Woodcut

Print made by a woodblock in which a picture or design has been cut in relief along the grain of the wood. The woodcut is the oldest method of printing, invented in China in the 5th century AD. In the Middle Ages woodcuts became popular in Europe, illustrating early printed books and broadsides.

The German artist Albrecht Durer was an early exponent of the technique. Multicolored woodblock prints were developed in Japan in the mid-18th century. Wood engraving is an allied but finer technique, the cuts being made across the end-grain of a block. The English artist Thomas Bewick is one of the first exponents of wood engraving. (Brockhampton)

All artwork by Mary Azarian

Signature

Handmade Accordion Mini-Book

Signatures for a handmade book made by

Spokane artist, Esme Guenther

Bookmaking is a beautiful and complicated art form. A person must be good at planning and measuring to be a good bookmaker!! During my art school days there were a few assignments to make books in painting classes and calligraphy classes. It was challenging but rewarding. As we became more adept we did mini-book exchanges in Calligraphy class and the books I have are such treasures to me now.

Signature

A specific type of section, differing from the general term of section, in that a signature is a sheet that first has been printed, then folded to a section. Signature is a printer's term for the binder's word section. (Keith Smith)