The Slow and Thoughtful Process of Printmaking
Printmaking is not a medium you can rush. It demands patience, intention, and a lot of planning long before the first cut is ever made. I can’t simply pick up a tool and start carving because if I did, I would almost certainly be disappointed with the final result. Every decision matters, and each step builds on the one before it.
My process usually begins with sketching. I’ll start by developing the idea digitally on my iPad, which has become an invaluable part of my workflow. Being able to erase, resize, and move elements around makes it much easier to experiment and refine the composition until it feels right. This stage is all about problem-solving. Figuring out balance, negative space, and how the image will translate once it’s carved and printed.
Once the composition is settled, I have to think about scale. How large do I want the final print to be? How will that size affect the level of detail I can include? Then comes one of the most complex parts of the process: color. If I’m working with multiple colors, I have to carefully plan the order in which they’ll be printed. What color should go down first? How will the layers interact? What happens if one layer overlaps another in an unexpected way? So it has to be very calculated, while also leaving room for some experimentation.
All of this planning happens before I ever trace the image onto the block. By the time I begin carving, I’ve already spent hours thinking through possibilities, anticipating challenges, and making decisions that can’t easily be undone. Printmaking is unforgiving in that way, but that’s also what makes it so engaging.
I once had a kid ask me why I don’t just draw the image instead. I smiled, because it’s a fair question. Drawing can feel more direct, more immediate. But printmaking engages my brain in a completely different way. It’s a constant cycle of planning, problem-solving, and adapting. I’m thinking in reverse, considering layers, and imagining the final image long before it exists.
And then there’s the moment of printing... the reveal. No matter how carefully I plan, there are always small surprises. Tiny imperfections. Slight variations. Evidence of the hand and the process. The end result is never sterile or mechanical, it’s deeply, beautifully human.
That’s why I keep coming back to this medium. It challenges me, slows me down, and asks me to think differently. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of printmaking, because every piece teaches me something new, about the process, about problem-solving, and about embracing imperfection.
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With ink-stained gratitude,
Emily Ciecka