JO ANN GENTLE has been a professional artist/designer/craftswoman since 1971. The works of this versatile artist have included watercolor painting, sculpture and functional pottery. Her work has been exhibited at fine craft galleries in principal cities throughout the Northeast and she has been featured in Country Living Magazine. In the newest chapter of her creative career, Ms. Gentle has expanded into white line woodblock printmaking. This process is both artistic and creative while demanding an incredible amount of precision. Each color is painted on the woodblock and then printed onto paper separately. Because this is such a long, exacting procedure, I will typically work on more than one design at a time. She has also taught pottery in a variety of settings, including the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY and Finger Lakes Community College. She maintains a studio in Rochester New York.

Recent Group Shows:
Women with Wow 2006 Pat Rini Rohrer Gallery
Women with Wow 2005 Rini Rohrer Gallery
The Loud Lunch Exhibit, 2004 Rini Rohrer Gallery
Best of Rochester Watercolor High Falls Gallery 2000
Collections:
Elizabeth Wende Breast Clinic Rochester NY
Dr. Stamatia Destounis ,Rochester NY
Senator Jim Alesi,Rochester NY
Wyeth Laboratories, Rochester NY
Publications:
Rochester Woman Magazine
American Art Collector
Country Living Magazine

Original Whiteline Woodblock Prints

The Whiteline Woodblock or “Provincetown Print” is a color woodcut in which all the colors are printed from a single block of poplar, pine or basswood.
A line drawing is made on the board. Then the image is carved using a matt knife or x-acto or drill or any tool that will leave a groove in the wood.
When the image is complete a piece of handmade paper is positioned at the side of the board and pinned down on two corners.
The paper is lifted and coloring the block begins. Each color is filled in; paper is laid over it and burnished with a wood spoon or brayer. The paper is lifted (still attached) and the next color is applied. This is repeated until all colors have been applied and printed.
Each image is completed before another paper is added for the next print.
I do not edition my prints as each one is unique.
When the print is completed all the color areas are surrounded by the outlines originally cut into the block, hence the “whiteline woodcut”
The result is a unique print with strong line imagery qualities.
These prints are printed one at a time and may have slight variations from one print to another.
Therefore they most resemble a monoprint as no two are exactly alike.
They are marked with a var/number instead of an edition number, for that reason.
They are known as a “variant” All work is titled and signed.

Original Watercolors