Materials - I day Beginners Workshop

Workshop Materials Provided

All neccesary materials for making your first print are provided in the course.

Materials provided in the workshop are:

Tracing Paper & Carbon Paper
Tape
Wood block
Non-slip Mat (for carving and printing)
Printing Paper
Pigment (Guache)

Carving Tools

Sets of carving tools are available for use, and new sets are available to buy. Students may bring their own carving tools. A set of ordinary lino-cutting tools will work, but you will become frsutrated if they are poor quality.

Items you should bring:

- pencil (3H or similar), ruler, ordinary A4 size paper for your design, set of carving tools if you have them.

- three small jars, two for mixing pigment, another for paste

What is Mokuhanga?

bijin-traditional-web

Detail of traditional print "Haru Nano Higashi Genji" by Kunichika Toyohara

Mokuhanga is the traditional water based printing technique, originating in China and perfected in Japan.

A print is created through design, carving blocks for each colour, then printing each colour successively until the print edition is completed.

Mokuhanga is the Japanese word for wood block print. The Japanese characters 木版画 are 木 wood, 版 block and 画 picture.

In Japan its meaning is the print itself, but in general contemporary use it means both the print and the technique. Mokuhanga is growing in popularity worldwide as learning becomes more accessible to people outside of Japan.

Mokuhanga is chemical free, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, uses relatively simple hand tools and equipment and requires little space to produce beautiful work. The natural beauty of the materials - wood, pigment and hand-made paper are all retained and enhance each other. A great choice for Artists or any creative person!