Table of Contents
This Contents page organizes the posts made to the 'Conversations' into their respective 'categories'. Within each category, newest posts are at the top, then descending in reverse chronological order. (The number in [] at the end of each item title is the number of comments left to date on that item ...)
Prints
A new entry is made here each time a new print is officially added to the Mokuhankan catalogue; you are invited to leave your feedback on any matters related to the print ...
Entire books can - and have - been written about this paper ...
This is a slightly 'clipped' reproduction of one of the pages from the book Favourite Flowers of Japan ...
There isn't enough left of the 'original' to warrant describing it as a 'Hokusai' ...
This is an exact reproduction of one of the prints known as 'Akashi-ban' surimono.
Up and Coming
These are items featuring designs being considered for inclusion in the catalogue ...
I like the 'graphic' aspects of this one very much, and I think I'm not alone.
I've been looking at this one for years! All that I know about it can be fitted into one sentence: designed by Englishman A. Rigden Read in the early part of the 20th century; presumably self-cut and self-printed ...
Questions for Dave
From collectors ... from the designers ...
I'm getting the impression these crafts people aren't in it because of a passion for art
What are your plans for the carver/printer information going on the prints?
Process
Posts in this category deal with how the prints are made. A special feature of 'Conversations' is that designers of the prints are also taking part in these discussions ...
Believe it or not ... the summer senshafuda set has finally arrived ...
We're having quite a lot of trouble getting the Senshafuda series moving forward ...
We are encountering many problems in getting the summer senshafuda set done properly ...
The first batch of 'public' proofs of this set are now ready for inspection ...
Carving work has finally begun on the next set of three Senshafuda - the summer set. Was your favourite among the sketches included?
Tsushima-san is making very good progress!
Some details of the new printing bench for Tsushima-san
Explaining the genesis and concept behind the new 'Kakegami' project ...
And you thought it would never happen!
I just got back from the post office, having dropped off the first bag full of outgoing Senshafuda print packages. Looking back at earlier entries in this Conversations blog, I see that it was on February 11th that I first proposed the idea. It took nearly four months from conception to shipping ...
I think I keep making posts about 'almost there', but this time, it's true! Tetsui-san called this morning, and he is just now running the final impression on the first batch of our Spring Senshafuda set. Spring spring ... yes, I know, but remember that one or two things kind of got in the way ...
So I'll have them in hand this weekend, it seems. Meanwhile, we haven't been sitting still waiting for him ...
Ladieeeeeeeees and Gentlemen! After ten weeks of planning and preparation (has it really been that long?), we have now successfully launched our little print series. Proofing with Tetsui-san yesterday was very successful, and we came up with what I think is a very nice set of prints.
You can see them on their order page ...
Now that we're on the cusp of getting some actual prints made, I can no longer put off the job of getting the package design nailed down. I spent the morning with my desk covered with various permutations of the 'roll-up' design, made the decisions on layout and dimensions ...
The proofing got underway at Tetsui-san's place yesterday, Sato-san bringing the 'finished' block set with him. As I wrote the other day, I held back a bit, showing up in time for lunch. They certainly weren't finished when I got there ...
Some important progress to report today - Sato-san has completed the block set, and we're ready to begin proofing.
There are a number of interesting 'twists' involved here ...
As mentioned in the previous post, it's going to be my job to size the paper for this first set of senshafuda, and today was the day!
This photo is a bit of déja vu ...
We made major progress yesterday on the senshafuda project: Sato-san has finished the keyblock, and we had a meeting (together with printer Tetsui-san) to work out the colour separations.
We met at Tetsui-san's place ...
So my 'normal' work got put aside today, as young printer Tetsui-san came over to discuss his part in this project, and for the two of us to have a session of (practice) paper sizing.
He has never done any sizing before ...
A quick progress update: carver Sato-san dropped over here a few days ago (riding his scooter all the way out from town!), and we got him all set up. He and I went over the image, deciding how to approach the carving, and he went back home with some blank blocks in his carry-bags, along with the hanshita printout.
I talked to him on the phone last night ...
So, after all the delays due to one of the largest natural disasters in history - which kind of keeps things in perspective - the 'final' versions of the images arrived from designer Kaori Seki last night (at around 2 in the morning!), and I'm now able to put everything together.
Here's how the layout is going to work ...
Slow progress after the quake
Update on the senshafuda project.
Progress on the senshafuda designs ...
The project outline ...
The basic budget for this project
Discussing the projected senshafuda project ...
I think we're ready to go!
the carving of the poem on this print is now complete!
Numabe-san returned the stack of prints to me the late last week ...
Here's a shot of his most recent proof, on the table beside Mike's original print:
The package with the new set of blocks arrived from Mike today!
The carving has been coming along, very slowly bit by bit, sandwiched between work on the scroll and the colouring books ...
After the previous set of blocks turned out to be unprintable, we decided to put them aside and cut another set
... get a few of these ready to ship!
Here it is on his proofing stand together with Mike's original ...
