Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Catching Up 3: The Letter "L"

From time to time I take part in a collaborative print project and early last summer I contributed a letter to the Wood Engravers Network Alphabet of engraved, decorated capitals. Early on I had chosen the letter "L" with the intention of engraving a lighthouse but, as the deadline approached, I changed my mind, largely through having these splendid lilies in the house:



The letter was engraved on a 5cm square "lemonwood" block which I had darkened with ink. The letter was drawn freehand but owes much to the capital letters of the lettercutter and typographer Will Carter. I started by engraving the outline fo the letter:



The Form of a capital "L" give much space for background engraving. I developed ideas in my sketchbook and then drew them in reverse on the block:



I enjoyed engraving the lilies. I kept the marks simple as the block was going to be part of a composite print and I wanted it to print easily:




Here is the engraved block before I took the first proofs:



The block was duly posted to the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin where it was printed with others to make a wonderful poster:



Before the block left the studio, I printed a small edition of thirty engravings on Zerkall paper:


It is available for sale from my Etsy Store.





3 comments:

Sherrie York said...

What a wonderful project! And, hmmm.... I have a friend with a niece named Lily.... Methinks it's time to drop an email or two...

Unknown said...

What a beautiful way to illustrate the first letter of my name! Yes, a wonderful collaborative project - the alphabet looks beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Oh, my! L is for Limner. Very lovely.