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Woodblock News
Introduction | Index All the print news that fits!

'Discover Japan'

(2006) ... a corner in a long two-hour program about foreigners working in traditional Japanese crafts. Some of the people were featured at great length, but I got just a few minutes. It was shot in my downstairs workshop on a grey cloudy day, and the lighting man wasn't prepared at all ... it's quite gloomy. But it does give a view of the printing process for my large scroll print ... (2 1/2 minutes ... 4.2Mb)

TV Listings

The 'Woodblock Shimbun' has a full selection of TV programs on file. Videos available include some of David's news appearances, complete feature programs, and some short documentaries on his work. The files are in QuickTime format, and can be easily viewed with your browser.
Program listings are on the Index page ...

Artist Recreates Surimono Woodblock Masterpieces

Fascinated by the beauty of Edo-style woodblock prints, Canadian artist David Bull began carving and printing his own versions of traditional Japanese prints almost 30 years ago, just to please himself. Now living in Japan, Bull is one of a small group of craftsmen working to reproduce Japan's popular ukiyo-e and other woodblock prints. (2001)
Full Story.

Traditional Craft, Crisis or ... ?

As a worker in the field of traditional Japanese crafts, one of the most common things I hear from visitors to my workshop is, "Isn't it a pity that wonderful crafts like this are dying out nowadays." We sometimes tend to view traditional crafts as being superior to modern ways of doing things, but I have to wonder about this. I am sure that the craftsmen of old did not view their work in special terms. I think that they were simply people 'doing a job'. (1994)
Full Story.

David Bull: Printmaker

The classic woodblock prints made famous by Hokusai and others depict a stylized, long-lost Japan. A chance encounter with woodblock printing at an exhibition in Toronto more than twenty years ago led David Bull down a path that has made him the only artist, Japanese or foreign, working to reproduce those classical prints. (2000)
Full Story.