Sarah

At nineteen cherry blocks, Sarah represents one of the most tonally resolved works in Lyon's figurative series, with each additional block allowing finer control over the gradation from shadow to highlight. The cherry plywood blocks are CNC-carved to carry precise tonal ramps, and their sequential impression on [washi](/glossary/washi) builds a luminous, layered surface in which no single block is individually legible — only the cumulative effect of all nineteen passes produces the final image. The washi support is critical to this process: its absorbency and surface texture allow each successive water-based pigment layer to modify rather than cover what precedes it, enabling the tonal depth that characterizes Lyon's approach. The work exemplifies his core thesis that CNC precision and traditional mokuhanga materials are complementary rather than contradictory.