Japanese woodblock session 2

They may look like kitchen towels, but they are woodblock prints. I took the pictures in the afternoon light, it comes through the window of my work space. I liked the way it made the prints look light and floating.

One of the nice things about Japanese wood-block printing (moku-hanga) is that you can do it at home, and you don't need a huge printing press. You use a tool called "baren" (a disc covered with bamboo leaves) to impress the ink/colour into the paper. There are numerous steps to make before you start printing, though... cutting the block, preparing the paper, making the nori (a binder consisting of rice paste and water) ... But it's all very low tech, non-toxic and the technique has not changed much since it was introduced to Japan by Bhuddist missionaries in the 8th century. I like it.

Japanese woodblock session

Today I have done some printing again. Can you see the faint blue colour, fading gradually? It's typical of Japanese prints. Gradation, or bokashi. I'm not a huge fan of it, but it's something that has to be tried. So I tried it today, and it actually worked pretty well. Instead of making multiple prints of the same motif, I use different blocks and make unique prints. It's more fun, and allows for experimentation.

The papers are all wrinkled, they have to be pressed flat inside some heavy book... A little bit like blocking knitted garments.

Life outdoors

The little girl has got a new knitted vest. I got the pattern from Gry on fintfôr. Yesterday a little friend had her birthday party and we were invited on a boattrip to celebrate.

No time to stay inside now. Have to go out and dig in the ground.

Odd selection

A more or less odd selection of pictures. Second picture is a painting by artist Franz Kline. The last two don't really belong in the selection, do they? Or maybe if it's seen like some  - well, journey. First the rock, and then gradually... it opens up, doesn't it..?

Watercolour on the verge of nothing

A couple of small watercolour-drawings made recently. Almost nothing, but still something. I like red watercolour. I like the red colour of barns, it even has its own name in Norwegian "låverød". And I like the uneven structure on old wooden panel. Plus I like being able to hear the sound of the ocean right outside my door.

A walk

Outhouses, barns, sheds

What is it about them that I find so fascinating? These are just some recent photos, I have lots and lots of others. 

studio and outside

Prints and drawings

Some prints and drawings. Finally taken up the Japanese woodblock printing technique that I learnt in Berlin a year ago. The first photo is a print, and the third. Japanese woodblock printing is fascinating, I certainly will do more of this.

Japanese woodblock

Japanese woodblock prints by Kiyoshi Saito (1907-1997). I like these. They remind me a little of a book from my childhood, The snowy day by Ezra Pound Keats (see below). I have taken up Japanese woodblock-printing. It demands a lot of preparation, but it's fun.

Agnes Martin and Richard Tuttle

If you live near the coast, like I do, and you like to go for a walk, you can either go into the woods or you can go out by the sea.

In the woods you will walk on a narrow path, see the footprints of animals on the snow, admire the beauty of dry, wrinkly flowers against the sparkling white ground - in short: all the small, humble signs of life so easily passed by. By the sea you can gaze at the horizon, the vastness of the ocean, the small ripples forever repeating themselves on the water, the sameness all over and the feeling of awe by it. It struck me today, when I chose to walk in the woods, that this choice relates to Richard Tuttle (artist, living), while the sea-choice relates to Agnes Martin (artist, dead). It was quite obvious when I began to think about it.

See for yourself:

Richard Tuttle: Section IV, Extension E (17,8x13,7x11,4 cm)

Agnes Martin

Martin and Tuttle were close friends since the mid 1960s, and even though their work is very different, not only regarding scale  (ex: Agnes Martin's paintings were typically huge; 180x180 cm, Tuttle's work is small), it's as if they are two sides of the same coin. Like going for a walk when you live by the coast.