woodblock printing

the age old art of woodblock printing...

to stumble across a unique old wooden print block now is something to truly treasure

the technique of block printing started long ago in  China...in fact surviving examples of it in China date back all the way to 220

wooden blocks are cut along the grain in what is called a relief matrix, which means areas to show 'white' are chiselled out leaving the image to be printed showing in the ‘black’ or the original surface level of the wood.

its such a simple and beautiful way to create a pattern for a textile

i was lucky enough to stumble apon a printing block at a market one weekend and i keep it on display because its so pretty!