Posted on April 1, 2012 [Permalink]

Continued from [Arts of Japan #1 - 9] : one colour block in detail | Starting point of the thread was [Arts of Japan #1 - 1] : making the first print ...

So the full set of blocks for this print is now done. There are five pieces of wood, all used on both sides, and with a few of them containing areas for more than one tone. I'm not sure at this point how many actual impressions will be necessary, because some of those might be 'ganged up' - with two brushes being used at the same time for a single pass of the paper. We'll see.

Here they are, laid out on the bench ... one side:

... and flipped over:

The next step is of course proofing, but I'm afraid that won't be possible for at least a couple of days. Tomorrow morning will see the full complement of Mokuhankan staff showing up - Tsushima-san will be starting a new print for the catalogue, Yasui-san will be catching up on Mystique series back number mounting, Lee-san will be back at work on the paulownia cases - and ... we'll have a new member arriving. A young man recommended by printer Numabe-san will be down in the workroom, for his first day of printer training.

We don't have enough benches to go around, so the new guy will use Tsushima-san's bench, she'll use mine, and I'll be left wandering the decks - working with the new printer on his first training, with Tsushima-san on the colour testing of her new job, and with Lee-san on the next stage in case assembly.

Tuesday will see a repeat of all that, and then Wednesday - when Tsushima-san is not able to come because of family committments - the next would-be printer trainee, a young woman from Saitama, Ms. Fujii, will be showing up for her first session ...

Somewhere in the middle of all this I have to get the spring issue of the newsletter written, edited, and published, and then ... I have to deal with the upcoming Spring Festival of the local shrine. Given the circumstances, I would tell them I'm just too busy to help this year, but I can't do that. It's my turn to be 'block leader' for a year, starting today:

The festival is on the 14th~15th, and is a very big deal. It's intensely competitive - with each neighbourhood trying to produce the most lavishly decorated carts and the most intense festival music - and not to help out would be simply impossible.

The larger companies in the area donate both money and staff to the preparations, but I am in no position to do either. All I can 'donate' is me.

The thread continues in [Arts of Japan #1 - 11] : printing process ...

Added by: Julio Rodriguez on April 6, 2012

So the staff is growing again! By my count that's six workers plus the boss ?