It's In The Mail...Next Week?

With no particular target date for when I can return to work at the Studio, I made the decision a few days ago that I would try printing some of my 2010 Christmas cards at home, using the water based ink I brought home the week before Christmas to print my prototype. So this morning, while the sun and relatively warm temperatures were softening up the snow piles for my 7th consecutive day of shoveling, I decided to set up at the dining room table and try to quickly print 10 copies- the number of remaining card-sized pieces of paper I had with me. The first one was passable, but with each successive print the images got worse. There are reasons why I don't usually print with water based ink, and they showed themselves today. Below are the four cards in order of printing from left to right. Despite attempts to blot excess ink between proofs, the gloppy ink filled in more and more, so by the fourth one the black lines were getting too thick, the details on the block were filing in, and the whole image too dark overall.

I was afraid if I kept going that eventually it would all fill in and the block would be completely useless. So I removed as much residual ink from the block as I could, packed up my equipment, and continued my weeklong battle against the snow. I need to do some recutting of parts of the block, but that will require my tools, still locked up in the inaccessible Studio. I'll hope that one way or another that I can get in there early next week and fix the block and complete the print run. Meanwhile, after these dry I'll see if I can salvage any of them with watercolor so that some of the people who sent me cards can finally get one of mine in return.