After a couple more weeks of work, I’m finally done with at least the first batch of prints I’ve been working on. I’m really happy with the resulting four series, plus an interesting experiment that I think still has more potential to explore in the future.

Enchanted Night – the Froggy print

I never took this piece too seriously. It started as a sketch and a test piece for an exhibition a couple of years ago that ultimately didn’t go anywhere. However, whenever I showed it to friends, they seemed surprisingly amused and drawn to it, so I decided to go ahead and finish the design.

I’m really happy with how it turned out, especially the second series of multicolored prints. Here are some process pictures from several studio visits. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do any further cleanup on the design after the long cycle of test prints and adjustments described in my last studio log. You can read more about that process here, including all the ups and downs that got these designs to where they are now.

To achieve these split-color prints, I had to go through quite a bit of trial and error. My first attempt involved using a sheet of paper to mask half of the block while inking, but the results weren’t very clean. Once the masking paper touched the inked surface, it would leave behind subtle textures and inconsistencies, even if I rolled over the area again afterward.

The best results came from simply being very careful and following the dividing line with the edge of the brayer. It took a steady hand and several failed prints, but the color separation ended up much cleaner that way.

Untitled portrait design

Although this design required several rounds of testing, cleaning, and adjustments, I’m beyond excited with the final result. I really like the composition, which originated as a digital illustration and transferred to printmaking much better than I expected.

I also printed a small experimental series using a deep red ink. Despite my efforts to clean the block thoroughly, the prints came out a little blotchy. In the end, though, I think it created a beautiful rusty texture that adds character to the piece. Another happy accident, I guess.

Frame Design

The third print I completed recently is this experimental design that could potentially be used as a decorative frame for photographs, stamps, or other small works.

This piece wasn’t particularly well planned—there are very few straight lines and almost no consistency in the construction—but I love the swirling elements and the overall sense of movement in the composition.

I printed the design in both black and red. I think it would work well in almost any color, including gradients, depending on its intended use. That said, the black version is probably the most versatile as an actual frame.

CIC expositions

Throughout these studio visits, I also spent time wandering through CIC’s current exhibitions, drawing inspiration from a wide range of multimedia works by local artists. Here are a few pieces that particularly caught my attention, featuring the artist’s names:

The woodblock printing studio I attend recently open back up after a long summer break, and I am beyond excited to return to my printing practice!

A bit of context: Last year I spent a few months working on a multi-layered pool print. I love the piece and I almost had it, but I struggled a lot with aligning the layers correctly because of some early decisions(and mistakes) I made in the process. The frustration of spending months without seeing the expected progress, layered on top of communication challenges within the studio dynamic, eventually got the better of me and led to months of inactivity with the craft.

In the meantime I took DJ classes and explored my creativity in multiple other ways I’ve been sharing here. Enough time has passed now that I finally feel recharged and motivated to get back into the studio, workshop some new solutions and give the big project another try.

Since the studio reopened in early March, I’ve been working on some simpler pieces I had on the ‘back burner’ from last year. They are experimental, single color, low-stakes pieces. I thought they were a good way to get back into the groove, polish up my rusty skills, and re-familiarize myself with the full process before jumping back into the pool project – pun intended 🙂

The main challenge I had with the pool print was the alignment of the layers. I had already tried a few registration techniques (systems that help align paper and multiple print layers consistently) but none gave me reliable results. So I decided to use these experimental pieces as an opportunity to test better registration methods.

Over these first weeks back, it’s been a constant cycle of test printing, spotting imperfections, carving corrections, printing again, noticing new issues, making more fixes, testing again… and yes, somehow still finding more things to adjust. At this point, I’m heading into round four of test prints.

Each phase often takes an entire studio day, and many steps require drying time in between, so progress is slow, methodical, and honestly a real test of patience. It’s been a powerful reminder that this craft really demands presence. I always imagine things moving faster and smoother in my head than they actually do, so part of this return has also been about accepting the pace, trusting the process, and resisting my urge to rush results. Easier said than done… but we’re working on it.

Here’s a compilation of process-pictures from all the cleanup work, test prints, revisions, and multiple rounds of “polishes” of the design, along with some insights into my decision-making rationale:

1. The Designs – Where we Started

My first day back was a relatively chill one: revisiting my ongoing experiments, refamiliarizing myself with old projects, and deciding what felt most achievable.

Out of six unfinished projects, three were close enough to completion that they became my priority pieces. I had coffee, learned how to use a fun hole puncher my professor lent me, and checked out the current exhibition of woodblock studio artists.

2. First Round of Test Prints

The following week, I came in ready to print. After doing finishing touches and border cleanup both in the studio and at home, I finally tested the designs. Overall, the prints came out pretty well, but of course the process immediately revealed more issues: spots that needed cleanup, small imperfections, and even areas where the wood itself was beginning to lift and needed gluing. So… back to fixing.

3. Cleanup, Corrections, and Wood Putty

During that same visit, I spent a lot of time refining the blocks, including adding wood putty in areas where I had made carving mistakes and needed to essentially “reset” sections.

This meant waiting for the putty to dry, returning later, carving those areas again, and trying to sand everything flat enough that the repairs would disappear into the print surface. Spoiler: I did not sand it quite enough.

4. Registration Guide Experiments

At home, I also built a new set of registration guides for all my designs.

This was a major step. I created upgraded templates with physical slots for the woodblock itself, plus two different paper alignment systems:

• Outer alignment: paper fits inside corner slots
• Inner alignment: paper corners align against raised squares

After testing both, I found that for my medium-thickness paper, the raised-square method worked better. The corner-slot version sometimes let the paper dip below the edges, causing shifts.

5. Second Round of Test Prints

Back at the studio, now with my new registration guides and my intended final paper, I was ready for another set of test prints.

As I printed I kept getting “grainy” results, instead of a solid layer of color. Bebeto, the studio master, helped me figure out that the blocks had gotten grainy after sitting in storage for months. Another issue I noticed was that I could see the border of the wood putty applications. So back to sending and smoothign these surfaces. Hopefully that would be the last fix.

6. Sanding, Polishing, and More Problem-Solving

After a few days I went back into the studio to sand my blocks down but unfortunately one or two were still not fully dried. Thankfully a studio friend was around and thought me a cool way to remove the paint and do a fine polishing/sanding to the board using regular printing paper as sandpapaer, slowly removing the ink and then polishing the surface. I was afraid that using actual sandpaper might remove sharpness of details (made that error before) and this was the perfect solution for 2 of my designs.

For the design with the wood putty I had no other choice but to actually file it down, very carefully. Hopefully I didn’t mess it up :}

After giving the ink time to dry, I returned to the studio planning to sand everything down.

Some blocks still weren’t fully dry, but thankfully a studio friend showed me a brilliant trick: using regular printing paper like ultra-fine sandpaper to gently remove residual ink while polishing the block surface.

Honestly? Game changer.

This worked beautifully for two of my designs and avoided the risk of over-sanding delicate details with real sandpaper.

For the wood-putty-heavy design, though, I had no other choice but to actually file it down, very carefully. Hopefully I didn’t mess it up :}

Where we are at and future steps:

At this stage, I can already see clear differences between test print rounds one and two, which is encouraging.

I still need at least one more full round of test prints to see whether these latest fixes actually pay off — and I’ll also keep experimenting with paper smoothness, thickness, ink quantity, and alignment consistency.

A bit of an exhausting process of trial and error. However, one that continues to teach me to be patient and mindful of my process.

I hope you have been patient with yourself as well.

Happy creafting!