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I would also like to encourage you to experiment with many plywoods and hardwoods that are
available to you. You can find wood in the trash, scrap wood. Often times at the hardware
store there will be pieces of off-cut wood that you can purchase for cheap or they'll
even give to you. And when you're ready, when you feel like you have a handle on the tools
and the different densities of the wood will not frustrate you too much,. It is really
interesting to experiment with these different types of wood. Here are three different types
of hardware-grade plywood that I have used and carved into. Every time I choose a different
wood, I get different qualities. Some of them are too hard for me to carve into effectively.
And if that happens, I just throw it away or use it to make a shelf or something. But
what I can achieve in the different types of grains and the different types of textures
that you can get with different types of wood, for me, is a really interesting element to
work with and to experiment with. And it is one of those things that have taught me a
lot as I have gone through my printmaking process. I would suggest that before you use
hardware-grade wood that put a layer of ink onto the block of wood and then using that
baby oil, really wipe it into the surface. It will soften up your wood a little bit and
it will give you an easier surface to carve through.