Established artists have found mokuhanga to be an asset to their practice. It is a medium which can be very different to what an artist may currently be focused on. It builds patience, and helps creativity. 

Timothy Laurin is an established artist, who has worked in several artistic mediums, such as letterpress, screen printing, glass, intaglio, and mixed media. Tim discovered mokuhanga a few years ago and has decided to pursue the art form.

On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with artist Timothy Laurin about his discovery of mokuhanga, the rituals of process, memory and contemporary society. We also speak on the matrix of mokuhanga, gallery relationships, and how ones own environment can affect what an artist produces. 

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

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

Tim Laurin - Print Collective, Octopus Studio Press,  Instagram , Twitter

Georgian Bay - is a large bay off of Lake Huron in Southern, Ontario, Canada. It is known for cottages, fishing, hunting, and beautiful sunsets. It is a part of the Canadian Shield, and was painted by such artists as Tom Thompson (1877-1917). It is about two hours drive from Toronto. 

Barrie, Ontario - is a city with a population of 145,000. It was originally populated by the Anishinaabeg People and the Wendant. It was then populated by white settlers in 1828.

intaglio printmaking - is a style of printmaking, the opposite of relief printmaking, where scratches made with a burin are made on the plate (copper, zinc, aluminum) and then dipped in acid. Then ink and pigment is rubbed on with a brayer, brushes, etc. More info can be found, here.  

washi - is a type of naturally fibrous Japanese paper made for many different types of artistic pursuits. Mokuhanga printmakers use washi, sized and unsized, to produce their woodblock prints. More info from the Japanese Paper Place, can be found, here. 

birch plywood - is a hardwood used in various ways, such as furniture building, homes, and woodblock. There are white birch, black birch, and white birch. It can be purchased, as well as other woods, in thin veneer and pasted onto regular plywood, or purchased as birch plywood in many hardware stores. 

John Milton Cage Jr. - (1912-1922) was a composer and music theorist who was influenced by Zen Buddhism and Indian philosophy. One of his beliefs was to "free the creative gesture from all intentional subjectivity." Life is chance. More info can be found, here. 

representational art - is art which identifies something which exists in real life.

Métis - is in reference to a group of Indigenous peoples from Canada. Recognized in 1982 by the Constitutional Act of Canada. Emerging in the Northwest of Canada during the late 18th century, they are the offspring of Indigenous women and European fur traders.  The homeland of the Métis is considered as, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and parts of the Northern United States. More info can be found, here. 

kitakata - is a specific type of washi made of Philippine gampi, and sulphite pulp. For bookbinding, and mokuhanga and other types of printmaking.  More info, here. 

William Morris - (1834-1896) was a textile maker, poet and artist. He produced over fifty patterns of wallpaper based on the movement of nature. More info from the Victoria & Albert Museum, here.  

Arts and Crafts Movement - was an artistic movement as a opposition to the industrial world. the movement originally began in mid-19th Century Britain, moving across Europe and the Atlantic to the America's. More info can be found, here. 

Sheridan College - is a college located on three campuses, Brampton, Mississauga, and Oakville in Ontario. It is a practical college with various programs such as business, special effects, television, film, etc. More info can be found, here. 

The Japanese Paper Place - is a Japanese paper brick and mortar store located in West Toronto. The Unfinished Print interview with owner Nancy Jacobi, can be found, here. The JPP's website can be found, here. 

Early Canadian History - is fraught with colonialism and displacement. There is not enough space to speak on the subject but more information can be found, here through the lens of Indigenous history. 

Ojibwe - historically from the Great Lakes Region of Canada and the United States, the Ojibwe fished, and hunted as well as harvested wild rice and participated in the fur trade. More info can be found, here. 

The Group of Seven - were a group of landscape painters from Canada. The artists were, Franklin Carmichael (1890–1945), Lawren Harris (1885–1970), A.Y. Jackson  1882–1974), Frank Johnston (1888–1949), Arthur Lismer  (1885–1969), J.E.H MacDonald (1873–1932), and Frederick Varley (1881–1969). Later, A.J. Casson (1898–1992) was invited to join in 1926, Edwin Holdgate (1892–1977) became a member in 1930, and LeMoine FitzGerald (1890–1956) joined in 1932. While Tom Thomspon (1877–1917), and Emily Carr (1871–1945) were not "official" members it is generally accepted that they were a part of the group without being "officially" a part of the group because of the group relationship with the artists. More info can be found, here. 

The Canadian Shield - is exposed rock located throughout North America, Mexico and Greenland. 

Robert Motherwell - (1915-1991) was an artist who worked in printmaking and painting. He was a contemporary of Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), and Willen de Kooning (1904-1997). More info can be found, here. 

Flextools - is a tool brand founded in 1986. The tools are for woodworking, woodcut, and other wood related carving. More information can be found, here. 

Daniel Smith Pigments - is a company which makes various types of paints, pigments, and mediums. It was started by Dan Smith in 1976. More info can be found, here. 

Winsor & Newton - is a British artist supply company, started in 1832,  which sells artist materials such as pigments, brushes, paper, etc. More info can be found, here. 

Holbein - is a pigment company based in Japan, Canada, and the United States. Their pigments are lush and strong. More info, here.

opening and closing credit music - We Three by Cory Weeds, from the album Just Coolin' (2022) © Cellar Live

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***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***