I love letters, and I've enjoyed illustrating the alphabet and producing these hand-colored prints.

A few years back, I designed two full alphabets, one with animals and one with plants. I've just finished making them available to you!

This short film will show you what goes into the production of these pieces.

After transfering the designs to smooth squares of artist's linoleum, I carefully cut the designs - carving out the parts that don't get ink and leaving the parts that are to be printed black. Then comes inking the surface and pressing it into the paper. After it dries, I paint in the colors. It's a lot of work, but the look is wonderful, I think.

The individual letters are great gifts - there's a lot of flexibility. You can frame them for a person's initials - I spelled out "JOY" for display at Christmas.

Although I love each individual letter, the thought of having the whole alphabet on one piece really excites me! The work and stress involved is more than just twenty-six times the work and stress of each letter. Can you imagine the fear of coming towards the paper with an ink-covered block hoping I don't print this one crooked and ruin the piece after getting 24 letters on correctly? Or, what If I tripped and dropped the inky block in the middle of the paper?

Also, the color choice is more complex - each letter can stand on it's own when they are displayed individually, but with the entire alphabet piece, I have to work with colors that will look good next to the surrounding letters. I feel like I'm weaving a pattern with the colors through the whole piece.