April Vollmer

July 15 to 19, 2013

This intensive week long class begins following Santa Fe’s famous International Folk Art Market, July 12, 13 and 14  (www.folkartmarket.org), so come a little early to enjoy this world renowned festival. The class takes place in Santa Fe at the studios of MakingArtSafely, devoted to promoting environmentally friendly printmaking techniques. Making Art Safely Mokuhanga class

This class is an opportunity to explore the water-based Japanese woodblock technique called moku hanga in Japanese. It is the same technique used to print the classic ukiyo-e prints of Hokusai and Utamaro, and evolved in Japan during the Edo period from Chinese precedents and has many unique qualities.  Shading and other amazing effects are achievable due to the very different approach to printing a block from Eurocentric techniques.

Each participant will create an edition of multi-colored prints on handmade paper to learn about this flexible, non-toxic method. Each day a different aspect of Japanese woodblock will be presented, including tools and sharpening, the kento registration system, pigments and ink, printing with a baren, Japanese paper, and specialized printing techniques such as goma and bokashi. While a knowledge of printmaking basics will be helpful, this class should be rewarding to beginners as well as more advanced printmakers.

www.makingartsafely.com