Show notes
Embarking on the journey into the world of mokuhanga, each of us starts with a unique desire. It begins with early prints, guided by exploration, and the innate desire to create something—anything—all viewed through the prism of mokuhanga, shaping our voices in this captivating journey. In this episode of the Unfinished Print, I speak with the burgeoning mokuhanga printmaker Jack Moranetz. We discuss how he got involved in the art form, his early prints, his visit to Japan and meeting David Bull, collaborations, and how he approaches his printmaking. Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at [email protected] Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known. Jack Moranetz - website, YouTube, Etsy Awagami - is arguably the largest paper making company in Japan at the moment. With a large International name, Awagami sponsors, and promotes its paper all over the world. More information can be found on its website, here. Dick Blick Art Supplies - is an art supply store with various brick and mortar stores throughout the United States, as well as online. Founded in 1911 by Dick Blick in Galesburg, Illinois, BLICK, as it's more commonly known, sells various types of art supplies, much like Jerry's Artarama. More info, here. linocut - is a printmaking technique in which a design is carved into a sheet of linoleum with specialized cutting tools. The carved linoleum surface is then inked, and paper is pressed onto it to create a print. Linocut is a relief printing method, similar to woodcut, but it uses linoleum instead of wood as the printing surface. Linocut is popular for its versatility and is used in both fine art and craft applications. Michael's Art Supplies - is a big box art supply store located throughout North America. More info can be found, here. brayer - is a roller with a handle used to apply ink to a printing surface. It typically consists of a cylindrical rubber roller attached to a handle. Printmakers use the brayer to evenly distribute ink over the surface of a printing block, such as linoleum or wood, before pressing it onto paper or another substrate. The brayer ensures a smooth and uniform ink coverage, allowing for clear and consistent impressions during the printing process. Artists can control the amount of ink applied by rolling the brayer over an ink slab or palette before transferring it to the printing surface. Brayers are an essential tool in various printmaking techniques, including linocut, woodcut, and monotype. Bender - is a fictional character in the animated television series "Futurama," created by Matt Groening. Bender is a robot with a humanoid appearance and a distinctive metal body. He is known for his irreverent and sarcastic personality, as well as his love for bending girders and other metal objects. He serves as one of the main characters in the series. David Bull - is a Canadian woodblock printmaker, and educator who lives and works in Japan. His love of mokuhanga has almost singlehandedly promoted the art form around the world. His company, Mokuhankan, has a brick and mortar store in Asakusa, Tōkyō, and online, here. Chapter 9 - The Seacoast In Winter, from the My Solitudes series (2007) Twitch - is a widely-used live streaming platform, initially focused on video game streaming and e-sports, but later expanding to include diverse content like music and art. Acquired by Amazon in 2014, Twitch allows users to broadcast live video content, interact with viewers through a real-time chat feature, and offers features such as e-motes and subscriptions. Streamers create communities around their content, and viewers can engage by subscribing to channels for exclusive benefits. Twitch has become a prominent platform for live content creation, fostering a sense of community among its users. sumi - is a rich black stick or liquid used by artists, calligraphers, and traditional Japanese horimono tattoo artists. Sumi is made from the soot of burnt lamp oil. Sumi is used predominantly in key blocks in traditional mokuhanga and to mix pigments. Pigment Tōkyō conducts a great interview with their chief of pigments, Kei Iwaizumi, about sumi ink, here. shina - is a type of Japanese plywood used in mokuhanga. Not all shina is made equally, buyer beware. McClains Woodblock Print Supply Co. - based in Portland, Oregon, McClain's is the go-to supplier of woodblock print tools in the United States. Their website can be found here. The Unfinished Print interview with Daniel Jasa of McClain's can be found here. Disk Baren - crafted by Akira Kurosaki (1937-2019), is a plastic baren which features a replaceable disc with small surface bumps that ensure uniform pressure application across the paper during the printing process. murasaki baren - is a mid-range mokuhanga baren. "murasaki" meaning "purple" , come in two types of weight (medium and heavy), and two types of sizes (10cm and 12cm). They are a reasonably priced baren. bokashi - is a mokuhanga technique, where the pigment fades from a heavy colour to a softer, broad colour. Made famous by prints designed by Hokusai and Hiroshige, this technique is, for me, the most popular technique utilized by mokuhanga printmakers. There are various types: Ichimoji-bokashi or straight line graduation, used in the above mentioned Hiroshige and Hokusai prints. Ichimoji-mura-bokashi or straight line gradation with uneven edge. Ō-bokashi or wide gradation, Ate-nashi-bokashi or gradation without definition. Futa-iro-bokashi or two tone gradation, and ita-bokashi or softer-edge gradation, where the block is cut in a specific way to achieve this style of gradation. All of these styles of bokashi technique take practice and skill but are very much doable. Laura Boswell ARE - is a renowned British printmaker recognized for her expertise in linocut and woodblock printing. Her artistic repertoire includes creating intricate and detailed prints inspired by nature, landscapes, and everyday life. Notably, Boswell is known for her adept use of a bold and vibrant color palette in her prints. Beyond her artistic pursuits, she shares her knowledge by teaching printmaking techniques, conducting workshops, and authoring instructional books on the subject. Her commitment to both creating and educating adds depth to her contributions in the field of printmaking. More info can be found on her website, here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. Long Grasses up by Westerdale 18"x 7" Kitsune Prints - is a mokuhanga printmaking studio located in Monsano, Italy. More info can be found, here. Atelier Sentō - is an art collective located in Biarritz, France. They design images for companies, bookstores, publishers, and mokuhanga. The print that Jack refers to is a print called, The Unseen World: After The Rain, a print published by Shinji Tsuchimochi and the publisher Miyakadori. More info about Atelier Sentō can be found, here. The print mentioned can be purchased from Mokuhankan, here. 11" x 8" (2021) Karen Pittman - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in Austin, Texas. She continues to make beautiful mokuhanga, and explores the craft through her blog Vivid Laboratories. Karen's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. Katherine's Mora River 9" x 6.75" (2023) Daryl Howard - is a mokuhanga printmaker base in Austin, Texas. She apprenticed with Hodaka Yoshida (1926-1995). Her work has been shown around the world. More information about Daryl can be found, here. Daryl's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. an eternal teardrop...descending from love 15"x20" (2019) Ocooch Hardwoods - is a wood supplier based in Wisconsin. More info can be found, here. Jackson's Art - is a brick and mortar and online art supply store located in London, England founded in 2000. More info can be found, here. © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - Television Funeral by Mononegatives (2023) logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***