Sep 4, 2022
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 mokuhanga journey, his technique, and learning new ways of printing. Matthew speaks on the concept of queer mokuhanga, the generosity of the mokuhanga community, and we discuss his other forays in printmaking, compared to his mokuhanga work.
This episode was recorded before Matthew headed off to Japan to participate in the advanced MI Lab workshop in June of 2022. Please stay tuned until after the end credits for my bonus conversation with Matthew about his time at MI Lab.
Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com
Artists works follow after the note about them.
Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.
Artists works follow after their note about them.
Matthew Willie Garcia - website, Instagram
Yoonmi Nam (b. 1974) - is a contemporary mokuhanga printmaker, lithographer, sculptor, and teacher, based in Lawrence, Kansas. Her work can be found, here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.
Jazz (2017)
Meiji Era Prints - The Meiji Era of Japan was between 1868-1912 CE. This was a period of immense modernization and industrialization in Japan, where the Japanese economy was booming. New ideas within mokuhanga was occurring as well. Perspective, colour, through new pigments (gamboge, certain yellows), the advancement of photography, and new topics and themes (war, industry, architecture), the Meiji era print designer and publisher had a lot of choice when producing their prints.
Kansas University - founded in 1866 and is the state’s flagship University. More info, here. They have a fine printmaking department as taught by Yoonmi Nam, Shawn Bitters, and Michael J. Kreuger. This department focuses on screen printing, lithography, and relief printing.
Shawn Bitters - is a printmaker, painter, draftsperson, and photographer. He is Associate Professor, and Undergraduate Director at Kansas University.
Leftward (2007)
Michael J. Kreuger - is a printmaker, ceramicist, painter, and animator. He is a Professor at Kansas University.
Two Moons on The River from the series Nondoing (2016)
Lawrence Arts Center - is an arts space founded in 1975 in Lawrence, Kansas. More info, here.
Awagami Bamboo Select - is a heavy washi paper (170g), used in printmaking, letterpress, amongst other mediums. It can be purchased by Awagami Factory in Japan, here.
Pansion paper - is a medium-heavy, between 89-95g, paper used in printmaking.
Rives-BFK (Blanchet Frères & Kiebler) - is a type of paper made of 100% cotton, which comes in a variety of colours and weights.
Richard Steiner - is a mokuhanga printmaker who has been making prints for over fifty years. He has lived and worked in Kyōto, Japan since 1980. He is currently still making work. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.
Nine Left, One Thanked (2017)
Rebecca Salter - is the President of The Royal Academy of Arts, in London, England. She is also an artist who has written two books about Japanese woodblock printing, Japanese Woodblock Printing (2001), and Japanese Popular Prints (2006). She worked with the Satō Woodblock Print Workshop, documenting their process. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.
riff (2021)
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 outside Japan. His company, Mokuhankan, has a brick and mortar store in Asakusa, Tōkyō, and online, here.
bokashi - is a Japanese term associated with the gradation of water into ink. There are several types of bokashi. For more information regarding these types of bokashi please check out Professor Claire Cuccio's lecture called “A Story in Layers,” for the Library of Congress, and the book Japanese Printmaking by Tōshi Yoshida, and Rei Yuki. Below are the following types of bokashi. This is from the Yoshida book:
ichimonji bokashi - straight line gradation
ichimonji mura bokashi - straight line gradation with an uneven edg.
Ō-bokashi - a gradual shading over a wide area
atenashi bokashi - gradation without definition
futairo bokashi - two tone gradation
Marvel Comics - is an American comic book publisher founded in 1961. Famous for Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the X-Men.
