'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [0])

Looking at that photo it seems like half the population of Tokyo is exhibiting here! I think that's almost true, and the other half came to look!

When the waves parted now and then, you could see the actual booths ...

Our purpose in attending the show this time wasn't really to sell stuff (although we did indeed send a number of prints on their way to new homes ...). One of our little signs reads 'Looking for staff ...' and we were hoping that among the thousands of 'starving young artists' we could meet a few people who might be candidates for working with us on our venture.

We didn't get a whole lot of response to that, but did make a couple of contacts, and we'll probably be having some of them come out and talk to us later this week. It's not like we can actually offer 'employment' to anybody right now, but we certainly won't be able to move forward unless we can find a few more competent people ...

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [0]

'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [3])

... but it turned out that this wasn't really necessary. Once he moved around to the other side and took a few whacks with a little sledgehammer we have, it took only seconds before he broke through:

And the thing then basically fell apart as he whacked at it. We were a bit taken aback to find that there was some rebar in there ...

... but it was only very lightly tied to the main concrete, and was easily removed without any cutting.

Neighbour Yamaguchi-san was (understandably) curious about the noise, and dropped over just in time to see Lee-san get to the bottom of it.

After a couple of hours of cleanup - we smashed up and buried the chips around the foundation of the building - it was all done.

I spent the rest of the day involved in interesting conversations with collector Serge A, who was visiting from France, and after pouring him onto his return train (that's an exaggeration - we only had two beers each!), returned to begin the preparations for this weekend's Design Festa event.

Tsushima-san and I will be manning a booth at this humungous show, and hopefully we'll have a chance to meet some people with an interest in our work - either in buying it, or helping us make it!

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [3]

'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [7])

And going inside ...

What you are seeing here is about half of the room (the concrete beam on the ceiling is the half-way point). The space is about 4 x 8 meters (something approaching 400 square feet).

The breeze-block patch you see on the wall there is of course the other side of what we saw in the earlier photo of my workroom. We've now cleared away the insulation and framing on our side, ready for opening it up:

So, after teasing everybody with the photos earlier, I can now explain. There are three houses in a row, all perched on top of a single large concrete platform. When it was being built, there was no plan to use the lower levels at all; the platform was simply a way to create level 'ground' for building the houses. Gaps were left in the concrete walls down there to allow the workers passage back and forth as they built the place.

But somewhere during construction, somebody had the idea to make the lower levels accessible to the residents of the houses, so they enclosed the outer walls, blocked up the gaps between the units, and added a rat's nest of metal staircases for access. The 'rooms' themselves were left as bare concrete shells.

Although I myself found the presence of those two basement levels to this structure a huge 'selling point' when it came time to buy this building, my neighbours have never seen things the same way. The people in house #3 are using the first basement as a suite for Grandma, and the lowest one for storage (at least until recently, when their son began to use it for a personal room). The people in house #2 (my direct neighbours) had their B1 level outfitted as a playroom for their (then small) children, but in recent years are not using it at all. As for their B2 level, the owner has yet to set foot in the space, more than 18 years after he purchased the house.

Although that sounds simply incredible to me, it sort of makes sense from his point of view. These are north-facing rooms, at the lower level of a steep valley, right on the edge of a (damp) river, and are ... cold, cold, and cold. A typical Japanese father has no experience at all with home renovation, and will not even own such a thing as a hand drill. The only way available to him to turn this space into something liveable would involve calling a local builder, and of course spending a considerable amount of money. For what? They have a normal amount of room upstairs, and anyway, both parents work six days a week, and both children are out from morning 'till late at night with school activities. Their house is actually used only for sleeping.

So long story short, I have looked at that space for a number of years now, idly thinking 'what if ...' And now, with the expansion of our activities via the Mokuhankan venture, it has become time to make a move. I approached him the other week with a proposal to rent it, and he shrugged and gave a 'why not' kind of answer. I typed up a simple proposal outlining each of our responsibilities (rental fee, termination procedure, noise rules, maintenance, improvements, etc. etc.) and the two of us signed it. He gave me the key this morning, and I headed in there to clean up.

