Watercolors and water-based ink on snow white Canford paper
Hashira-e (28 x 4.5 inches)
Edition of 34
This is my print for the 100th Exchange for the Baren Forum for Woodblock printmaking. It was supposed to be a Mokuhanga print. This is a traditional Japanese technique for woodblock printmaking which involves water-based pigments which are brushed on, printing with a traditional baren, multiple colors with careful registration, and using Washi paper. This print is more inspired by traditional Japanese printmaking as I do not have any formal training in Mokuhanga and don't have all the traditional tools and supplies. That said, I'm very happy with these results!
The background colors for this print are the most in line with Mokuhanga - they were brushed on watercolors, hand printed with my trusty wooden spoon. I tried a couple with my glass Iron Frog baren, but it didn't work as well as my spoon. The fox, mouse, and coneflowers were printed in 2 layers, both with water-based block printing ink which I did roll on with a brayer and then print with the spoon again. I thought about trying to do it all as brushed on watercolors, but that wasn't going to work out as well with the drawing I have come up with, so I went with the method that I thought would serve the image better.
Sadly, the only reason the paper is Canford and not a type of Washi is because I'm broke. I'm a teacher who gets paid much less for 2 months in the summer and I got 2 teens who eat like adults. I had this lovely Canford paper in my studio and it is soft yet strong and didn't distort after being wetted, so it seemed a suitable alternative.
Regarding the paper dimensions and imagery, what I enjoyed the most about this exchange was the challenge of coming up with a drawing that would fit into the tall, skinny rectangle. Even though I live in the city, we have a lot of foxes that I've seen stalking around at night on occasion. And of course mice are always a problem in big cities. I deliberately drew the pouncing fox smaller so it would seem that he is farther away and thus focused on some other prey outside of our view. The subtitle refers to the little mouse hiding behind the flower - she is safe at least for the moment.
