The art of the modern printmaker is universal. All over the world mokuhanga has reached people from all aspects of life. It touches a chord that is unique and powerful. On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak to an artist who’s work does just that. Benoit Varaillon, also known as Beno Uki Ga, is a French mokuhanga printmaker who mixes the traditional and the modern; pieces that are full of colour, exciting, and interesting. When setting up this interview, Beno’s one request was to have a translator. You’re going to hear three voices on this episode, of Beno, myself, and his cousin Lucie Galinon who kindly agreed to help translate. I hope you enjoy this newest episode of The Unfinished Print.

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own print work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at [email protected]

Notes: notes may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Beno’s Instagram, website can be found, here.  Prints mentioned in the episode can be found on wither Instagram or Beno’s website. 

Edo Period prints - woodblock prints of the Edo Period (1603-1867) were predominantly of kabuki actors (Sharaku), and courtesans (Harunobu) beginning in the middle of the 18th century. The traditional system of production came into play when making ukiyo-e of this period, designer,  carver, printer, and publisher. Famous designers of the day were Hiroshige (1797-1858), Hokusai (1760-1849).

Meiji Period prints - 1868-1912 This period of woodblock prints were rich in colour and in experimentation. Still using the traditional production system, the printing become more intense via larger formats, triptychs and subject matter from war to murder. Famous artists of the time were Kunichika (1835-1900), and Yoshitoshi (1839-1892).

Ogata Gekkō (1859-1920) was a self taught designer of woodblock prints. His life began designing rickshaw’s and under the auspices of the Ogata family his career began to flourish. His style is said to favour ukiyo-e, with subjects raging from landscape, war (past and present), Japanese history, and nature. A great website of his work and history can be found here.

Akira Kurosaki (1934-2019) - Japanese printmaker and scholar who developed the Disk Baren. His printmaking career and academic career go hand in hand as he always seemed to be creating his abstract and surreal works while working as a professor. Seeing his work in person is a must, as the vibrant and powerful colours of his pieces can only do justice in person. Some of his works can be found here, at the Azuma Gallery

Shun Yamamoto - is a modern printmaker who has worked with artist Shinji Tsuchimochi making his “Ginza In The Rain” print using a laser engraved block and can be found here via Mokuhankan.

David Bull - is a Canadian mokuhanga printmaker who has spent most of his life in Tōkyō. He is the owner of Mokuhankan of Asakusa in Tōkyō where he and his staff create woodblock prints. He teaches and educates people from all over the world via his Twitch live streams and YouTube videos.

aizuri-e - a late Edo Period (1603-1867) type of printmaking where the woodblock print is predominantly in blue, or shades of the color blue. The blue colour was usually a Prussian Blue imported into Japan around 1790. artelino have a great description of Prussian Blue and aizuri-e, here.

shōmenzuri - “front printing,” rubbing the print in reverse so as to get a polished look on the print, usually for patterns. 

Bretagne, France - a peninsula in Western France, which contains old architecture, beauty for sea coasts,  nature walks, as well as a great art scene. More information can be found, here.

shin-hanga  1915-1940 - a renaissance of the Japanese woodblock started by Shōzaburō Watanabe (1885-1962). He used the traditional methods and line of production from the Edo and Meiji Periods. Mixing western painting and traditional Japanese motifs, for these new prints Watanabe commissioned artists like Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) and Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) kickstarting some of the greatest masterpieces of world art. 

Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) - originally a watercolorist and painter Yoshida started designing woodblock prints for Watanabe in 1920. By 1925 he was designing prints for his own studio. The works which came from his studio were meticulous and masterpieces of the medium in their own right.  Ukiyoe.org has a good collection of Yoshida works.

gouache  - a water based pigment used by many mokuhanga artists.

powder pigments - ganryō are usually kept in paste form with alcohol. According to David Bull’s old site, woodblock.com, artists such as Keizaburo Matsuzaki, with whom David speaks with, here, only needed several types of powdered pigments with which to mix an assorted rainbow of colors.

ōban - the most common size of woodblock print, 15”x10”

nishinouchi - is a bleached Japanese paper that is 100% kozo (mulberry) paper and generally comes from eastern Japan such as Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures. Links can be found here for nishinouchi paper made of Nasu kozo, and nishinouchi from the Japanese Paper Place in Toronto from Ibaraki.

sōsaku hanga -  the creative print movement in Japan of the early 20th century. The entire process of design, carving, and printing of the woodblock print was done by the artist. The Ronin Gallery of New York have a great definition and history of sōsaku hanga, here.

opening and closing credit background music:  “Dirty Laundry” by Curtis Mayfield, from his Honesty album, 1983. 

