Mokuhanga (Japanese water-based woodblock printing) originated in China, was refined in the Edo Period in Japan, and is now experiencing a contemporary revival as a nature-based art form. This class will introduce mokuhanga printing techniques including kento registration, a method used to make sure different parts of a print line up correctly. Trained in Japan, Patty Hudak will guide participants in the immersive techniques of carving and printing, using handmade brushes, Japanese paper, rice glue, gouache, and a handheld baren to carve and print mokuhanga prints. We will cover the history of color in Japanese prints and the potential of mokuhanga as a medium for contemporary printmakers. Beginners are welcome; all printmaking materials will be supplied.

Day 1:
Transfer our design/image to the block
Demo, kento registration
Carve block
Introduction to the Hangito, carving lines, and clearing the block.

Day 2:
Printing
Dampening paper
Setting up your workspace, placement of materials
Using starch glue with gouache for printing.
Application with brushes
Using a baren for printing, varying pressure with your hand
Specialty techniques, bokashi, gomazuri.

Supplies:
What is provided for students to keep:
Shina plywood blocks
Japanese paper (washi)

Classroom use:
Tracing paper
Carbon paper
Newsprint
Carving tools
Holbein Gouache, sumi, and specialty pigments
Nori (starch glue)
Freezer paper
Brushes for applying gouache

What to bring:
Sketchbook
Prepared design
Carving tools, if you have any
Apron

Patty Hudak is an artist living in Underhill VT. She has practiced mokuhanga 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. www.pattyhudak.com.