I removed an Egyptian layer of dust from the floor with brooms and a shovel, then hauled in my new compressor and blew all the rest away. I couldn't begin to smack the blocks out, because today is Sunday and everybody in the structure is at home, and any blows to the concrete resonate through the whole place. I'll get at that job sometime during the next week when everybody is out at work and school.

But I mean, can you actually believe this? What are the odds that - living in Tokyo as I do - there would be an unused space next door? And that the owner would let me use it? And that he wouldn't want an arm and a leg? And ... that there would be a doorway already cut in the concrete, so that we can simply step through into the wide open new area?

No way! Never 'gonna happen!

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [7]

'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [7])

Unlike the other ladies who are here training, Fujii-san isn't actually here primarily to 'work'. She is attending some kind of vocational course on digital/web design/etc., and I guess may be looking for work in that sector later, I'm not really sure.

But while doing that, she wants to learn what she can about this printing thing, and her commitment has been evident right from the start. She lives a very long way from here, so far that when people hear where she lives, they say, "Eh? And she comes all the way here, just to practice for a few hours, and then go home???" But she doesn't seem to mind. (Or maybe she simply sleeps on the train all the way, who knows!)

Knowing that she isn't perhaps going to be able to become a very productive member of the staff soon - because of her school commitments - she has gone out of her way not to 'bother' me while she is here. Today for example, I worked upstairs in the woodshop, only coming down to the print room once every couple of hours to check up on how she was doing. She simply worked away steadily on her own, figuring things out as well as she could by herself.

What did she make today?

Here they are, spread out to dry:

And let's have a closer look (click for an enlargement):

What do you think? Has she 'got it', or not?

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [7]

How to solve our growing space problem?

'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [9])

... one large step for Mokuhankan!

What with all the new projects going on here recently, we're running into a real space problem. The four levels of this building are all now pretty much crammed with stuff, and not 'stuff' as in 'junk', 'stuff' as in tools, materials, prints, and blocks!

And now with the very large project for building the wooden cases for Dave's subscription prints building up to a climax, the situation is critical. The other day, when we had to do the first testing of the setup for varnishing those cases, we had to do it outdoors ... in the rain!

What to do?

Well, have a look at these photos ... Here's a photo taken this morning, showing one corner of the downstairs workroom:

Here's the same area seen during an earlier stage of construction:

And here's one taken more than ten years ago, soon after the construction first began:

So?

Well, if I show you this photo, taken from across the river looking back at the overall structure (before my workroom was built actually, but you get the idea of what the building looks like ...)

... you might be able to put 2 and 2 together ... I'll post more photos after I break through!

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [9]

A new 'item was added to the Mokuhankan catalogue today, and here is the text from the explanation page:

'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [0])

Well, once in ten years, anyway!

A new 'item' was added to the Mokuhankan catalogue today, and here is the text from the explanation page:

"The prints on this page are all ones that were originally issued as part of the 'Hanga Treasure Chest' published by Dave in 2005. At that time, the series was available by subscription only - in a full set of 24 prints. 200 sets were produced, and it was very well subscribed at the time, has sold steadily as a 'back number' subscription since then, and is now nearly sold out (just a few sets are left at time of writing). The blocks are still in very good condition, and as time permits they will be re-printed to produce prints for this Mokuhankan catalogue. (Three of them have already been issued that way - the Hokusai Carp, the Autumn Bonsai, and the Spring Fuji).

But now that Dave's series is 'history', it is time to clean out his drawers. In order to make 200 copies of any given image, more than 200 sheets go into the printing stack of course. There will always be some spoilage during a print run, and as it is impossible to gauge how many sheets will come out properly, around 10% extra are put in the stack. The spoiled ones are tossed out upon inspection, but there are always some perfectly acceptable prints 'left over' - over and above the 200 needed for the 'edition'.

