Tenacity for MASABAN

A Mokuhanga Sisters Collaboration, 2024.

In this series of works, paper is our muse. Working with a half sheet (masaban) of washi paper and sumi ink, each artist in the Mokuhanga Sisters collective works in the technique of mokuhanga to create a woodblock print. Mokuhanga is an ancient technique of water-based woodblock printing, where imagery is carved into wood, inked, and transferred to the paper by applying pressure with a handheld disk called a baren. The result is a suite of nine works on paper, each printed in an edition of 5. Each sheet of paper for this project was made by artisans from the village of Echizen using traditional papermaking methods. Through the materials of paper, wood, and ink made from soot, we explore the color black. The nine prints exhibited together explore the absence of color, positive and negative space, texture and form, line and shape. As artists, we consider the physicality of materials and what it means to make work by hand. 

There is a tree that speaks to me on my walks through the ancient woodland of Sidwood in Northumberland, England. The tree is rooted on a path above the fast-flowing Taret burn. Its branch has grown over the years in search of sunlight, stretching  out beyond the neigbouring trees to find space through the shade. Reaching with all its energy towards the light, for survival, warmth and growth, this tree possesses an adaptation and tenacity that moves me. The tree continues to thrive  due to its integration and evolution, despite its position within a densely crowded woodland. Spending the past year observing, caressing and drawing this tree has provided me with a place to feel grounded, centered, inspired. Its spirit  eludes me, yet I wished to capture a sense of its character through handmade washi, wood and soot ink. My relationship to the process of mokuhanga echoes my admiration for this tree; a constant wonder at the beauty and tenacity of nature.

Tenacity, mokuhanga, editon of 5, 2 blocks, 7 passes, 2024.

Tenacity was presented in the MASABAN exhibition at the Udatsu Paper & Craft Museum in Echizen, Japan as part of the International Mokuahanga Conference 2024 from April 3rd - 6th 2024.