The maidenhair fern depicted in this relief print is a naturally occurring hybrid of two native ferns. Its Latin name, Adiantim viridimontanum, refers to the site of its discovery in the Green Mountains of Vermont. In 2002, I purchased the plant at Cady’s Falls Nursery in Morrisville, VT for my Sharon, Vt garden. In 2018 part of it moved with me to my new garden in Norwich, Vt. In the Fall of 2021, when I wanted to create a representational image of the maidenhair's delicate architectural form, I selected a frond from this plant and pressed it into printer’s ink. I then placed it ink-side down onto the smooth surface of a linoleum block. After removing the plant material, I carved away all the blank linoleum leaving behind only the image of the frond in stark relief. I could then transfer the image onto paper by pressing the inked block onto paper, in this case aided by a hand-pulled press. Initial prints from the carved block are designated “artist proofs” (AP; as displayed here). These “practice” images serve to guide final color choice and methodical processing before production of a limited edition, print series. See this and similar images in the gallery of representational art.
