Wood Engraving Printmaking with Sam Swap of Third Cat Press

Date: September 5th 12-3PM

What We’re Learning: How to transfer an image onto an end grain wood block, engraving best practices, engraving tool sharpening, and printing by hand with a baren.

Join printmaker, illustrator and educator Samuel Swap to learn the basics of wood engraving. A niche form of relief printing popularized in the late 17th to early 18th century, wood engraving is the art of carving into end grain blocks of hardwood with tiny copper engraving tools to create beautiful prints filled with impressive amounts of depth. Similar to other relief forms of printmaking like linoleum and wood carving, but wood engraving has the unique ability to hold the same amount of detail and line weight as a copper etching.

During this class, Sam will show off some historic wood engravings from his collection, as well as some personal creations to help inspire you and show what is possible, before giving an in depth demo on how to carve and print your own prints using a baren (no need for large presses!) before turning you loose to create and carve your own!

Each participant will get a 3×3 inch handmade block of american hard maple, made by wood block maker Jim Reynolds of Michigan, as well as their own Spitsticker, also called an elliptical tint tool, to take with them and continue engraving far into the future! All prints will be made on fine Japanese Kozo paper, with each participent being able to print an edition of 5 prints.

Sam reccomends students bring a 3×3 inch sketch to work off of, and says that his best advice is to draw with micron pens, as it gives you a nice clean line.

Spots are limited! Click here to reserve your spot! 

About Sam Swap:

Samuel Swap (b. 1999) is an printmaker, illustrator, and educator from Connecticut. Featured in the collections of the Florence Griswold Museum, Cooley Gallery, and Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Sam aims to shed light on the often unseen faces of nature, how we interact with the natural world around us and lessons we can learn from it through high detail wood engravings and watercolor and ink illustrations, processes shared by New England naturalist artists for generations. After graduating with a BFA from the Hartford Art School in 2022, Sam started as an educator at the Florence Griswold Museum, while starting his own self publishing outfit Third Cat Press, publishing his first picture book the ABCs of BATs in 2024. In 2025, served as the Artist in Residence of the New England Trail, working with the Connecticut Forest and Parks association and the National Park System to investigate the intersections of natural and anthropogenic through plein air prints, and hold printmaking workshops with hikers and nature lovers all over the trail. In 2026, Sam will be working with the Connecticut River Conservancy to create 36 views of the Connecticut River, from source to sea, to create a childrens book for their 75th anniversary in 2027.

To view Sam’s work, click here.