![]() Ukiyo-e print by Utamaro, circa 1800, printed with mica background. (Wikipedia)Īpril showed us master Ukiyo-e prints by the likes of Morunobu and Utamaro before demonstrating her technique. One of the secrets of the art is cutting a precise registration corner and landing pad for the printing paper. Blue Vortex, woodblock, (detail) © 2005 April Vollmer The best paper, naturally, comes from Japan. More of April’s tips: Your work table should be about navel level. Printing is not done with a press, but by rubbing the baren, a light weight disk, on the back of the paper. Printing starts from a balanced standing position with a quick burst of energy using upper body strength. April says she can print faster with a baren than printmakers who use a press. She claims she can print an edition of 25 in one morning and I believe her. She also demonstrated the proper way to hold the paper, set up one’s workspace, and sharpen cutting tools. There was one student who had no prior printmaking experience even he came away with successful prints. We managed to do an edition of two-color prints with a single block of shina by carving the second color on the reverse side. If you have the opportunity to study with April Vollmer, you can learn a great deal in a brief amount of time. ![]() April Vollmer seems pleased with her students’ prints at Printmaking Center of NJįor more insights into the history and current state of Moku Hanga (also spelled mokuhanga) check out April Vollmer’s comprehensive essay in Art in Print.There is also a brief (4-minute) documentary video filmed by Dempsey Rice of April Vollmer at work, here. UPDATE: Dec.12, 2012: April Vollmer sent a note about the post above: “I hardly recognize myself your review is so flattering, but it is great to have someone describe the class. I always have fun, and people learn a lot. I always talk about the history, and how the technique fits into Japanese culture. To go to the front page of this blog, click on the words "Woodblock Dreams" at the top of the page.I do hesitate about the refinements, it can be overwhelming. Pigments are then applied to the paper by hand using a baren rather than a mechanical press. Water-borne pigments are used rather than oil-based or even water-based printing inks and the pigment is brushed onto the block rather than applied with rollers. Traditional moku hanga differs from western style woodblock printing in several ways. It involves many steps - developing a design, transfering the design to the wood blocks, carving the blocks, choosing paper, printing the blocks - and each step introduces many variables so there are many challenges to this art form. The process, however, is far from simple. Japanese woodblock prints are known especially for their intense use of color and for the fact that the pigments are water-based rather than oil-based.Īll that is needed to produce a Japanese style woodblock print is wood, water, pigment, paper, a few carving tools, some brushes and something to rub the paper with - simple materials that anyone can easily acquire and get started with right away. After a time colors began to be added by hand and then, as woodblock printing became the primary form of commercial printing in Japan, printers began to carve blocks for each color. Woodblock printing was brought to Japan in the 8th century by Buddhists from China and was first used to reproduce religious texts. Moku hanga is the Japanese term for woodblock print ( moku means wood and hanga means print).
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