© Popular Wheat Productions

Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) The opinions expressed in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of Andre Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up to this point for The Unfinished Print, the primary goal has been to share the lives and works of mokuhanga creatives, for those who want to understand how contemporary Japanese woodblock prints are made. While understanding contemporary mokuhanga is important I believe that one must also search the past histories of mokuhanga. History, how prints were made, sourced and produced in Japan will, I believe, help the contemporary mokuhanga artist understand their craft all the more. 

In this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak to Maureen de Vries, co-curator of the Nihon no Hanga gallery in Amsterdam. A small boutique gallery which is the vision of Elise Wessels, a collector who’s passion for the Japanese print led her to create a place for people to see and be educated on mokuhanga. 

Maureen and I speak on multiple ideas and concepts about modern Japanese prints, post Meiji Period (1868-1912), such as how these prints were viewed in Japanese and Western society. We do this via Nihon no Hanga’s exhibitions. We try to understand the ideas and concepts behind the production of woodblock prints in that era. We also speak esoterically about what it means to produce prints from history, what is considered an “original” print, as well as how people from the past and today view post-Meiji mokuhanga. I certainly hope when you listen to this episode you will be inspired to friendly debate, and realize that there can be a lot more involved when trying to understand mokuhanga. 

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own print work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at [email protected]

Notes: notes may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Nihon no Hanga - website (note - Nihon no Hanga is no longer open)

Itō Shinsui (1898-1972) - Nihon-ga, and woodblock print artist and designer who worked for print publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962). Shinsui designed some of our most famous shin hanga, or “new” prints of the early 20th century. One of my favorites is “Fragrance of a Bath” 1930.

Hashiguchi Goyō (1880-1921) - a woodblock print designer who also worked, albeit shortly, with Shōzaburō. In his short life Goyō designed some of the most iconic woodblock prints ever made. “Kamisuki” 1920, and “Woman Applying Powder” 1918. 

shin hanga/sōsaku hanga - on the surface shin hanga, the new print movement that began with Watanabe Shōzaburō and sōsaku hanga started by Kanae Yamamoto (1882-1946) couldn’t be more different. Whereas the shin hanga movement harked back to an idillic time  of ukiyo-e, sōsaku hanga looked to folk traditions and a more rustic aesthetic. Both can be considered “new” prints in my estimation as both began to present their products to a general population at a time when mokuhanga was on the decline.

Kondō Kōichiro (1884-1962) - a painter who produced a small amount of woodblock prints. Produced a series of printed called Senryu Manga dedicated to the poetry of Kenkabo Inoue (1870-1934). For more info and to see his work check out the Artelino page.

Koizumi Kishio (1893-1945) - from Shizuoka, Kishio was a sōsaku print artist. Although his work, such as “Girl Before a Mirror,” 1933, shows the aesthetic of shin hanga in my opinion, so talented was he. For more information, Scholten Japanese Art has a great write up on him with an image of the above print.

Nihon no Hanga has a wonderful array of catalogues for sale on their website, here.  They are incredibly well done and very accessible scholastically. Every exhibit spoken about by Maureen in this episode can be found on their website.

Junichirō Seki (1914-1988) - an accomplished sōsaku hanga printmaker , Seki travelled the world and his work was published in Oliver Statler’s groundbreaking work “Modern Japanese Prints,” 1956. For more info on Seki and a visual of his works Artelino does a great job, here.

Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1955) - arguably one of the most important sōsaku hanga printmakers. Coming from an aristocratic family he had an oil painter background. He designed books for money as he was making his prints. His “First Thursday Society” began in 1939, is what helped printmakers make their prints away from censorship by the military fascist government in Japan at the time. For more info regarding Onchi click here, here, and here

Rijks Museum - the national museum of the Netherlands. Opened originally im 1800 the museum has moved several times, finally resting at its current location in 1885. The museum holds masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and others.

The New Wave: Twentieth Century Prints of the Robert O Mueller Collection  -  was a book published by Bamboo Publishing in 1993. It is long out of print and very expensive.

Emil Orlick (1870-1932) - was a Prague born artist who also worked in the medium of woodblock. He travelled expensively throughout the world, especially to Japan. His woodblock prints are of portraits landscapes and of people. For more information orlickprints.com is a good start. 

Doi Hanga and Mokuhankan - the collaboration between the Doi Hanga print company and David Bull’s Mokuhankan began in 2016. Videos can be found here regarding how the collaboration began and where it’s at. You can purchase the Doi Hanga collaborations here.

