Artist residency inside Shenandoah National Park

You never know what it looks like until you print it.

Jennifer describes how physical carving and the suspense of pulling a print created an addiction to printmaking that painting and drawing could never match.

Why Printmaking Beats Painting

A hand-sized visitor at the cabin window.

While living in a secluded park cabin, an artist gets a surprise visit from a gigantic luna moth and documents the encounter in her sketchbook.

A Giant Luna Moth Visited the Cabin

You have to think backwards to carve woodblocks

The artist demonstrates using a Japanese gouge to carve negative space into wood, explaining the counter-intuitive mental shift relief carving requires.

Why Woodblock Carving Forces You to Think Backwards

The artist breaks down how the alternating grain layers in Shina plywood behave under the gouge and how natural wood grain enhances the printed image.

How Japanese Plywood Changes Woodblock Printing

The artist breaks down the timeline behind each woodblock, tallying weeks of concept work and hours of meticulous carving per block.

The Brutal Reality of Printmaking Hours

The printmaker displays a homemade wooden registration jig and reveals how a flat wooden spoon doubles as an effective traditional hand baren.

Using a Kitchen Spoon as an Art Press

The artist demonstrates inking a carved woodblock with a brayer, explaining how the raised surfaces capture ink while the carved recesses stay bare.

How Relief Printing Actually Works

Using a wooden spoon as a DIY baren, the printmaker demonstrates how to apply circular pressure and spot embossed outlines that signal clean ink transfer.

Burnishing Prints with a Wooden Spoon

The printmaker peeks under the paper, touches up lighter edges with the spoon, and peels back the complete architectural woodblock proof.

The Woodcut Proof Print Reveal

What it actually means to get support as an artist

An artist reflects on the financial instability common in creative professions and explains how a three-week residency grant offers rare, focused creative freedom.

The Reality of Making a Living as an Artist

[03:20] Why Printmaking Beats Painting
[06:16] A Giant Luna Moth Visited the Cabin
[11:47] Why Woodblock Carving Forces You to Think Backwards
[13:06] How Japanese Plywood Changes Woodblock Printing
[17:04] The Brutal Reality of Printmaking Hours
[18:45] Using a Kitchen Spoon as an Art Press
[22:38] How Relief Printing Actually Works
[25:33] Burnishing Prints with a Wooden Spoon
[28:04] The Woodcut Proof Print Reveal
[29:56] The Reality of Making a Living as an Artist

Artist residency inside Shenandoah National Park

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