Written on October 14, 1990 [Permalink]

October 12

Rearranged the sample strips, this time including a consideration of the season. I don't know if it's really any better than before. I tried to get most of the outright seasonal poems in a position where they will be received in approximately the correct time of year, but it was impossible to get them all. There's just too many autumn poems, and a lot of them had to go in a 'wrong' position. I don't think I should be worrying too much about this - their feelings on receiving the prints are only transient. They'll have them around for a lifetime, and it will be irrelevant in what month they were received.

Sent off a letter to Daniel Smith in Seattle. I used to buy washi from them when I lived in Canada, and would like to pick up some more for use in the upcoming demonstration in Vancouver. I'll be making the Kaigetsudo print (Simon is going to dig the block out of storage and send it to LA), and I don't want to carry that oversize paper in my baggage.

60 sheets wet for a run of Shunzei.

October 13

Off to Tokyo for a visit to a giant international antiquarian book fair, at the Palace Hotel in Kudanshita. There are 170 dealers in books and prints from all over the world, and I thought that maybe (maybe!) I could find a copy of the Shunsho book...

... yes, there was one there. A dealer from Holland had a copy of the later edition, with the bold calligraphy. The colours were quite faded, but it was otherwise in pretty good condition. A mere 960,000 yen. I had taken a set of my prints along, with some kind of idea of perhaps making a trade deal, but with this kind of price on the tag, that was out of the question. This is triple the price of the copy that I saw in Gyokueido in Kanda last year. This dealer said that 'that's the way things are these days'

What was actually of more interest was a copy of the first two volumes of Hokusai's 'Fugaku Hyakkei' that a German dealer had. They were beautiful. I can't believe the quality of the carving work. If I remember correctly, his name was Egawa Tomekichi, and he stands so far above me that I don't even come up to his big toe. Every tiny stroke is full of life and character, where mine are dull and wooden. Practically speaking, I suppose I'll never get anywhere near that level of accomplishment, but I'd sure like to get a lot better that I am now. Sometimes I feel ashamed at how little I've progressed in the last couple of years ...

The Hokusai books were 3,000,000.

Back home, and sumi on the 60. No real problems, but the same 'banging' that I encountered while printing the sumi on the last print was here also. When I squeezed tightly, to try and raise the edges of the baren, it disappeared.

A phone call today from the people at the Kominkan. They want me to do the same kind of 'kid's printmaking event' for the annual Bunkasai as I did last year. This time it will be on two Sundays, the first one of which is only 2 weeks away. I'd better find a design and get busy carving it.

October 14

Colours on Shunzei. Spent all morning at the park with the kids, so didn't have enough time to finish all the colours tonight. When I was recovering the baren, I slipped a sheet of fairly thick washi under the coil, to try and raise the contact surface somewhat, and reduce the risk of the edges banging into the print. Seems to work.

Got out one of Himi's favorite books and prepared a tracing of a CatBus. Every kid in the country is familiar with this image, and it should go down well at the demonstration.

October 15

Finished the colours in the morning. 19% done! The reporter who was here last month doing the interview for the Mainichi newspaper came back today, for another interview. This is nothing to do with printmaking, but is for a running series they have getting viewpoints from foreigners living in Japan. I tried to remember not to do any finger-wagging, and we had an enjoyable three hour discussion. This kind of talk is way beyond my Japanese ability, and Michiyo sat in to help us communicate. If he can put a good article together, it will run next Tuesday on the .... you guessed it, the Tama page.

Got some plywood from the home center across the street, and started carving the CatBus.