Light from Dark: Woodcuts Old and New
![Chestnut Street Theatre, Pauvrette! or, Under the snow! … (Philadelphia, 1864)](http://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/pb-phiche-1864-135761-f-51a_edited-1-797x600.jpg)
Chestnut Street Theatre, Pauvrette! or, Under the snow! … (Philadelphia, 1864)
With a sharp blade, the artist removes wood from the surface of a smooth wooden plank, paring away what is not needed. What is left is a raised design that will carry the ink to the paper. The process of working from dark to light (through cutting) forces the artist to make bold, black-or-white choices. It requires directness in both cutting the block and in editing the message that one is trying to convey.
![Ercker. Beschreibung allerfürnemisten mineralischen Ertzt vnnd Bergkwercks (Frankfurt, 1598) In this foundry scene, puffs of smoke are magically rendered into puffy symbols of smoke, and the metalsmith works with quiet intensity.](http://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/chimney-454x600.jpg)
Ercker. Beschreibung allerfürnemisten mineralischen Ertzt vnnd Bergkwercks (Frankfurt, 1598) In this foundry scene, puffs of smoke are magically rendered into puffy symbols of smoke, and the metalsmith works with quiet intensity.
A wide variety of woodcuts crosses Andrea’s desk in the McLean Conservation Department, and she is continually inspired by their immediacy, the clarity of their intent, and their hand-hewn charm. The work commands attention, even 200 years later, and speaks clearly in a timeless and universal visual language. As an artist and printmaker who makes her own woodcuts, Andrea feels connected with the anonymous makers who came before. A recent series of original woodcuts, inspired by an artist’s residency in Iceland, expresses the power of the Icelandic landscape and the history embedded in it.
![Andrea Krupp, Mountainside, 18 x 18, 2014](http://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/mt.jpg)
Andrea Krupp, Mountainside, 18 x 18, 2014
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