In conjunction with the exhibition Wood Paper Ink, this demonstration will be an introduction to the printing process of mokuhanga, which uses water-based pigments, a kento registration method, and hand printing with a baren, a circular hand tool with a flat face that is used to burnish the paper and lift ink from the block. Participants will learn about tools, materials, as well as the carving sequence and printing methods associated with this multiple woodblock printing process. At the end of the demonstration, participants will have the opportunity to experience printing from the woodblocks.
Melissa Schulenberg is an artist/printmaker who currently resides in Canton, New York, where she is a professor of art at St. Lawrence University. Schulenberg received her BA in studio art from Bowdoin College (Maine), an MA in printmaking from Purdue University (Indiana), and her MFA in printmaking from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She teaches various printmaking, drawing, and book arts courses at St. Lawrence.
Schulenberg has participated in three artists' residencies at the Mokuhanga Innnovation Laboration (MI-LAB) in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan, and has been studying the print technique since 2014. She is a member of the artists' collective the Mokuhanga Sisters.