Episode Details

A brand new venture can bring trepidation, and is never as straight forward as it may seem. That's something that I know all too well. On this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with curator, collector, and small business owner David Kutcher about his Japanese woodblock print gallery Moonlit Sea Prints. Located in Easthampton, Massachusetts, David opened his gallery to share his love of Japanese woodblokc prints.

We discuss why he got involved with the Japanese woodblock, the background of the business, his own private collection, the competition, and how history plays a part in his business.

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

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

Moonlit Sea Prints - website, Instagram.

Night Fishing by Arai Yoshimune (1873-1935) - Arai Yoshimune was a woodblock print designer who designed for the Hasegawa/Nishinomiya publishing house. "Night Fishing" is one print in a series of popular shin-hanga style woodblock prints published in the early 1900's by Hasegawa/Nishinomiya of Tōkyō, called "Night Scenes". The series is made up of 21 prints. A fascinating article on this series can be found, here. Below is the "Fishing Boat," print from the this series.

Fuji Arts - is an online Japanese woodblock print store, for collectors and is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company has been in operation since 2000.

Connie Mack (1862-1956) - was an American professional baseball player and manager, and is the longest serving manager in baseball history.

Babe Ruth (1895-1948) - is arguably the greatest American baseball player of all time. Made famous for his time with the New York Yankees form 1920-1934. Is said to have hit his first ever home run here in Toronto in 1914 when baseball was played on the island, against the Toronto Maple Leafs (baseball club).

1934 Japan Baseball Tour - baseballs all stars of the time, including Connie Mack and Babe Ruth, went to Japan in 1934 to play on an "All American All-Stars" team. More information can be found here, with some footage.

Acidic and non acidic matting - acid is a natural occurring element within paper. Like food, some have more, some have less. For very acid-free paper you would be using paper made from cloth rag and containing a small amount of a chemical compound called "lingnin" which is in all paper. The more lignin, the more acid the paper has. You want to use an acid-free paper to protect your print or piece of art from yellowing and other damage. For a great read on the subject, you can check it out, here .

Starry Night by Takahashi Shōtei (1871-1945) - is a woodblock print, 6"x15" produced around 1926-1927. Shōtei designed woodblock prints for the Okura Shoten publishing house, and later for Maeba Shoten, finally designing some of his most famous prints, such as the one below, with Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962). I have seen this print with the 1926/27 year of production as well as a 1936 date as well. A biography of Shōtei can be found, here.

Tōshi Yoshida (1911-1995) and the Franklin Mint - in the early 1980's Tōshi Yoshida, the e