Birds and Sea 1955

Milton Avery made this print titled *Birds and Sea* using woodblock printing, a process that dates back centuries. Notice how the texture of the wood itself plays a big part in the final image. Woodblock printing is a labor-intensive process. First, the artist carves an image into a block of wood, removing the areas that will not be inked. Ink is then applied to the remaining raised surfaces, and the block is pressed onto paper. Avery's choice of this medium emphasizes the hand-made quality of art. The grain of the wood adds a tactile dimension to the scene, contrasting with the flat planes of color. We can see the marks of the artist’s tools in the linear waves and the texture of the land. The process of creating a woodblock print highlights the physical act of making art. In doing so, it resists any separation of intellectual labor from the work of the hands. Appreciating the materiality and making process helps us see "craft" as a vital form of creative expression.