Description

Mabel Hewit, a Cleveland artist, learned the technique of the white line woodcut from Blanche Lazzell. Unlike Lazzell who favored images of Provincetown, flowers, or boats, Hewit chose to represent figures in everyday scenes in her own personal style. To print the image, a sheet of paper is tacked to one corner of the woodblock. Noncontiguous areas on the block are colored, often with watercolor, and the paper laid across the block. The back of the sheet of paper is rubbed, transferring the color to the paper. The groove cut into the block is not inked, so that the white of the paper acts as an outline around the colored shapes. If the pressure of the printing is strong, the white lines are embossed, or raised, on the surface of the paper. The white line accentuates the underlying linear structure of the print which strengthens the conception and unifies the composition.