Mokuhankan's first 'real' print ... as good as it gets!
Numabe-san gets to work on the proofing ...
Time to sit down and feel a bit blue ...
How many blocks do you think it will take?
This is one cool set of blocks!
The poem on this print is going to be very difficult to reproduce ...
This series of posts will track the 'construction' of this print, start to finish ...
... here are photos of blocks and prints ...
Not sure if I should wait until daylight before taking a photo of this one ...
I have a decent piece of hard maple 12 inches wide 3/4 inch thick ...
... we've got it this far now ...
This is actually a lot closer than I expected to get on the first try.
In early March, Mike send a .jpg of the image he had in mind, and our discussions continued ...
... in the interests of having the entire process documented ...
The block set for the Hilo Bay print is now done
So anyway, the puzzle is basically solved, and here they are, laid out on my carving bench, ready to go ...
I got it worked out to where I think I can get it all on six pieces of wood
With the basic colour separations done, the next step is to determine the actual layout of the blocks.
For such a simple image, there are going to be a lot of blocks ...
Gary, while talking with Numabe-san this afternoon in the coffee shop at Ueno Station ... a couple of things came up I need to ask you about:
I've been pondering the block breakdown for Hilo Bay in off minutes ... I think I can basically see through how it could be done.
Anyway, thinking about the idea of using your images in this Mokuhankan thing ... if I can get the thing rolling, would you be interested in doing it that way?
General Interest
Posts that don't fit the other categories ...
Mokuhankan is looking for people ...
Work on making some prototype tool handles gets under way ...
I have made some sample storage boxes for the new tool set ... what do you think?
Excellent progress on the new knives/chisels ...
The young craftsman Sato-san, who did the work for the Senshafuda prints I published last year, has been spending quite a lot of his free time doing research on the content of the steel used to make the blades in our carving knives.
Back at the 'grind' after the winter break!
Our year-end wrapup ...
Two enjoyable (mostly) visitors today!
A very busy day at the workshop ...
Today's post is a quote from a blog run by the Wall Street Journal
The pile of Gift Prints waiting for their turn to head to the post office!
The two trainee ladies are making excellent progress!
Ishigami-san is also making good progress ...
Tsushima-san built us a brush drying rack!
Ishigami-san, the second printer-trainer, has begun work ...
A close look at the baren that Tsushima-san tied the other day.
Another update on Tsushima-san's progress ...
Tsushima-san's latest result ...
Tsushima-san is making good progress!
Tsushima-san has turned out to be pretty good at this. Her work is now on sale over at the confectionery shop, and a number of them are also already on the way to overseas purchasers. And, she's having fun with the challenges ...
The kakegami are now in the shops!
Not a lot to talk about today (much!) ... just a couple of little snapshots should do for now!
Here is a report (slightly edited) from the news today:
"Tokyo — Four people were taken to hospital and a glass door smashed as a near-riot broke out at Tokyo's Mokuhankan store among crowds rushing to snap up the popular Senshafuda prints ...
This month's re-printing work is finally done!
Update to the Mokuhankan catalogue, and status report ...
Update on new prints ...
a simple graph showing the main 'money in/money out' flow at the end of the first year's efforts
Samples of printed-out eBooks ...
... with only 200 copies pulled so far, it would be a crime to let them sleep indefinetely.
Resources (and customers!) are both scarce at present, so the prints are being printed in quite small batches.
The first two eBooks in the Mokuhankan catalogue seem to be turning out to be successful, so here's another one ... with a difference!
the new colouring book is now nearly here!
... a zillion dragon scales!
Morley-Fletcher's 1916 volume - Wood-block Printing.
Mokuhankan's first eBook published.
A shopping cart is now in place on the Mokuhankan site ...
A visit to printer Numabe-san, as he works on a Toshi Yoshida reprint ...
Starting today, the Mokuhankan order form contains two new options ...
Mokuhankan is finally 'open for business'!
One of the 'core' questions about this whole enterprise?
An update on all the various 'threads' being sewn at the moment ...
The vacuum cleaner is plenty powerful enough to pull the print down even through the shirt.
How open should I be with some of the Mokuhankan data?
... there is a real interest in what is going on here ...
The first batch of prints has been received from Numabe-san the printer.
Well ... finally ... the first package of saleable prints arrived today.
What needs to be done before I can go live?
Good - and I think very productive - discussion. No hostility or hassle ...
Anyhow, long story short, I have a kind of decision to make here ... about whether or not I should actually go ahead with this Mokuhankan thing.
The idea behind this section of the Mokuhankan website is to provide a place for easy communication between - and among - the people making the prints, and the people interested in the prints.
The Back Room
This is the 'left-over' category for the collectors/designers to use for general communication/discussion with each other, without worrying about whether or not their topic is strictly relevant to Mokuhankan affairs ...
... the 20 prints would appear in outline form only, ready for people to tear out and colour.
... the last stage of the tracing for the Kaigetsudo scroll ...