Do Not print this image without the written consent of the artist
My work with woodblock prints explores the beauty of the wood and its transformation into a print. The empty block is a challenge and the cutting of the wood with my wonderful tools inspires me to go beyond the block. I work with different series and the current series I’m now working on is my Flower / Nature series.
My love for color explores the exquisite qualities of the flowers and inking the blocks with a zillion inks brings out the amazing concept of each work.
I hand print each block with the use of a Japanese baren on special handmade papers that I select for the print. These prints are in limited editions.
I have a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Pennsyvlania, 1963. I also attended the Advanced Studio at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and hold a BFA in Illustration from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia.
Idaherma Williams was Past President of the American Color Print Society and was a board member of the Society of American Graphic Arts.
"The empty block is a challenge and the cutting of the wood with my wonderful tools inspires me to go beyond the block, exploring the exquisite qualities of the flower series through the intricate layering of a zillion inks."
The Japanese Baren
In her hands, the baren was not merely a tool, but an extension of breath. The rhythmic pressing of paper to inked block requires a calibrated tension—a physical dialogue between artist and medium. It is here that the image transfers, not forcefully, but through deliberate persuasion. This manual pressure allows for a level of nuance that no mechanical press can replicate, as the artist feels the paper yield to the wood's grain. Every circular stroke is a meditation, a careful balancing act where the heat generated by friction helps the fibers of the handmade paper drink the 'zillion inks' she so meticulously layered.
Through this intimate ritual, Idaherma transformed a simple bamboo-wrapped disk into an instrument of profound expression, ensuring that the final print retained the raw energy and soul of the original carving. It is a slow, exacting process that demands both immense physical stamina and a delicate sensitivity to the subtle shifts in moisture and pigment, ultimately breathing life into the silent wood.