Vesica Piscis and the study of Mokuhanga
The vesica piscis (Latin for fish bladder) is the almond shape created when 2 circles overlap such as in a Venn diagram. The space that overlaps has possibilities of things which are the same but different. It has been described as the place you arrive after you leave one room but have not yet reached another, the threshold or liminal space of transformation. For me one circle may be skill in carving, the other may be skill in printing and I am searching for that elusive overlap where it becomes art. I began to use this symbol to create sample pieces to practice my printing skills but enjoyed the interplay of the dark and light of the bokashi process in the images and found a way to put them together in one image.
Study and practice-online study
In July 2019 I was lucky enough to travel to Japan and attended my first beginners Mokuhanga course with Karuizawa Mokuhanga School under the expert teaching of Terry McKenna. Terry makes beautiful prints and has been committed to share his knowledge through the writing of 2 books on Mokuhanga and online courses covering Mokuhanga Fundamentals and Creative Print-Intermediate Mokuhanga. I have become an online student of his Intermediate course now feeling a more confident of my carving and printing skills. I also believe that the study and practice of Mokuhanga requires ongoing ‘beginners mind’ and the titles beginners, intermediate and advanced are interchangeable.
Study and practice-Bristol
In July 2022 I attended an advanced Mokuhanga course at the Centre for Print Research, University of Western England, Bristol with Lucy May Schofield. Being an experienced printmaker in other forms the process of developing skill in Mokuhanga needs patience and I became aware that my ideas and ambitions were beyond my current technical skill. We practiced the skill of simply achieving a flat area of colour which is not simple at all. We learned techniques such as bokashi (gradations) and using varnish to create marks on the woodblock and shallow carving. We created sample blocks to try out these techniques and also how to use carbon paper to check the block and to help with registration.
