Neko

A mokuhanga print using the reduction method printed on a range of different washi papers. The print uses one block of wood and five passes of colour pigment including watercolour and gouache. I created this print on one of the last days of the artist in residency basic training programme at MI-LAB, Echizen in November 2024.

Edition size: 12 no. plus 1 no. artist’s proof

Image size: 108 x 170 mm

Paper size: 148 x 210 mm approx

Price: £50

One of the last instructed sessions we had at MI-LAB was with mokuhanga artist Hiroko Tamura, who demonstrated her reduction print method. Tamura-san’s work has a strong narrative depicting scenes from her everyday life, using a lovely array of soft greens, yellows and pinks that create a very distinctive style taking advantage of the spontaneity of the reduction method.

This is the first reduction print I have created in mokuhanga and I found choosing the colour combinations most challenging as there is no opportunity to proof your design – so no going back! I had a bit of fun with my subject matter, choosing the sweet little blue denim stuffed cat (neko in Japanese) I had bought in Naoshima set amongst the autumnal reds of the maple leaves and imagery from the local Okafuto Shrine, including the ‘shide’ folded paper streamers that demarcate sacred places and the crescent moon carvings from the stone lanterns.