New Kid on the Block
Updated: Sep 18
To get started: What exactly is block printing?
My own introduction to the craft began in first grade, when we carved potatoes and used them to stamp patterns onto paper. I carved a star and a heart, enthusiastically stamping the paper, my shirt, my desk, and a classmate before the teacher finally intervened. For the record, all of those surfaces are completely valid canvases—provided you have consent! Today, people use block printing to create fine art prints, custom books, textiles, apparel, and so much more.But before we carve our own blocks, let's look at a bit of history. Who was the first person to look at a design and say, "I want to reproduce this image over and over again, perfectly?"
Textile Printing (c. 2500 BCE) Long before the invention of paper, early printing emerged on fabric. Archaeological evidence from Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley (modern-day Pakistan) reveals printed cotton fragments suggesting that primitive stamping methods existed over 4,000 years ago. Remarkably, these organic fibers survived for millennia because they were wrapped around copper artifacts. As the copper corroded, its antimicrobial salts preserved the cloth. Today, though these artifacts remain only as microscopic fragments and faint impressions, they mark the very dawn of block printing.
The Silk Road Beginnings (Han Dynasty, c. 2nd Century BCE)
The oldest surviving physical evidence of true woodblock printing on fabric comes from Han Dynasty China. A stunning example of this early mastery was discovered in the famous tomb of Lady Dai (Xin Zhui), dating back to the Western Han Dynasty. Among her treasures was a delicate gauze fabric featuring intricate, printed-and-painted floral patterns on silk, proving that by this era, artisans had transformed primitive stamping into a highly sophisticated art form.
Earliest Dated Complete Book (868 CE):
The ultimate milestone in early printing history belongs to the Diamond Sutra, a sacred Buddhist text discovered in China's Dunhuang caves. Bearing an explicit publication date corresponding to May 11, 868 CE, this beautifully preserved scroll is universally recognized as the world's earliest dated, complete block-printed book. It represents a monumental leap forward, proving that block printing had evolved from decorative patterns on fabric into a powerful medium for mass communication and philosophy.
Printed cards from China prior to 1,000 CE
Egyptian Textile Fragments (9th Century): The oldest surviving relief block-printed cloth fragments outside of Asia have been discovered in Egypt, dating to the 9th century.
To see just how massive the block-printing trade became, we look to the province of Gujarat in Western India. During the Middle Ages, Gujarat was the global powerhouse for producing vibrant, block-printed cotton. While browsing the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, I found a beautiful example of a plain-woven, block-printed textile fragment from the 13th or 14th century. (See my prior blog post on Chinze to learn more about a specific type of block-printed fabric available in the middle ages that caused quite a stir some terms remain in the modern Lexicon.)
Mass Production Hits Europe: Devotional Prints & Playing Cards (1400s CE)
When woodblock printing arrived in Europe via the Silk Road in the 15th century, it sparked a visual revolution. Long before Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press, European workshops were already using hand-carved woodcuts to mass-produce items for the general public. Instead of luxury goods, they focused on everyday items: cheap, popular playing cards and small religious devotional prints. This marked the very first time in European history that art became affordable and accessible to regular, working-class people.
The Mechanical Shift: Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press (c. 1440 CE)
The ultimate turning point in book production arrived around 1440 when German metalsmith Johannes Gutenberg invented the mechanical, movable-type printing press. While block printing was perfect for standalone images and short texts, setting individual metal letters allowed for the rapid, widespread printing of entire books. Gutenberg didn't replace the block-print artist, though—for centuries after, hand-carved woodblocks and later lino-blocks remained the primary way people integrated illustrations, borders, and visual art into printed pages.
Today, we will be carving Lino blocks. While the originals were carved in wood, this is the most cost-effective and commercially available product and method to make a block-print. If anyone is interested in carving in wood, I can teach that at a later class.
Our supplies:
Today, I am teaching a class for the College of St. Felix on the art of lino-block carving and printing. Each student will receive: a gouger (carving knife with different blade attachments), Linoleum blocks for carving, and the shared use of ink, a brayer roller, something flat to put the ink in and a baren to press the image with *the baren is for printing on paper, is basically a thing you use to smooth the paper down on the inked image so that you are ensured an even print with optimum coverage. Below is a picture of a commercially available printing kit that contains all of these elements. I sourced the items individually and am not using a kit, but this contains a good representation of all of the items. The ink is specific to this kind of printing and the brand that I found is good for both fabric and paper, so we will be using it to print on paper and fabric. Paper: a craft journal with blank pages. Fabric: A cloth napkin for a feast gear kit.
Some images of the class today:
I didn't get pictures of everyone's work but here are some that I captured. Thanks to everyone that attended the class today!
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