Wada Sanzō (1883-1967) - an oil painter who at a young age would cover the Japanese colonial experiment through his paintings in the 1930’s. Sanzō began to be interested in woodblock prints when supervising his artist friend’s , Ōno Bakufu (1888-1976), project. Sanzō’s designs would become popular throughout the 1930’s and 1940’s as they showed the everyday of life, focusing on professions and occupations of the Japanese people of the time. His works straddles wartime propaganda and post war Japanese cultural idealism which makes Nihon no Hanga’s 2021 show about Sanzō “Memories of Shōwa,” so interesting.

oban - Japanese woodblock print’s come in various sizes. "Oban" is considered 10x15 inches. Artelino has a great guide on print sizes here.

opening and closing credit background music:  “Changes” by Charles Bradley, 2016. It’s a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes,” from their Vol.4 album, 1972. 

© Popular Wheat Productions

Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) The opinions expressed in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of Andre Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The work of Canadian mokuhanga printmaker Graham Scholes is the work of an artist searching for history. His career has taken him across Canada, teaching, studying and creating his prints and water colours.  Graham has worked in various types of printmaking and art but it is mokuhanga which he seems to have found his voice.  In this episode of The Unfinished Print, Graham (accompanied with his wife Marnie) goes into his artist life, his relationship with printmaker Noboru Sawai, his various print series as well as his printmaking methods and philosophies. We also discover how history shapes an artist.  

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own print work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at [email protected]

Notes: notes may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Graham Scholes website and shop can be found here.

Art Gallery Of Ontario is a big box art gallery located in the city of Toronto founded in 1900.

Western Technical School is a high school located centrally in the city of Toronto and was founded in 1927 with a focus on machinery and robotics. 

Font de libération du Québec (FLQ) was a neo-nationalist and separatist political group and terrorist organization which was highly active in the Canadian province of Québec from 1963-1971. For a good read on the subject, D’arcy Jenish’s book The Making of the October Crisis is worth a read.

Barrie, Ontario, Canada is a city located in the Canadian province of Ontario with a long a rich history of First Nation and settler tradition and culture. The McLaren Art Centre which Graham discussed in the episode is located in Barrie.

Vancouver Island is an island off the coast of Canada with a rich history of First Nations and settler culture.

Watercolours and How is a book published by Graham Scholes describing the use of watercolours as an art form.   Let There Be Light  is a book by Graham Scholes about his lighthouse woodblock prints.   Noboru Sawai (1931-2016) - mokuhanga and printmaking teacher of Graham Scholes, an American/Japanese printmaker who spent 22 years in Calgary, Alberta at the University of Calgary. He studied printmaking with Tōshi Yoshida (1911-1995) in Japan. His studio, Sawai Atelier was established in Vancouver, BC in 1981.   Kochi, is a prefecture located on Shikoku Island in Japan. It has a rich samurai history and tradition of paper making. Inochō paper making museum is located in Kochi.   Takamatsu is a port city in Kagawa prefecture on Shikoku Island in Japan. shina (Tilia Japonica) is a Japanese plywood made for mokuhanga printmaking.    The West Coast Trail is a 75km trail for backpacking which follows the southwestern edge of Vancouver Island. gomazuri is a printmaking technique called sesame printing in English printed with water and pigment.    waterless lithography is a form of printmaking developed by Canadian printmaker Nik Semenoff using silicone, offset aluminum plates, toner, water-soluble pencils and heat.  dry point is drawing on copper plates with diamond or carbide tipped needles, inked then cleaned.  This process is in the intaglio family of printmaking. John Amoss is an American mokuhanga printmaker whose Appalachian Trail series is one of the greatest modern mokuhanga print series available today. He was interviewed by The Unfinished Print and can be found here.  Sybil Andrews (1898-1992) was a British modernist linocut printmaker, painter, and teacher who lived in British Columbia. Her works are lauded and highly collectable.  kappazuri are Japanese stencil prints by layering colour and form with stencils cut by the artist. Made famous by Yoshitoshi Mori (1898-1992). Mokuhanga printer and painter Paul Binnie also began his career with kappazuri. Ronin Gallery NY has a great blog post about kappazuri  here.  reduction printmaking, colloquially known as “suicide prints,” is a form of printmaking where the printmaker cuts away from one  wood or Lino block , printing as they go.   Walter J. Phillips (1884-1963) was a British born printmaker who lived in Victoria, British Columbia. Famous for his watercolours and self-taught woodblock prints, WJP made his own tools and made some of the greatest woodblock prints ever produced.   opening and closing credit background music:  Blue, Red and Grey by The Who from the record, The Who By Numbers (1975) 

© Popular Wheat Productions

Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) The opinions expressed in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of Andre Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.