So here they are. This is your chance to get some of these little prints without having to subscribe to the entire set. The prints are all exactly the same as those sent out to the original subscribers, with Dave's signature, his 'baren' studio seal, mounted on mat boards, and wrapped in a folder containing information on the particular design."

Here's the page!

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [0]

Tsushima-san's next print project ...

'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [0])

With all the frantic work on the 'Arts of Japan' first print ... the wooden cases ... and the new tool set going on, I have been remiss in bringing you an update on what Tsushima-san has been up to since she completed her Hokusai surimono reproduction a few weeks ago.

We of course put her to work straight away on another one, and she has been beavering away at it since then. Here's a snapshot from her workbench this afternoon:

It's difficult to see what she is doing, but she is working with a very small brush, and dabbing 'just' a touch of pigment on it. It's for this impression, which is a very narrow gradation - difficult at the best of times, but here on a curved block to boot:

This is not easy at all. At the time I took these photos, she was practicing getting the impressions consistent from one to the next, taking dozens of them on sheets of scrap paper ...

The print itself will be familiar to (old) collectors of my own work. It is an image of a small Autumn Bonsai, and was originally part of my first Hanga Treasure Chest. That set is now down to its final three or four sets in stock, and I myself will of course never be re-printing it, so it's time to think about putting some of the prints into the Mokuhankan catalogue.

This gradation (on the ceramic tray holding the bonsai) is the final impression she will apply to the print, and after they have been pressed and dried, we'll sort through her stack, and get some ready for shipping. So it's time to open a new page in the catalogue for them!

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [0]

It's been a very busy week here at Mokuhankan, but unfortunately there aren't a great many photos that I am able to show you ...

'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [1])

It's been a very busy week here at Mokuhankan, but unfortunately there aren't a great many photos that I am able to show you ...

Last Monday saw the first day of 'work' of a new printer trainee, and he worked steadily over the next few days under my supervision, and turned out some very interesting results. He took to it quite naturally, first making one of the designs for our kakegami wrapping paper:

That worked out so well that I pulled some blocks off the shelf for one of my Surimono prints, and tossed them at him. After two more days of work, he had produced a stack of a dozen or so of them:

Unfortunately, there is another side to the story. I don't want to invade his privacy too much, so will simply say that although his printmaking abilities seemed to be just what we are looking for, he and I didn't really make much of a 'match'.

By the end of the week, it was clear to me that we weren't going to be able to get along. If ... if we had a larger workshop here, with more staff, I think he might have been able to fit in, but because we are so few in number still, a new person really affects the 'dynamic' of the mood and relationships. I was pretty torn which way to go, but ended up taking the 'safe' option, and let him know that there was no place for him here.

(I'm headed downtown in the morning, to visit a couple of other workshops, in the hope that one of them might be able to find space for him ... It's not likely, but I kind of have to try, I think ...)

In more cheerful news (!), Tsushima-san has begun her next printing project, and it's a relatively simple one, but one that will pose her a few challenges that she has yet to face. It's a reprint from my original Treasure Chest series, which is now down to its final 3~4 sets, so the blocks are coming over to Mokuhankan for reprinting one-by-one.

We also have an update (finally!) on the tool project, but I'm running out of time this evening ... Maybe tomorrow! :-(

And not to leave on a negative note, here's what I see outside my window this afternoon, looking across the street to the noodle house:

... and a clickable closeup:

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [1]

Beginning this spring, the Trainee Premium program is no long just a vague idea, but has become reality.

'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [7])

If you have been browsing my blogs for some time - this Mokuhankan Conversations, and the Woodblock Roundtable - you may remember a series of extended posts I did about a year and a half ago outlining a 'vision' for the future of my Mokuhankan venture.

