Episode Details

The world of mokuhanga has a lot of moving parts. It's a machine that needs to be consistently monitored, updated and supervised. This is especially true when most mokuhanga practitioners are the ones working on every step to get their finished product.

Many times we as mokuhanga artists tend to overlook what goes into our tools; the barens, the brushes, pigments and paper, many of us simply wanting to get the work, "done." Jon Lee, a printmaker, craftsperson and artist based in San Antonio, Texas goes a little deeper where most people don't. Jon makes barens, and brushes, and paper through his academic work as well as personally. In this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak to Jon Lee about how he approaches his work, how he builds and constructs his tools, his studying under master baren maker Gotō Hidehiko, and how all of this melds with his academic research.

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own print work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com

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

Jon Lee - The Print Center bio and Instagram page

University of Iowa - founded in 1847 U of I is a public research university. More information can be found here.

Trinity University of San Antonio - founded in 1869, more info can be found, here.

mezzotint - a print made using copper plate and a "rocker." Invented in the mid-17th Century. More info can be found, here from The National Portrait Gallery, England.

hanji Korean mulberry paper - is a paper used, amongst other ways, for woodblock printmaking. It's a very dense and fibrous paper. More info can be found, here.

Tamarind Institute - dedicated to prints of all types, this institution began in 1960 as a lithography workshop in Los Angeles. More information can be found, here.

Akira Kurosaki (1937-2019) - one of the most influential woodblock print artists of the modern era. His work, while seemingly abstract, moved people with its vibrant colour and powerful composition. He was a teacher and invented the "Disc Baren," which is a great baren to begin your mokuhanga journey with. At the 2021 Mokuhanga Conference in Nara, Japan there is a tribute exhibit of his life works. Azusa Gallery has a nice selection of his work, here.

McClains Woodblock Print Supply Co. - based in Portland, Oregon McClains is the go to supplier of woodblock print tools in the United States. Their website can be found, here. My interview with Daniel Jasa of McClain's can be found, here.

Gotō Hidehiko - is a baren maker and printmaker from Japan. He has conducted workshops at MI Lab, the mokuhanga residence program , for baren making. He has also conducted workshops at the Mokuhanga Conference sev