   

 

 

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Jennifer Mack Watkins is making thought provoking and powerful work. Jennifer’s hard work and her unique approach to mokuhanga, screen printing,  and lithography has begun to pay off. Her current solo show, “Children Of The Sun,” has been written about in The New York Times, Essence, Vogue, and Bust. Along with her solo show at the Brattleboro Musuem and Art Center in Vermont, where she organized all of the events regarding her exhibition, she is also currently taking part in Womb of Violet 2 or Unraveled. Restructured. Revealed at the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton Wisconsin. It is a group show which recognizes how marginalized  peoples have been affected by society today. In this episode of the Unfinished Print I speak with Jennifer about her mokuhanga experiences, what she has learned from travelling to Japan, what mokuhanga brings to her life as an artist and the evolution of her work. 

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own print work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at [email protected]

Notes: notes may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Notes:

Jennifer Mack-Watkins -  website Instagram 

Morris Brown/Clark Atlanta 

Power Grip - are beginner/middle range tool set which are easy to use and are perfect for all levels of carvers. This set is sold at Intaglio Printmaker in London.

Tufts University 

Pratt Institute 

Lower East Side Printshop

April Vollmer - a seasoned printmaker who wrote one of the standards in woodblock printmaking, Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop, sold wherever you buy your books. Her long and successful career as a teacher and a printmaker are unparalleled.

MI Lab - (Mokuhanga Inovation Laboratory) at Lake Kawaguchi. It is a program dedicated to the art of mokuhanga and hosts artist in residence programs.

Takuji Hamanaka - printmaker based in Brookly, NY. Uses bokashi,  a printmaking technique, predominately in his works. Unique and powerful. website Instagram

Manhattan Graphics Center 

Speedball - make printmaking tools for various styles of printmaking.

McClains Printmaking supplies - the go to woodblock printmaking supply company in the US. 

Guerra Paint and Pigments - located in NYC a wonderful place to get the colours for your prints. 

Mt. Fuji/Yamanashi Prefecture tourist website.

Female samurai existed in Japan. Called onna musha (女武者), these women warriors were associated with the ruling samurai of the time. I hate to say it, but Wikipedia has a good write up about these warriors as a start.

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) - was one of the greatest print designers of his time. Yoshitoshi’s works straddled the line of beautiful and horrific in many of his series. Famous in the West for his One Hundred Aspects Of The Moon, Yoshitoshi’s works are highly collectable. Some of his works are available to view at the Lavenberg Collection,  and Ukiyo-e.org.

Studio Noize Podcast -  a podcast focusing on contemporary black artists. Jennifer Mack-Watkins’ episode can be found here. 

Kremer Pigments - a NYC based pigment shop carrying all types of pigments, especially powdered pigments.

E/AB Fair

Agness Scott College

Newark Public Library

Jungle Press Editions 

Katsutoshi Yuasa - printmaker who lives in Tokyo. Began the East Tokyo Mokuhanga Studio in 2017. Creates works that are without key blocks and with a lot of bright colour.

Project For Empty Space -  “A nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safe and equitable spaces for audiences and artists alike.” This description is from their website, found here.

risograph printing - is a method of printmaking using a digital printer. More info can be found here.

opening and closing credit background music:  Zangetsu - from the album Japanese Shamisen released in the US by Lyirichord.

© Popular Wheat Productions

Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) The opinions expressed in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of Andre Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions. 

 

Richard Steiner has been making woodblock prints for over 50 years.  Living in Kyōto, Japan for most of that time, Richard has been inventing new tools for making mokuhanga, has been creating new works on a regular basis, as well as instructing. Richard is an innovator and creator in the world of woodblock printmaking and has the body of work and success to show for it. In this episode of The Unfinished Print, I sit down and speak with Richard Steiner about his life in Japan, what goes into making his prints and we discover who Richard Shakespeare really is.

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own print work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at [email protected]

Notes: notes may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Notes:

Richard Steiner website, blog, and shop can be found, here

Kyōto - capital of Japan from 794-1868 it is a city which continues to beguile and attract tourists from around the world. Information regarding the cities attractions can be found here 

Tochigi prefecture is a landlocked prefecture famous for the city of Nikkō, which is the burial place of shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616). It’s a beautiful and wonderful prefecture. Tourist information can be found, here at the JNTO website. Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) designed several prints for the temples and surrounding areas of Nikkō such as Futatsudō Hall,                                  Road To Nikkō, Snow At The Sacred Bridge In Nikkō,  and Yumoto Hot Spring At Nikkō. Other print designers such as Koitsu Tsuchiya (b 1870 - d?), Shiro Kasamatsu (1898-1991), and Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) all designed prints about Nikkō with many being quite rare and collectible today.

