Ever wondered how a woodblock print is made?

In a very simplistic way I often compare it to the potato stamps we all made as kids – cutting a pattern into a potato, inking it on a stamp-pad then pressing the potato onto a sheet of paper.

Woodblock print making is of course a much more complex task often requiring the services of up to three artisans, the artist, the carver and the printer. You’ll often find a print is signed (or stamped) by all three.

To see an overview of the Japanese woodblock print making process see the video below.