Jack Kirby (1917-1994) - was an artist and comic book innovator who focused on narrative in his work. More info can be found at the Kirby Museum, here.
from The Eternals (1976)
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) - was an American Pop artist, who worked in New York City. His early work was based on comic books, and later developed into abstract and the melding of different types of Western artistic genres such as Cubism, and Futurism. More info on Lichtenstein's work can be found, here, at the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
serigraphy - is another word for the art of silk screen printing. Silk screen printing can be in on various materials, silk, canvas, paper.
reduction printmaking - is a process in printmaking where the printmaker cuts away on a piece of wood, or linoleum. After every carving, the printmaker makes an impression with pigments, beginning with lighter colours, gradually using darker colours. William H. Mays has a fine description of reduction on his website, here.
Cameron Bailey - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in Queens, New York. He works predominantly in the reduction method. His interview with the Unfinished Print can be found, here.
Paul Binnie (b. 1967) - is a Scottish born, mokuhanga printmaker, painter, and portraitist, based in San Diego, California. Paul's theme's in all of his mediums are of landscapes, beautiful men and women, as well as the kabuki theatre. You can find more information about his work, here, and on his Instagram, here.
Romanticism - was a Western art movement in the 1800's focusing on imagination and emotion. Coming after the Enlightenment, a period of order and morality, Romanticism focused on the power of nature, and the chaos of the world. More info can be found at the MET, here.
mudabori - is a technique in mokuhanga where the printmaker carves away unwanted wood in their key block during the colour separation process when planning their work.
Power Grip - made by Mikisyo, Japan, Power Grip are wood carving tools of various types. Usually used by beginners, but are used by woodblock printmakers of all levels.
masa paper - is a machine-made Japanese washi. Can be used in printmaking and is 100% sulphite pulp.
codex - is a type of book binding in the Western method and is a precursor to the modern book.
Japanese book-binding - in Japan the binding of books began with scroll books based on the Chinese method. Other binding methods evolved over time, such as flutter books (sempūyō) and butterfly books (detchōsō). By the Edo Period (1603-1868) and with the relative peace of the period, paper began to be produced at a steady rate creating a demand for books. Tale of Genji. and Tales of Ise were published for the very first time in this form. *
Jon Lee - is a mokuhanga printmaker and tool maker based in Arizona. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.
LO912 (2009)
Gotō Hidehiko (b.1953) - is a mokuhanga printmaker and tool maker based in Japan. He makes and teaches seminars about the construction of the mokuhanga tool, the baren.
Nothingness (Kyomu) [2010]
Chihiro Taki (b. 1988) - is a mokuhanga printmaker who lives and works in Japan. She helps to teach students at MI Lab as an instructor.
とばり - Shroud of Night
Michiko Hamada - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in Japan. She is an instructor at MI Lab. Her Instagram can be found, here.
AB and K
ball-bearing baren - is a type of baren used in mokuhanga. It is considered an alternative to the traditional hon baren which is made of a bamboo sheathe, and cord. The ball-bearing baren is made up of plastic, metal, and ball-bearing balls of various types.
Bumpōdō - is an art store based in Tōkyō, Japan, and founded in 1887. The website can be found here, in Japanese. The English pdf, can be found, here.
Lucy May Schofield - is a British printmaker who works in mokuhanga, book binding, byōbu (screens), kakemono (scrolls). Her work has been shown all over the world. Her website can be found, here. Her Instagram, here.
The Mokuhanga Sisters - are a mokuhanga collective consisting of Yoonmi Nam, Mariko Jesse, Lucy May Schofield, Melissa Schulenberg, Kate MacDonagh, Katie Baldwin, Mia-O, Patty Hudak, and Natasha Norman. Instagram
CfSHE Gallery - is a gallery located in Chiyoda, Tōkyō. It is associated with MI Lab. More info, here. Their Instagram can be found, here.
MI Lab - is a mokuhanga residency located in Kawaguchi-ko, near Mount Fuji. More info can be found, here.
* Ikegami, Kojiro, and Barbara B. Stephan. Japanese Book Binding: Instructions from a Master Craftsman. New York etc.: Weatherhill, 1990.
© Popular Wheat Productions
opening and closing musical credit -Life is What You Make It, by Diamon D from his newest record, The Rear View. (2022)
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***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***