The blocks themselves can take up to six months to carve, and then working with her team, Gratovich adds thin pieces of colorful paper through chine collé. “For my most recent works in the series, ‘The Healer’ and ‘The Fool,’ I prepared close to 2,000 pieces of paper,” she says. “They have 69 and 70 pieces of hand dyed paper coloring each woodcut, respectively.”
Gratovich’s serene figures coalesce with nature and symbolic objects, such as musical instruments and animals, reflected in titles like “The Builder,” who holds a raptor, and “The Healer,” who balances a swirling, cosmic flow of energy. And from carved block to expansive print, the process requires precision and a few helping hands. “There’s a community aspect that’s engaging and fun—my big woodcuts require a team of four people to print,” the artist tells Colossal. “We use a printing press that is over four by eight feet, and everyone is integral in the printing process.”