Hiroshima City is the capital port city of Hiroshima, Prefecture which has a long and famous history. Hiroshima City is well worth the visit, with its rolling hills, beautiful sea and city scapes as well as plenty of hiking and outdoor activities.  Hiroshima tourist information can be found, here.

In Japan the passing of names from teachers to students is very common. Traditionally this occurs in the arts such as theatre, or within various martial arts schools. Tattooing culture and woodblock prints also follow this tradition. Richard Steiner explains how he received his Japanese name from his teacher in the interview. In horimono, or traditional Japanese tattooing the prefix”hori” (carver) is given to the student as they themselves have graduated from the teachings of their master. In kabuki theatre, family names (yagō) are bequeathed to sons (sometimes daughters) of famous fathers, most famously The Danjurō line of actors, (Naritaya), but of course there are many other acting guilds, such as the Nakamuraya, Matsushimaya, Otowaya and Omodakaya. For more information about kabuki theatre always go to kabuki21.com. 

Richard received his name Tōsai from his teacher, Masahiko Tokumitsu, in 1980.

Holbein is a pigment company based in Ōsaka, Japan. A popular pigment used by many mokuhanga printmakers.  

Richard Steiner’s “moistening pack” can be found here, on Richard’s website.

Terry McKenna is a printmaker and instructor of mokuhanga based in Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan. He was one of my earliest interviews. He runs and operates the Karuizawa Mokuhanga School

Expo ‘70 was one in a series of “Expo’s” or world’s fair held throughout the world organized by the Bureau des International Expositiones (BIE). Over 76 countries participated with over 68 million people from all over the world attending. It showcased all that post-war Japan had to offer to the world with a “future city” approach housing world pavilions to share cultural ideas under the banner of “Progress and Harmony of Mankind.” More information can be found, here.

calligraphy (shodō) originally beginning in China but eventually became rooted in Japan with Japanese aesthetics, with many shodō schools settling throughout the country.

ikebana and kado is the art of flower arrangement. Believed to have begun by Buddhist monks it contains many elements, and layers to the art form so it is best to try it yourself.  The Ikenobo Society of Floral Art located in Kyōto has a website dedicated to ikebana and can be found, here.

Hiroshi Yoshida made a fabulous and very famous shin-hanga print of The Grand Canyon located in Arizona.

The New Year’s card prints, or nengajyō, are small post card prints sent out by printmakers yearly to commemorate the Chinese zodiac, or simply the New Year’s occasion itself.

shina plywood (Tilia Japonica) is a soft wood created for the modern mokuhanga printmaker in mind. While not cheap, nor nearly good enough for thin lines the softness of the ply allows for faster production of woodblock prints as prints made with harder woods generally take much longer to make.

David Bull is a printmaker and mentor to the modern mokuhanga practitioner. Mokuhankan is the brick and mortar store located in Asakusa, Tōkyō where his team of carvers and printmakers make their prints.  He also has a Twitch stream which is regularly updated where he shows what is currently in the works.

Hillgate Gallery in Kyōto can be found, here. The website is in Japanese.

genkan (玄関) - is an walkway in a Japanese home where one take off their shoes. Flowers, art, can be shown they’re as a welcome to guests.

Wakkanai is the northernmost point in Japan and is located in Hokkaido, Japan. It is where I started my cross country bicycle ride in 2015.

Kyōto International Print Association Facebook site.

opening and closing credit background music:  “Without A Song,” by Sonny Rollins from his 1962 record The Bridge. 

© Popular Wheat Productions

Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) The opinions expressed in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of Andre Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annie Bissett is one of the most thought provoking and interesting mokuhanga artists working today. Her pieces allow the viewer to contemplate subjects and ideas which may never have entered their consciousness . Especially in the current political and cultural climate, her prints make all the more sense.  In this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with Annie Bissett about her career in mokuhanga, what her “sociopolitical” prints are meant to signify, her method as well as her philosophies on mokuhanga as a form of artistic expression.

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own print work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at [email protected]

Notes: notes may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Notes:

Annie Bissett - website , Instagram 

Matt Brown -  an established mokuhanga artist who is a mentor and leader in contemporary mokuhanga. website Instagram 

sōsaku hanga - an initial period of woodblock print making beginning in the early 20th century and dedicated to what I would call, natural printmaking. Omitting the traditional division of labour method of the publisher, carver, and printer, sōsaku hanga printmakers create their prints entirely on their own. Although this is not always the case with some printmakers notably Saitō Kiyoshi (1907-1997) who as he got older and more popular began to mete out his work for others to produce. A great history on Saitō can be found here from the town of Yanaizu in Fukushima, Prefecture’s website where the Saitō Kiyoshi Museum of Art is located.