In the first episode of that series, I was talking with an (imaginary) reporter, and explained to him the policy on the Trainee Premium - an option that could be 'added on' to an invoice whenever somebody made a print purchase.

Well, I have good news and I have 'bad' news, and they are both the same thing. Beginning this spring - active now, actually - the Trainee Premium is a reality. Anybody making a purchase through the Mokuhankan shopping cart will be faced with this, during the checkout procedure:

Trainee Premium (optional 'add-on'): As described on this FAQ page, Mokuhankan has a fund through which we support the training of our printers who are not yet able to support themselves through their work. If you agree - by checking this box - a 'Trainee Premium' of 5% of the amount of your order will be added to the invoice total, and that amount will be saved in our fund. A full accounting of the trainee funds is always publicly available for inspection.

This is followed by the checkbox that is mentioned, and of course, it works as described. If you are purchasing a print for $30. the invoice total will actually be $31.50

Rather than re-write the explanation here, it will perhaps be easiest if I simply quote from that FAQ page:

Revenue from this (completely optional) surcharge will be added to the fund that Mokuhankan uses to support trainees in their earliest stages, before they are capable of producing work that can be sold.

Back in the old days, the woodblock printmaking technique was used all over society for all kinds of work, not just 'art' products. In addition to the complex printing jobs done by the experienced men, there was always a lot of very simple work to do as well: decorative wrapping papers, fancy envelopes, etc.. Jobs like that were perfect for the beginners, and provided them both with training, and with income. But these days all that kind of work is done by mechanical means (printing presses) so the whole structure of the master/apprentice system has had the underpinnings kicked out. With no work available for beginners, there is now no way that they can support themselves during the time that it takes to get good enough to do 'real' work.

We 'bite the bullet' and pay them even though they can't actually earn that payment, but the burden is very high, and we are coming to you 'cap in hand' to ask you to help us with this problem. Your money is used for no other purpose than paying the trainees, and as we want to be as transparent as possible with this, we maintain a web page showing an accounting of these funds.

We thank you very much for your understanding of this situation, and hope that you will consider checking the box for at least some of your purchases with us!

So ... I suppose in a way this is 'bad' news for our friends/collectors/customers, because they may feel that this is an extra burden that I am asking them to help carry, but from the point of view of the two new trainees who will be starting here next week, anything that might help Dave push this thing forward a bit is certainly going to be taken as 'good' news!

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [7]

I think that when I look back on it from sometime far in the future, today will be one of those days that sticks out as a 'big one'. Yasuhiro Lee started with us today ...

'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [5])

I think that when I look back on it from sometime far in the future, today will be one of those days that sticks out as a 'big one'. Yasuhiro Lee started with us today, and going by what I've seen so far of his attitude and abilities, I hope that he'll be with us for a long time to come!

But let's start with a snapshot from the 'office' upstairs, where Yasui-san is getting ready for tomorrow's 'back number' print shipping, running off sheets on our big Epson laser:

We then slip downstairs, where Ishigami-san is mounting some prints ...

Right behind her, Tsushima-san is of course beavering away busily at her current print edition (which 'sold out' of her original batch ... putting her under the gun to get a new batch finished as soon as possible!):

And here's the 'new guy', busy with his first job, making a new workbench for the ladies to do the print mounting work downstairs. (The bench they are using now will be coming up into this room, where it will be used for the case construction that will be getting under way soon ...

And we have no shot of the 'missing person' in the workshop ... because he was holding the camera!

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [5]

Mixed results from the four interviews over the past couple of days, but one report to make straight away, as the 'deal' was struck right there during our conversation; next Monday we'll be welcoming our newest member ...

'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [2])

Mixed results from the four interviews over the past couple of days, but one report to make straight away, as the 'deal' was struck right there during our conversation; next Monday we'll be welcoming our newest member - Mr. Yasuhiro Lee will be here bright and early that day ready to help me clear out the first basement level, and get the woodwork shop set up properly.

