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David Bull - Woodblock Printmaker

The Gift Print Page

It's nice to be able to report that the Gift Print this year again turned out to be very successful. It seems that the Harunobu image was well-liked by many people, and I am happy to report that it has been sent to many new homes. Thank you to all who decided to use this as a gift!

(Note: this Gift Print page stays open all year, and the prints can be ordered anytime. A new one is added to the selection in October every year.)

(The new 2010 Gift Print will come 'online' in mid October ...)

Each year as we approach the gift season, I select one of the designs from my many series, get the blocks out of the storeroom, print up a batch specifically for this purpose, and put it into my Mokuhankan catalogue. The gift print for this year is a beautiful image in the traditional ukiyo-e style, a design from one of the most famous of the old artists - Suzuki Harunobu.

Harunobu woodblock print
(Some images on this page can be clicked to show a larger version)

To make the print, I carved the image onto blocks of mountain cherry, and then used fine quality hand-made Japanese paper to pull the impressions.

Shall we zoom in a bit closer?

Harunobu woodblock print - enlargement

A special feature of this kind of print is the way that the printed lines get embossed into the paper. To see this in the way that the viewers of that century did, one must turn off any overhead lighting and hold the print near a window or lamp. The light falling horizontally across the print will then highlight the embossments and allow the full texture of the beautiful Japanese paper to be enjoyed.

Harunobu woodblock print - enlargement

Here's how it works ...

 
previous pane

I have prepared a little folder ...

... with the print mounted carefully on a backboard, and accompanied by a short descriptive pamphlet giving some background.

The print package is slipped into an envelope ... which is wrapped in a traditional wrapping paper (pattern will vary)

It is mailed from Tokyo in an envelope with current Japanese commemorative stamps. (stamps will vary from package to package ...)

I make the prints completely by hand ... using the same tools and techniques used in the Edo days ...

Cutting the blocks ...
 

Price ...

The price of this print is US$30 - including packing and postage (air mail) to anywhere on the planet. I can send it to you, or directly to somebody on your behalf as a 'gift' item (see details on the order form below).

I have also printed up more copies of the images I used in the previous few years, a design of a flying crane, a pair of birds by Isoda Koryusai, and you can choose one of these instead if you wish. Just check the appropriate box on the order form below.

Harunobu woodblock print
Koryusai woodblock print

If you like this idea of a woodblock print as a gift, but would like to view a larger selection of them, here are a couple more options:

Gift Print Order Form

Please fill out this form to have one of the prints sent to you (or a recipient of your choice) from my Tokyo workshop. You will receive one of the hand-made prints as illustrated above, sent AirMail to the address you enter here.

This is the 'quick order form' for a single copy of the print, at $30.00 (US) - sent AirMail as described above. If you wish to purchase multiple copies, combine your order with other prints, or choose the EMS express shipping option, please use the shopping cart over on my Mokuhankan website instead.

Your name:

Email address:

Email confirmation:

Which print would you like?

Woman in Snow

Leaping Carp (out of stock - back in the new year ...)

Koryusai - Heron and Crow
Harunobu - Crane at Sunrise

Where is the print to be sent?

To you directly ...
To a gift recipient ...
Include their name in the first line of the address section.
We will gift-wrap the print, and include a note letting them know that it was sent by you.

Address (enter exactly as you wish the address label to read):




Please enter comments or other notes for Dave here.

Once everything is ready, please click here to move ahead to the next step, where you can select a payment method (Paypal, credit card, cheque, money order, etc.) and then confirm the order (if you wish):

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