Annie Bissett’s map prints can be found here.

Annie Bissett’s “We Are Pilgrim’s” prints can be found here.

a great article, albeit from 1958, on the development of early American woodcuts can be found as open access on JSTOR. 

The National Security Agency in the United States has been accused of surveillance on the American citizenry. Annie Bissett’s prints about the NSA can be found here.

Smith College is a private liberal arts women’s college in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Annie Bissetts “pots” series of prints can be found here.

John Alden was a crew member and Pricilla Alden was a passenger on the Mayflower, and were married. Annie Bissett’s print of the couple can be found here.

Printmaker David Bull’s “Baren Forum” can still be found, here. It’s chock full of information for printmakers of all levels.

I Was A Twentieth Century Lesbian (series) can be found here.

shunga - generally speaking is a woodblock printing style and motif that has to do with sex and sexuality. Much of the time it is gratuitous and fantastical. Usually banned throughout its history it was and still is extremely popular.  Annie Bissett’s “Twentieth Century Lesbian” series is tasteful and powerful and, in my personal opinion, still connects to the shunga tradition through that tasteful and powerful light.

Wood-like Matsumura - an incredibly important online and brick and mortar store located in Nerima City, Tokyo.

I allude to the print, The Dream Of The Fisherman’s Wife (蛸と海女) published in 1814. It is one of the most famous shunga prints ever made where a female figure is being made love to by an octopus. For an interesting take on this print look to photographer Sawatari Hajime and his series of photos “Hysteric Ten” to see that print, essentially, come to life. PEN magazine in Tokyo wrote an article in English, here.  

opening and closing credit background music:  Bruce Springsteen “Highway 29,” from The Ghost Of Tom Joad (1995)

© Popular Wheat Productions

Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) The opinions expressed in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of Andre Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions. 

 

 

 

 

 

Laura Boswell is one the most productive mokuhanga and linocut printmakers working today. Not only does she print, she co-produces a popular art podcast called Ask An Artist, and with her husbands help The Talented Mr. B, she also produces instructional videos on YouTube on mokuhanga and lino cut. Her output these days is inspiring and exceptional. In this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with Laura about her creativity, her history with mokuhanga, her podcast and her ideas, her book and on mokuhanga itself. 

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my print work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at [email protected]

Notes: notes may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Laura Boswell - website 

Ask An Artist Podcast - website 

Nagasawa Art Park - is a program which stopped in 2011 and has since moved to MI-Lab (Mokuhanga Inovation Laboratory) at Lake Kawaguchi. It is a program dedicated to the art of mokuhanga and hosts artist in residence programs.

Wood-like Matsumura - an incredibly important online and brick and mortar store located in Nerima City, Tokyo.

diptych - is a two panel print sometimes pasted together making one single image seen in a lot of ukiyo-e and mokuhanga.

Awagami Paper Factory - located in Yoshinogawa Village on Shikoku Island in Japan, is a paper making company which produces Japanese paper called washi. You can purchase their papers online here.

Near Applecross - a series of prints by Laura made in different colours and a couple of designs can be found on her archive here.

Awaji Island - is an island linking the mainland of Hōnshu to the island of Shikoku by the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway (神戸淡路鳴門自動車道) Awaji Island has a rich history and culture and can be researched here.

Buckinghamshire, England -  is a country in the South-East of England near Oxford. It has a lovely natural beauty and a long history. Find more information here. 

Peter Keegan - co-host and co-producer of the Ask An Artist podcast with Laura and is an established painter in his own right. You can find more information about Peter’s work here.

Making Japanese Woodblock Prints - Laura Boswell’s book on how to make Japanese woodblock prints, or mokuhanga. It is rich in information and a great book for beginners and seasoned mokuhanga printmakers alike. Purchase the book here.

Michael Harding - makes oil paints. More information can be found here.

Artist Support Pledge - information can be found here.

mica - is a mineral, when ground, is used in mokuhanga. It was famously used in several ōkubi-e (large head prints)by the artist Sharaku (active 1794-1795). It is held onto the paper via a paste, or gum-arabic. David Bull writes about how to use mica on woodblock.com. 

bokashi - a technique used in mokuhanga which fades colour, usually in landscape prints especially in the sky. Made famous by the landscape prints of Hiroshige. Printmaker John Amoss writes a fine description of bokashi on his blog.