His immediate job will be to work with me to finalize the design of the cases for the upcoming 'Arts of Japan' series, and then get busy making them. Once that is moving forward, we'll toss a second ball into the air and start making handles for the chisels, and then a third one ... for the boxes for the tools.

I'll introduce him properly at that time (I have no photo etc. yet). It's also possible - we just touched on this lightly during our conversation - that he will be blogging independently about his 'adventures' here. I'll of course let you know. For the immediate future, he will only be here three days a week, as he has other commitments to honour (one of which is printing practice/training with Numabe-san), but we'll see where it all leads ...

And speaking of the tool set, I got an email earlier today from Dale in Massachusetts who sent a suggestion on the design for the boxes (which he has allowed me to share here).

"... I am wishing that the top of that panel would go to the top of the rounded slats and then curve in some fashion down to your label. The square panel that you show just doesn't seem to work with the elegance of design for the rest of the box, with its rounded edges and wonderful hinged lid. It looks like you have done some tooling on the top edge anyway to fit it to the side slats - how much more work would it be to make the top part of an arc or a "U" shape? I don't do well drawing with the mouse, but something like this perhaps could work."

This was indeed an interesting suggestion. But it's not quite as 'easy' as that. Here's how I replied:

"There are a couple more factors in play here that are not evident yet ... There has to be something to hold the tools in place so that they don't rattle around (both during shipping and in general use). The rectangular area that is presently 'filled' by the visible portion of the booklet is the place where this has to happen - this closes directly over the butt end of the tools.

"Best thinking at present is that the booklet will have a sort of padded strip glued to it, forming a kind of 'spine' for the booklet itself, and acting as the 'hold-down' for the tools. But that's a pretty klutzy solution. I need to find a way to deal with both requirements - having the tools held down, and having the booklet visible (and accessible).

"The curve you suggest is certainly doable, and if there were no requirement for hold-down, I'd accept it without any more thought. Get rid of the intruding 'skis' at each side ..."

So we're 'open for suggestions' here ... any other ideas on how these factors might be best resolved?

And one last note - we now have an English version of the 'roadmap' I prepared the other day:

And the .pdf version ...

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [2]

While working on the image tracing these past couple of days, my mind has of course been busy with thoughts of the upcoming interviews the next few days.

'Stretch' to read the full entry | Separate page (with discussion [0])

While working on the image tracing these past couple of days, my mind has of course been busy with thoughts of the upcoming interviews. At present, four people are scheduled, two young men on Monday around noon, a young college girl on Monday evening, and another young lady (introduced by a Baren group printmaker from the Eastern US) on Tuesday noon.

I have no idea whether or not any of these people will seem suitable for these jobs or not, but we'll play that as it comes. I have already learned - from the experience hiring the printer trainees last summer - that the most difficult part of these interviews is trying to get across to these newcomers just what it is that they will be doing. For most jobs that they may have done in the past, it was probably pretty straightforward. But given that this place is so 'off-beat', it's not so simple.

And compounding the problem is the fact that what they will see when they are here - a messy, 'under construction', kind of strange place - is not what I want them to see. I want them to see the Mokuhankan that can come into being, if we get a good crew together, form a good game plan, and then execute it properly. I myself can see it clearly - the sort of thing I wrote about more than a year ago in this set of posts - but communicating this to other people is very very difficult.

So to help with this process, I made a simple kind of chart: one that shows the different projects going on here these days, positioned on a kind of timeline. This will help them understand as I talk about 'Where we have been', and try to explain 'Where we are going ...' And it's not just they who will get a clearer idea of the 'big picture' - putting this together helped me do so too! I have no colour printer here, so I'll run off a few copies of this tomorrow morning at the 7-11, and then use it during the interviews ...

Here's a .jpg image of the chart (click for an enlargement), or you can get the thing as a .pdf here.

(It is - I'm sorry - only in Japanese ...)

'Shrink' back down ... | Discussion [0]