Cedar Waxwing in Pacific Dogwood, handprinted linocut card, © 2018 Patrick Norton

Handprinted linocut greeting card, 5" X 7" with envelope on acid-free paper. Cranfield Caligo Safe Wash oil-based ink. With cellophane sleeve.

Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) in a Pacific dogwood tree, feeding on the compound fruit. The acquire the brilliant coloring in their wingtips and tailfeathers by converting the pigment in the fruit of plants like the Pacific dogwood into a new form to adorn their plumage, using a gene called CYP2J19. They owe their most splendid coloration to their diet and this gene.

This image began with a drawing which I transfer to a piece of artist's linoleum (a version of the flooring material). I cut away the white areas with gouges (like small wood chisels but concave) leaving only the areas and lines intended to be black. I then ink the block with a roller and place in a forme, which is a sort of frame that holds the block in proper alignment with the paper to be printed on. I insert the paper or cardstock against the registration tabs, felt blankets are laid on top, and I roll the whole set through my press. The result is a reversed (R-L image of the carved block.