Will Francis - a mokuhanga carver and printer based in England. He collaborates with artist Jed Henry who also works with David Bull of Mokuhankan. His website can be found here, his patreon can be found here.

Holbein - a company which makes many colours for artists.

opening and closing credit background music: The Black Eyed Peas, Karma, from their first record, Behind The Front. (1998)

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Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) The opinions expressed in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of Andre Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions. 

 

Taran Casey is very committed to the craft of mokuhanga. Taran is an apprentice carver in Tokyo, Japan. Following his progress on social media over the past year or so, I have found his work fascinating as well as educating. In this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with Taran regarding the apprenticeship process under a Japanese teacher, what he has learned in technique the last two years, as well his opinions on the future of mokuhanga in a modern world. 

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my print work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at [email protected]

Notes: notes may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Taran Casey (Gingko Hanga) - Instagram, website, Patreon

Motuharu Asaka - Taran's teacher. Class and workshop information can be found on his website and Instagram. 

Kodaira - is a city in western Tokyo with many colleges and universities. It also has an abundance of museums, parks and temples and shrines. 

Mokuhankan (David Bull) - Canadian carver and printer located in Asakusa, Tokyo. If you are interested in watching Dave work, he has a Twitch stream updated regularly. 

Wood-like Matsumura - is a brick and mortar woodblock print supply shop in Nerima City, Tokyo. They also have an online shop where overseas printmakers can purchase equipment for their work. 

Ozu Washi - is a handmade paper shop located in Nihonbashi, Chuo ward, Tokyo. They sell from their shop as well as online. 

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川 國芳 - 1798-1861) - was a print designer and painter known for his triptychs, yoko-e (horizontal landscape prints), Yokohama-e (prints about the port city of Yokohama), and yakusha-e (actor prints). Considered one of the last of the golden age print designers of ukiyo-e.

The Last Samurai (film) - is a 2003 feature-length film starring Tom Cruise, and Ken Watanabe. Rife with historical inaccuracies it attempts to tell the story of Saigō Takamori (1828-1877) one of the leaders of what would be considered the Meiji Restoration. The film describes the attempt at restoring power to the Emperor and Takamori's death for this cause. 

The David Bull carving Taran is speaking about is the very popular YouTube full stream woodblock carving from start to finish, of a lithographic print originally by Ichijō Narumi (1877-1911), called At The Hotspring (1906). It can be seen in its entirety on YouTube here and can be purchased, here. 

Komura Settai (1887-1940) - an artist who painted, and illustrated many things from books to woodblock prints, to kabuki stage sets. Taran carved and printed Settai's Osen Kasa. 

Shodō - is Japanese calligraphy

tamari (溜まり) - is the pooling of ink between the carved lines of your woodblock. This is exposed when testing your carving but can be fixed by either recarving the part of the block causing tamari or altering the amount of ink or water being used. 

Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾 北斎, 1760-1849) - was an artist and woodblock designer made famous for The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1829-1832) His career was long and exemplary. One of the most famous Japanese artists of all time. 

bijin-ga (美人じん画) - woodblock prints associated with the depiction of women using elements from nature, fashion, and culture to depict the female image in many interesting ways. 

Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806 -喜多川 歌麿) - artist and woodblock print designer made famous for his ōkubi-e (大首絵), or large head prints. His influence has stretched all over the world. 

Adachi woodblock print company - located in Shinjuku-ward Tokyo is a company based on reproducing old prints. You can purchase prints directly from them, here.

yamazakura is wood traditionally used for making Japanese woodblock prints. An interesting conversation from 2016 on David Bull's Mokuhankan Conversations discusses yamazakura. 

Tokyu Hands is a large chain of department style stores throughout Japan. They carry absolutely everything. Check out their website for a better understanding of what they do. 

opening and closing credit background music: Donald Byrd "Love's So Far Away" from his 1973 album Blackbyrd

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Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :)

 

 

 

 

Everybody needs a helping hand. Halle Castille is an artist and assistant to printmaker John Amoss, who I interviewed here. At 26 Halle has been working diligently at her career as an artist shortly after leaving school. One of her teachers happened to be woodblock printmaker John Amoss of Tanuki Prints. Since August of 2020, Halle has been assisting John with his Appalachian Trail series as well as his social media accounts. In my interview with Halle we talk her own career, her experience with mokuhanga in an academic setting, her day to day tasks helping John undertake such an ambitious journey, as well as advice on how to navigate the social media landscape as an artist. I had a lot of fun with this interview and learned a lot.  follow The Unfinished Print and my work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at [email protected]

Notes: all notes may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase!

