Episode Details

Within the framework of mokuhanga, you have the freedom to go anywhere, try anything and explore so many places with your own work. The skies the limit. Whether through colour, shapes, size, or technique, you are able to explore as far as you want.

On this episode of the Unfinished Print, I speak with mokuhanga printmaker, teacher and artist Kate MacDonagh. Based in Dublin, Kate's mokuhanga live in the ethereal, through colour and shape, making abstract work which engages and attracts.

Kate speaks to me about her artistic background, gallery experience, teaching and the adaptation of mokuhanga. We discuss the mokuhanga aesthetic, bad days and believing in yourself, local shopping for your materials, abstraction and colour, the spiritual realm, and residencies and travel.

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com

Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted.

Kate MacDonagh - website, Instagram

Cadence - diptych

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - is an art museum located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and was founded in 1870. With over 450,000 works in the museum, the MFA is one of the most distinguished museums in the world. In regards to mokuhanga, the MFA has had a long relationship with the Japanese woodblock print starting from the late 19th century. It was the first museum in the US to develop a Japanese art collection, and with the help of major donations the MFA developed one of the most important Japanese print collections in the world. More information about the museum can be found, here. Information regarding their Japanese collection can be found, here. To browse some of their digitized collection, here.

ukiyo-e - is a multi colour woodblock print generally associated with the Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japan. What began in the 17th Century as prints of only a few colours, evolved into an elaborate system of production and technique into the Meiji Period (1868-1912). With the advent of photography and other forms of printmaking, ukiyo-e as we know it today, ceased production by the late 19th Century.

The National Print Museum - one of a kind in Ireland, is a print museum located in Dublin. It was founded in 1996 and is a registered charity focusing on education. More info about the museum can be found, here.

Debra Bowden - is a mokuhanga printmaker, bookbinder, and artist based in Thomastown (Grennan), Ireland. She conducts mokuhanga workshops in and around Ireland. About all I could find of her is through Facebook, although that hasn't been updated since 2018. Her website doesn't seem to exist any longer. You can find her Facebook page, here. Tangent Script I Nagasawa Art Park (MI Lab) Awaji City - Nagasawa Art Park was an artist-in-residence program located in Awaji City, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It was open for 12 years before evolving into MI Lab in 2012. More info, here. Robert Blackburn (1920-2003) - was an African American printmaker based in New York City. His lithogrpahy work represented his life experiences, being influenced by the Harlem Renaissance, and American society at large. His studio and his workshop in Chelsea attracted artists from around the world. More information about Robert Blackburn, his life