Leporello experiments. Prototype Artist Book-Card-Woodblock-Etagami-Thing.

 
I took a rather disappointing workshop a few weeks ago that was supposed to be (I thought) about constructing simple artist books. We didn't spend the day as I had hoped, but I saw enough in the first few minutes to be able to put into practice what had been my original idea--I wanted to try to make a simple artist book that would be relatively easy to put together, but not appear too crude or "craftsy".
The leporello, a small, unbound booklet is usually made accordian-style and it allows for all kinds of modifications in materials, style and final appearance. 

 

I threw this together as a sort of prototype of a book project that I've been thinking about that will combine moku hanga woodblock printed paper with text or type (think letterpress) as well as hand carved and printed words and images.  I had some proofs of my cypress tree print that I made during a recent demonstration and I cut some 3mm hardboard to a size that would approximate the front and back covers. These were covered with Maroon bookcloth and the carefully folded print was also glued down (PVA) to the front and back covers.
 I drew some text with sumi ink (written with a broom straw dipped in ink) in the manner of my English-language etagami and added my hand-carved chop/stamp.


(My apologies in advance to all my readers that are actual book binders or have skill and expertise in sewing book bindings and hand made artist books...this is a crude thing so please be kind).

It has a nice "object" feel. It's heavy enough and neat enough to look finished.
There is the risk that it has merely become a nice greeting card....(my simple phrase pushes it in that direction)...
But I think if the print is actually interesting enough--using the right paper and an image and handling that is a little spontaneous, the possibilities are intriguing enough to try something a little more important.

LAILAC Festival. Demo Dilemma.

The 17th LAILAC Japanese Cultural Association Festival is this weekend and I am going to be demonstrating Japanese woodblock printing again during this year's festival. However, while LAST year I manned a table and carved and printed for almost all of the 3 days of the festival, THIS year I am just doing a brief demo (1 hour), each of the two weekend days so I'm trying to figure out how much I can do in such a short time.
There will be a lot going on, as in addition to Intro to Bonsai, Dogs of the Samurai, Gift wraps, Intro to calligraphy, I will be trying to make sense of Ukiyo-e and moku hanga.  As with last year, I will be competing with TAIKO drumming and Japanese theater and dance.

Since I am not a historian, and didn't fall into moku hanga from the Ukiyo-e direction but from the fine-artist-looking-for-a-portable, non-toxic-medium direction.....so I am hesitant and unqualified to discuss-other than briefly-the history and importance of Ukiyo-e.  But, I an a decent printer and the thing I do love and find fascinating is still the process of Japanese woodblock printing so that's what I'll be doing.

I will be printing from my blocks copies of one of my woodblock prints while discussing the technique and some of the history.
But in just an hour it needs to be fairly simple, big enough to be seen from more than just the first row, eye-catching or crowd-pleasing in subject.

I was planning on printing up copies of my CYPRESS trees print (It is Florence, after all).
I carved it at last year's festival but didn't print it until a few weeks later and it has a nice November/Winter palette.  It has the advantage that the blocks are carved, it's a big print, and I've printed enough that I know the quirks of these blocks well enough to do a decent demo.

But since I am ALSO helping out at the Etagami tables, I have been thinking about trying to make another print from one of my etagami. (The Japanese Etagami Society is again sending almost 25 memebers (most over 70 years old) to teach and help at the Etagami stand.  I also will be meeting my Etagami pen-pal for the first time.
Here is an Etagami I did last year and that I mailed to my pen pal over a year ago.  It was one of the ones I liked enough to want to make an attempt at revisiting as a woodblock print and now seems like the perfect occasion.

I've enlarged it to twice it's original postcard dimensions and have traced the reversed design onto 6 blocks. I'm not sure I can get them carved in time for Saturday's demo, but I'm going to try.
It will be fun to try to reproduce the watercolor blush of the chestnuts and the background and I like the idea of keeping the calligraphic text,
"Autumn Gift". I'll post the progress as we get closer to Saturday and Sunday.

November Cypresses

Moku Hanga-color woodblock print. 5.5" x 15.5"

I woke up at 5am and went outside...I wanted to see the morning light and look at the trees again. My print was mostly finished but I still wanted some references before I went back in the studio to print the last block and layers.  The morning sky was misty and light, glowing blue with only a hint of the violet I've portrayed here....

I printed 4 copies.
Two on Tosa Hanga Natural Washi (a 50% Thai Kozo/50% Sulfite) paper that I got from Hiromi Paper in LA. on my last trip to the US.
The other two are on a lightweight mixed kozo, hemp and pulp paper I found in an art store in Santa Cruz. I sized it and it prints reasonably well--certainly good for a proofing paper and if I mount the finished print it will look really nice.

These were quick proofs with almost no priming of the blocks so they're each a bit different with more or less bokashi and more or less layering to the tree shapes.

A little more bokashi (gradation printing to the sky) and a crooked chop.

 It will be a bit before I can get back and print a real edition.
That's ok as I want to think about the colors a bit and try to get it a little less fussy and a little less pretty.
These are supposed to be Winter Cypresses and I want the mood a little more somber.

Field work-Cypress trees

Small 2"x6' doodle

                                    

The printed keyblock. This will be used to carve the color blocks.

  I started working on this little print last week, hoping to start and finish it during my 3-day demo at the Japanese festival, but I ended up printing a lot, but carving only a little so I've taken the blocks to my studio to work on them and I'm just about ready to start printing.
 It's based on a little quick doodle of some imaginary trees--but it's not really all invented.
We're surrounded by cypress trees and they are a part of the landscape, both real and symbolic and although they are not native to Italy, they are almost emblematic of the Tuscan countryside.

Today we drove to Panzano in Chianti and I took my sketchbook and camera.
I have three blocks carved and wanted to look at some real trees before I proof the blocks I've cut or carve any more.
This was meant to be a quick study--carved and printed loosely--and I'll have to try to navigate between the competing urges to keep the simplicity of the gesture or to add more detail and complexity through additional blocks.