From Block to Print
A look behind the work — carving, inking, pulling, and the finished piece.
Carving the Block
Every piece begins as a raw wood panel. Mike draws directly onto the surface, then cuts away everything that won't hold ink. Hours of carving define every line, texture, and contour. The block itself becomes an object — a reverse-image sculpture of the final print.
Subjects come from direct observation: field sketches of ravens, salmon, mountains, and the shorelines of the San Juan Islands.
Inking & Pulling
The carved block is rolled with oil-based ink by hand — each color requires a separate pass through the press. Multi-color prints (like the Ravens or Mountain Treeline series) are built up layer by layer, each registration aligned by eye.
Every pull is unique. Variations in pressure, ink load, and paper texture make each print a one-of-a-kind object, even within a numbered edition.
The Finished Print
Each print is signed, titled, and numbered in pencil. Editions are small — typically 10 to 22 prints per colorway. Once an edition is sold out, it's gone.
Some blocks live on as originals — the Moonlight Ravens cedar panel, for example, is a finished artwork in its own right, separate from the prints it produces.
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Colorways
The same block can produce entirely different moods through color. The Moonlight Ravens block has been printed in dark blue, forest green, light teal, sky blue, and teal-on-cedar — each one a distinct edition with its own character.
Color choices are driven by the subject. Mountain pieces often pull from slate, teal, and fog. Nautical work goes deeper into blue and black.
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