Kyoto

I spent the last week in Kyoto, exploring, hanging and then taking down my show, and enjoying a few days rest…

I walked around the rainy city, loving every single fallen momiji leaf, and marvelling at the beauty of the ordinary life there.

I also finally made it to Saiho-ji, the moss temple in the West of Kyoto. I made a reservation by postcard several months ago and was granted access for a few hours to the incredible bright green gardens. It took my breath away. The moss alone was spectacular, but with the autumn colours on top of that, it was sublime.

The yellow gingko leaves and red momiji leaves were everywhere in Kyoto, and I felt saturated in colour.

I’ve never spent much time in Kyoto, and now I want to go back and experience it in different seasons…

Kyoto show

Yesterday I helped install our mokuhanga group show in hip bookstore/gallery Keibunsha in Kyoto.

It’s a group of five printmakers, and the work is eclectic, and I think it looks pretty good together!

I’m showing mokuhanga prints I made in the last couple of years, plus some greetings cards and postcards that feature my mokuhanga work.

Some mini cards carved and printed by Kitamura san’s apprentice carvers are also on display and available to purchase. Mine is the tiny blue teapot, I love it! I’ve never seen my work interpreted by someone else, so this was a great project to be involved with.

The show is up for a week, and I’ll be there on monday the 6th December for a few hours before taking the show down. Hope to see you there!

Kyoto exhibitions and print conference

Hi there, I've just had work in two exhibitions in Kyoto! Sorry for the late notice, but have to say they were both lovely. The first was a show of work by artists who attended the moku hanga (Japanese woodblock printing) residency in Nagasawa, Japan.

It was a Japanese style show, with all the work laid out on low tables, unframed, so you could see the subtleties of colour and texture. It was held at the Kyoto Arts Centre.

The second was a show of artists books, held in a specialist arts book shop. It was very very sweet. You could leaf through the books (after washing your hands, or putting on gloves), so it was possible to see all the pages.

I was in Kyoto for the 1st ever International Moku Hanga Conference, it was great! I attended several workshops...

and watched various demonstrations and presentations, by experts in the field, both local and from abroad.

I met  many interesting printmakers from around the world, and spent time with old friends I don't get to see often enough... and now I've definately got to work harder on my printmaking! Watch this space for new prints soon...