouges. A large space,
two inches across, need not be more than
one-quarter inch deep, while narrow spaces
should have only a film of wood removed.
The work should be done neatly, for
splinters and rough edges catch the hairs of
the brushes. A few lessons in wood-
carving would be invaluable at this stage if
the work is to be carried out with precision,
and it will be recognized that any bungling,
such as breaking away bits of line in places,
will render the block useless. At the
South Kensington Museum specimens of
Japanese blocks may be seen, along with
implements, colours, etc. 000
The register marks, or nicks, should
now be cut. The next drawing shows their
position. They should be cut with a single

stroke of the knife held upright with the
flat side against fhe line. Then the wood