This unfinished block has proven to be a lot harder to carve than it looks. Because it is large and I want that "stitching" pattern to show up well with heavy embossing I have to put a lot of strength into my carving while staying in control to avoid slipping. Also, I am carving each stroke at least twice to get them wide enough. I have only used shellac to coat the areas that are carving to help prevent chipping, it has still happened some but not to the point of ruining the block, because I want some of the wood-grain pattern to print. I brushed it with a wire brush (meant for grill cleaning) to bring the pattern out further. The great thing about doing such large blocks of pattern is that I can use them for prints of various sizes. If I want to ink up just a small portion and print that on small paper I can, I want a square print I can just use square paper. This is a big reason why I like carving large blocks best.
On the other side is a swirly egg pattern similar to the last print I posted.
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