In this workshop, we will be focusing on printing techniques, in particular, creating “bokashi” or gradations using water and pigment on the block. 

Bokashi allows for a variation in lightness and darkness by hand-applying a gradation of ink to a moistened wooden printing block, rather than uniformly inking the block. This method, seen in works by artists like Hiroshige and Hokusai, creates subtle transitions in color and tone, adding depth and atmosphere to the print.

We are going to spend as much time as possible experimenting with printing, so you can get a feeling for varying the conditions of the block, to see what the results will be. Mokuhanga can be very difficult to control, as it relies heavily on perception. This workshop will broaden your sense of the possibilities of mokuhanga through experimentation.

Day 1: Over Zoom (a link will be sent)

Introduction:
Mokuhanga- a short history
Language, history, and meaning
Examples of Japanese woodblock printing for commercial art and design.
History of color in Japanese prints
Different types of bokashi
Exploring the use of mokuhanga for contemporary artists
Kento registration
Introduction to the Hangito
The importance of paper
Types of Japanese paper
Moisture considerations

Day 2: (in person)
Practice printing on precarved blocks
Using starch glue with gouache
Application of gouache with brushes
Using a baren for printing,
varying pressure with your hand
Introducing the carving tools
Carving simple shapes
Creating textures to create gradations
Damp pack and prepare the paper for printing

Day 3: (in person)
PRINTING
Dampening paper
Setting up your workspace, placement of materials
Specialty techniques:
Bokashi
We will spend the time introducing and practicing 4 different bokashi techniques on the simple shapes you have carved

What is supplied (for classroom use)
Shina plywood blocks
Japanese paper
Tracing paper
Carbon paper
Newsprint
Carving tools
Holbein gouache and watercolor
Nori (starch glue)
Freezer paper
Brushes for applying gouache
Surikomi bake (stencil brush)
Baren
Zokin

If you have your own carving tools, feel free to bring them, and bring an apron. 

Patty Hudak is an artist living in Underhill VT. She has practiced mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock printing) since 2016. She studied at the Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory in Yamanashi, Japan, as well as in the studio of Motoharu Asaka in Tokyo. In 2020, her solo exhibition, “Indigo and Ink,” was exhibited at SVAC, along with her installation, “There, Through the Broken Branches, Go.” She was a co-organizer, with Mokuhanga Sisters, in SVAC’s 2021-2022 exhibition of contemporary mokuhanga prints, “The World Between the Block and the Paper.” Hudak is a recipient of the Vermont Arts Council’s 2018-2019 Creation Grant, Vermont Artists to Watch in 2020, and the International Mokuhanga Conference 2021 Awagami Paper Award. https://www.pattyhudak.com/