Being Out of the Wood - but not in the way you think.

Raw materials for wood engraving: a seasoned boxwood log, blocks and tools.

Depending on what the UK Government announces (literally as I write), the subject of this post will either grab your interest as something to do on a wet afternoon - or fill you with frustration at yet another plan that can't be done because the iron grill of lockdown (ooh, I like that) has descended once more. That is, dear reader, if you are the kind of person who takes delight in bookish things (and let's face it, who isn't?).

Clare Leighton: The Farmer's Year.

Between now and 31 December, 2020, the Blackwell Hall in the Weston Library (the splendid modern Bodleian building in Broad Street - just watch out for the disappearing steps outside) is holding a small but fascinating exhibition. Celebrating all that goes into the making of a book, Out of the Wood marks this year's centenary of the Society of Wood Engravers.

Engravings and their blocks by
Hilary Paynter and John Nash.

Wood engravings and woodcuts, from Albrecht Dürer in the 15th century to those of more recent artists like John Nash, Clare Leighton and Hilary Paynter, are displayed along with the material used - the wood itself. Lightly inked blocks below some of the engravings show how exquisitely fine lines have created the picture printed above.

Sylvae by Gaylord Schanilec.

Wood can also be used for binding books, and one artist, Gaylord Schanilec, has taken the theme back to its very roots, having made and bound a book out of trees cut from his own land, with pages bearing their direct imprint.

The Bodleian display forms a companion to the delightful Scene Through Wood exhibition of wood engravings running at the Ashmolean Museum till 15 November (catch it if you can). But what is lovely about Out of the Wood is the amount of information achieved in a a single glass case, shown in a pleasing, clear and accessible way. 

I should perhaps declare an interest here....one of the curators is my husband, Nigel Hamway. Readers of my July Authors Electric blog may remember he was also behind another stunning work of art created to celebrate the SWE centenary, Nomad Letterpress's 2020 Vision:Nineteen wood engravers, one collector and the artists who inspired them.

Not an engraver himself, Nigel is the next best thing: a lover of the art. 

And definitely a collector.

Exhibition Co-curator Nigel Hamway (complete with mask).