Edutainment > Woodblock Printmaking - Demonstrations

Woodblock Printmaking I

Making Washi Paper
copyright Yamaguchi/Graham

In a time when many artists go the easy way and have art produced by a computer, there are nevertheless still many printmakers who create art prints in the old way like centuries ago by carving the image with a knife into a wooden block. They call their way of printmaking 'moku hanga' - from the Japanese words 'moku' (block) and 'hanga' (print). This page is a index to several text-, image- and video-demonstrations of Japanese, Western and Chinese artists how to make a woodblock print the old traditional way.

Graham Scholes - born 1933

Woodblock Printmaking II

Graham Scholes - Video
copyright Graham Scholes

As far as I know Graham Scholes was the first printmaker to produce a video that demonstrates how he makes a woodblock print. It is really impressive, and in my view it is still the best. To learn more about woodblock printmaking and about the artist, please go to Graham Scholes, a Canadian printmaker.

By the way, I appreciate him not only as a great artist, but also as a steadfast fighter for original and all-hand-made moku hanga. This man is like an oak. Graham Scholes has become famous for a series of lighthouses along the Canadian East coast. He is like a shining lighthouse himself showing and paving the way for other artists.

Graham Scholes: How to Make a Woodblock Print

Zhu Liwen - Chinese Reduction Woodblock Prints

Woodblock Printmaking III

Carving
copyright Zhu Liwen

On this page the young Chinese female artist Zhu Liwen, born 1983 demonstrates how she made the woodblock print series Object that Speaks. This set of photographs is especially interesting because the series was made using the technique of reduction woodblock prints. The page demonstrates in 13 images different steps of Zhu Liwen's process of carving and printing.

Zhu Liwen: How to Make a Woodblock Print

Tom Kristensen - How to Make a Woodblock Print

Woodblock Printmaking IV

Woodblock by Tom Kristensen
copyright Tom Kristensen

Tom Kristensen, born 1962, is a self-trained moku hanga artist from Australia. He makes not only the designs, but also the carving of the block and the printing himself.

Tom documented how he made the woodblock print titled Currawongs, Lord Howe Island. (one of my favorite prints by Tom, by the way). Kristensen works with Japanese tools, materials and methods.

How to make a woodblock print

Ryusei Okamoto - Printmaking Diary

Woodblock Printmaking V

A Set of Tools
copyright Ryusei Okamoto

There is only one thing that I do not like about Ryusei Okamoto as an orderly German. He changed his name a while ago from Shinmi Okamoto to Ryusei Okamoto. Well, fortunately he did not cause too much confusion in our database.

But other than that I am a great fan of this superb printmaker. He was a student of the great Toshi Yoshida. Not just a student, but one of Toshi's favorite student. You will understand when you read Ryusei's biography.

Mr. Ruysei Okamoto demonstrates in a kind of printmaking diary the progress of one week how he makes one of his intricate woodblock prints. He used for the demonstration the design Temptation from the series White Fox. The following pages cover only the first 6 weeks. You can see the full process on Mr. Ryusei's homepage.

First Week - Carving
Second Week - Making the Kento
Third Week - Making the Keyblock
Forth Week - Starting the Third Carving
Fifth Week - The Carving Tools
Sixth Week - Iro Han

Paul Binnie - Printing Methods

Woodblock Printmaking VI

Pulling an Impression
copyright Paul Binnie

Paul Binnie is something like the upper class among contemporary Japanese printmakers. His woodblock prints and Japanese stencils (rare) are expensive. They have to be expensive as Paul creates them with all elaborate and intricate features that one can imagine. The artist's great role model is Hiroshi Yoshida, but also other shin hanga artists like Ota Masamitsu or Natori Shunsen or Hasui.

Printing Methods by Paul Binnie

Author: Dieter Wanczura
(September 2009)

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