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We are now in the spring
of 1982, and this print is very different from the
previous attempts - it is the first one made with
'real' tools on 'real' wood and printed on 'real'
paper.
That winter, having just finished up a large
computer programming project for a local music
store, I was able to spend three months in Japan,
travelling around together with the Japanese woman
who would soon become the mother of my two
daughters. One of the things high up on my list of
things to do over there had been of course to learn
what I could about printmaking. We were able to
visit a couple of workshops, and I brought back
with me to Canada not only the knowledge of what I
had seen in those places, but a small collection of
tools and blank woodblocks (along with a batch of
modern ukiyo-e reproductions that we had bought).
(click image for a larger
version in a 'popup' window)
This image (perhaps by Kiyonobu? I'm not sure
...) is carved on a beautiful piece of cherry I got
from Mr. Isamu Adachi, the owner of the Adachi
Hanga Institute. We had enjoyed a most interesting
couple of hours in his place one afternoon, seeing
the men working upstairs, buying some of his
reproductions, and chatting with him about my plans
to become a printmaker. (He smiled politely ...)
Just as we were leaving, pulling on our shoes in
the entranceway, he reached up to a high shelf,
pulled this piece of wood off a pile where it had
been seasoning, and gave it to me. Whether he was
really trying to encourage my printmaking
activities, or was just trying to be polite to
someone who had been a good customer, I cannot now
say. But the gesture was very much appreciated, and
I still remember the feelings of trepidation I felt
later back in Canada when it was time to start work
on this print and I dug my new knife into the
beautiful clean wood ...
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