Halle Castille - Instagram , Etsy 

University of North Georgia runs printmaking courses at the Dunlap-Mathis building. 

John Amoss and Tanuki Prints can be reached here and here. 

The Appalachian Trail print series is created by John Amoss and can be ordered here. 

The term “suicide prints” is in reference to the reduction method of printmaking as once you’ve cut away the wood there’s no going back. Printmaker Nick Wroblewski describes the process much better than I can. 

opening credit background music: Koop G Rap: For Da Brothaz from his debut solo album ‘4,5,6’ (1995)

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Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :)

One of the main reasons I wanted to start The Unfinished Print was to have a chance to speak to the artists who have made an indelible mark on the world of mokuhanga. In many respects, I would call those printmakers, "legends." Naoko Matsubara in my humble opinion is one of those "legends." Her work spans several generations, across many countries, and has challenged what it means to be a mokuhanga artist. In this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak to Naoko Matsubara about her philosophies on mokuhanga, her travels across Canada, Tibet, and the United States, as well as her new book In Praise of Hands.

I conducted this interview with Naoko Matsubara in her home in Oakville, Ontario where she has lived for over forty years. She was gracious enough to allow me into her home, and as we were using masks (PPE), and were socially distanced from each other the microphone did its best to pick up the audio. While the audio is good, it is not as good as I have come to expect from The Unfinished Print, so I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause the listener. There is a lot of great information in my interview with Naoko Matsubara for the mokuhanga practitioner, historian, and layman. Enjoy. 

follow The Unfinished Print and my work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at [email protected]

Notes: all notes may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase!

Naoko Matsubara 直子松原 - website

In Praise of Trees - was a book published in 1984 showcasing, with poetry Naoko Matsubara's tree prints. It is no longer in print.

In Praise of Hands - is a book just published by The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, UK. Like In Praise of Trees it contains poetry accompanied by prints related to the hand. You can purchase this book here. 

Man'yōshū 万葉集 - Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves, compiled during the Nara Period (710-794) the Man'yōshū is a compendium of waka 和歌 poetry relating to many topics such as court life but is more famous for its poems about romance and love. The new Japanese Emperor Period Reiwa (令和) comes from the Man'yōshū.

The Abbozzo Gallery in Toronto contains a large number of Naoko Matsubara's works. 

Nihonbashi Takashimaya - is a large department store located in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo. This district was a famous merchant district during the Edo Period (1603-1868). It is also famous for its bridge where at one point one could see Mt. Fuji. The Takashimaya chain of department stores began from humble beginnings in Tokyo in 1831. What I find of interest is that department stores such as the Takashimaya in and around major Japanese cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto) will have curated art shows. 

Munakata Shiko 志功棟方 (1903-1975) arguably one of the most famous modern printmakers, Shiko is famous for his prints of women, animals, the supernatural, and Buddhist deities. He made his prints with an esoteric fervour where his philosophies about mokuhanga were just as interesting as his print work. 

HAP Grieshaber (1909-1981) - a German printmaker who is famous for his large printwork full of colour and themes of anti-fascism and anti-oppression. Having lived during the Nazi occupation Grieshaber's work is powerful and relentless.

Fritz Eichenberg (1901-1990) was a German printmaker, illustrator, designer who criticized the Nazi party and moved to New York where most of his work was created. His prints are predominantly black and white with themes from literature, especially Russian. 

Harry Abrams (Abrams Books) - an art book publisher who began publishing art books in 1949. 

Boston Impressions - a series of prints as well as a book (1970) of the same name created by Naoko Matsubara of her life in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Kinggait ᑭᙵᐃᑦ - formerly known as Cape Dorset, is located in the territory of Nunavut in the Qikiqtaaluk Region (ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ) It is an artistic hub especially for printmaking. James Houston (1921-2005), was a civil administrator at Cape Dorset and is said to have taught several Inuit artists the art of printmaking. John Houston, James' son continues to work with the Kinggait community as a filmmaker. The hyper-link of John's name links to a talk he gave for IdeaCity, a TED Talk type. 

Canada has its own embarrassing history of colonialism (The Hudson's Bay Co., Catholicism) and this has affected the Inuit people of the Qikiqtaaluk Region. If you have the time please read this "people's history" of the Inuit of this region, here. It is told by the people who lived during the period of 1950-1975, as a community history describing the abuse suffered by many during this time from alcohol, unemployment, and relocation. 

Iwano Ichibei - ninth-generation Living National Treasure of the Echizen paper making family.  

Carnegie Mellon University - located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

opening credit background music: One For Daddy-O by Cannonball Adderly

© Popular Wheat Productions

Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :)