The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast

The relationships made in mokuhanga can last a long time. Whether it's a friendship based on collecting, creating, or its long and vibrant history; mokuhanga has the ability to bring people together.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print I have the pleasure of speaking to two people who's friendship is based on mutual respect, business, and the love of mokuhanga. Katherine Martin is the managin...

The importance of passion cannot be understated.  It can be a wonderful and beautiful thing, and if it's made into a positive part of not only one's own life but for others as well; it's a passion worth pursuing.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with mokuhanga collector, scholar and instructor, Carol Dorman. Having seen her work and lectures with the Japan Foundation Toronto, on va...

Many mokuhanga printmakers today touch on different mediums when they create their work. It could be sculpture, bookbinding, or installation. There is no limit as to what can be accomplished with mokuhanga.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with mokuhanga printmaker and artist Katie Baldwin. Based in Alabama where she is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama, Huntsvill...

When making mokuhanga there are many way to get to the final product. However you get there, you need to enjoy every single moment you have with it. So many twists and turns, indulging your passions with your work, anything can happen. On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with printmaker Karen Pittman. With her varied CV, Karen has explored many ways of making, of creating. Her influenc...

 Mia O is one of the most interesting and creative mokuhanga printmakers working in the medium, today. Her work moves outside the traditional formats of mokuhanga, through shape, collage, colour, and even the folds of washi.  Join me on this episode of The Unfinished Print where I speak with Mia O about how mokuhanga has been such an important part of her life. We discuss specific pieces of hers a...

In this world of  mokuhanga , there are artists whose passion and dedication to the art form comes not only from their work, but from how they see the medium itself. Linda J Beeman is a Michigan based mokuhanga  printmaker who desires to explore nature, its conservation, its power through colour, its meaning, and aesthetic. Linda's work takes the viewer to an existing place, which when allowed in,...

The time and dedication that it takes to make mokuhanga is well known. And if it isn't then it really should be. It feels that it's easy to follow social media, and watch the pretty prints come out of nowhere, but behind all those nice pictures is a lot of hard work, and dedication. One person who is a prime example of this hard work, dedication and passion for the craft, is Lucy May Schofield. Ba...

Matthew Willie Garcia is an incredibly promising mokuhanga printmaker. Having only, relatively recently, begun his mokuhanga journey, Matthew has already travelled to Japan to participate in MI Lab, and is about to have his first solo mokuhanga show at COOP Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with mokuhanga printmaker, Matthew Willie Garcia, about his...

So much has been said about the "supply chain" these days. Our resources from around the world have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, war in Eastern Europe as well as environmental concerns such as climate change, have all had their toll on the movement of goods from around the world. On this episode of The Unfinished Print, I will be try to unpack the "supply chain," and how it affects a sp...

April Vollmer is one of the most important mokuhanga printmakers and authors working today. Her book,  Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop,  is a must have for any person interested in mokuhanga. its process, history, and the artists making it.  On this epsiode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with April Vollmer about her travels throughout the mokuhanga landscape. Her time at Nagasawa Art Park, and...

A brand new venture can bring trepidation, and is never as straight forward as it may seem. That's something that I know all too well. On this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with curator, collector, and small business owner David Kutcher about his Japanese woodblock print gallery Moonlit Sea Prints. Located in Easthampton, Massachusetts, David opened his gallery to share his love of Japa...

One's mokuhanga journey takes many twists and turns. One can begin that journey at any age, at any time. For Andrew Stone that journey began at the age of 40, where in the last  fifteen years or so, Andrew has done a deep dive into the nuances of the art form, from technique, to tools. His exploration into what makes mokuhanga, mokuhanga, is fascinating and important.  On this episode of The Unfin...

On this episode of The Unfinished Print it is with honour, and great pleasure that I am able to present to you, my interview, with British  artist Rebecca Salter. We speak on her mokuhanga, her own work and work produced together with the Satō woodblock workshop in Kyōto. We discuss where Rebecca believes mokuhanga has gone since writing her book, Japanese  Woodblock Printing (2001),  a book which...

How does one get a job at one of the most sought after positions in the mokuhanga community, Mokuhankan, and go on to be a large part of the success of the company while there? Cameron Hilker did just that. We don't make mokuhanga alone. We ask advice, search out tutorials, workshops, and have mokuhanga conversations with each other. But when your business has many moving parts and is expanding ev...

Ralph Kiggell (1960-2022) was an important part of the international mokuhanga community for many years. Ralph took the different elements of mokuhanga, the energy and exploration of an artist, to create some of the most dramatic and ambitious mokuhanga today. Ralph Kiggell passed away in 2022 a few months after this episode was published.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with moku...

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 year...

Lynita Shimizu's prints are ambitious, colourful; and most importantly, bring the viewer into their fantastic world.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with mokuhanga printmaker Lyniyta Shimizu, about her history as a mokuhanga working printmaker, her teachers from Japan as well as her experiences in that country. Lynita speaks on her varied print subjects, her materials and her mok...

Yoonmi Nam is an artist whose work dances between emptiness and the frailty of things. What's left behind, and the beauty that comes from that. Yoonmi's work reminds me of the kuchi-e prints of the early twentieth century where space and soft colour creates prints that draw the viewer into the work.   In this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with Yoonmi Nam about her mokuhanga, the material...

Fabiola Gil Alares is one of mokuhanga's most interesting artists. Her work, with bright flat, rich colours with a romantic appeal, tells a fantastic story, one which naturally draws you to her work. In this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with mokuhanga printmaker Fabiola Gil Alares about her prints, her artistic background, the amazing book project she's undertaken and what it feels lik...

Dr. Rhiannon Paget is the curator of Asian Art at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. Ms. Paget joins me on The Unfinished Print to discuss the life and times of mokuhanga printmaker Saitō Kiyoshi, war print production of the later 19th Century and early 20th Centuries and she speaks on kabuki prints through the years.  These topics are framed through the three shows wh...

The works of Adrian Holmes play between the traditional and the contemporary. His mokuhanga explores colour, and form in new and interesting ways.   On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak to woodblock printmaker Adrian Holmes about   his work, his process, how teaching affects how he sees mokuhanga, how he balances between his "shin-hanga" and "sōsaku hanga" prints, and we discuss the col...

Carol Wilhide Justin creates woodblock prints that are ethereal, and mysterious. They create a sense of emptiness and space, working together to bring the viewer into Carol's world. In this episode of The Unfinished Print I talk to Carol Wilhide Justin where we speak on her personal experience in Japan, by stepping out of her comfort zone, adapting to life's constant flux, and how memory plays int...

Katsutoshi Yuasa is one of the most ambitious artists working in mokuhanga today. His work has been appreciated and admired all over the world while testing the medium with variant print sizes, colour combinations, mixed media and photography. Katsu pushes the boundaries of what mokuhanga can be. I speak with Katsutoshi Yuasa about his process, what its like to be a working artist and what mokuhan...

Patty Hudak is an accomplished artist, one who uses nature, and the human condition for her work. For Patty, the intimacy of mokuhanga has been a part of her artistic journey. In this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with artist Patty Hudak about her mokuhanga journey, her process, as well as where her artistic pursuits have taken her, around the world. We also speak in length about the cur...

The world wide connection of mokuhanga is a vast one. Working and living in Cape Town, South Africa; Natasha Norman is a talented artist involved in several types of printmaking. One of those types of printmaking is, of course, mokuhanga. Along with her independent work as a mokuhanga printmaker, Natasha is involved in the Mokuhanga-kai, a group she co-founded with printmaker Oliver Hambsch, where...