BIG INK is a national juried woodblock master class program to help artists make large-scale woodblock prints. Each artist has two months to create their woodblock, which they will then print at an event with the program founder, Lyell Castongway. Kathleen Zimmerman’s acceptance letter follows.

Hello Kathleen Zimmerman,
Thank you for your recent submission. The following applicants have been accepted.

Adell Donaghue • Adrian Tio • Brooke H Stewart • Elizabeth Stanton • Emily Trueblood • Gabe Chevalier • Grechel Rosado • Isabella Penney • Janie Kinnane • Jency Sekaran • Jenya Damsky • Joseph Moore • Kate Bolton Ricketson • Kathleen Zimmerman • Kathrine Lovell • Kelsie Leonard • Liv Stanislas • Robert Maloney • Sabrina Heney • Susan Gelotte

We appreciate reviewing everyone's application. Please read on for important information. We look forward to working with you!

Sincerely,
Lyell Castonguay & Carand Burnet
Founders/Directors
BIG INK LLC

original drawing

24 x 36 inch design flipped

Tracing on painted board

Marker on painted board

Transparency of marker drawing

Inverted design

Starting MDF woodblock

MDF woodblock before proof

MDF woodblock inked

First proof of MDF woodblock

Starting cherry woodblock

Cherry woodblock before proof

Cherry woodblock inked

Finalized woodcut

Cherry proof

While Zimmerman is a printmaker, this will be the first time she has carved a woodblock. We thought it would be nice to share this printmaking method with you. Above is a documentation of the transformation of Zimmerman’s To Be or Not To Be? Forest graphite drawing into a large-scale woodblock carving. Zimmerman carved her drawing on MDF first as a practice run. She learned alot which helped her in her carving on cherry plywood. This cherry plywood block is what was printed at the BIG INK event at Dedee Shattuck Gallery.