Added linework and fire colors by hand to the work-in-progress print I made during a weekend Mokuhanga workshop. It is a study based on “New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Ōji“ by Utagawa Hiroshige. Also, this is a cropped version of the print, as I needed it to fit on an envelope. Otherwise, composition has more space.
Lunar New Year-themed envelope. Design on top done using a rubber stamp I carved.
Finally had time to do a few of official Postcrossing cards. Sending the “Space Shiba” postcard by Stéphane Casier to China. The recipient likes Moomins so I could not resist drawing one from a set of stickers. By the way, it is so lovely when artists offer postcards. Stéphane has so many! I know they are not the most lucrative item to offer - low priced, so need to sell a lot.
You guys were so supportive when I posted my first linocut back in early 2025. I want to share my progress since then. I quickly ran into difficulties printing that particular block and after exhausting all possibilities of fixing the issues, I've decided to recarve the design. That was a learning process too as I’ve tried different materials and had to abandon, regroup and redo several times, so it took me a year to reach the desired result. Eventually, I tried carving on gomuban (Japanese rubber) and that material seems to work best for me in terms of carving and, even more important, printing. I feel like I do not get along with grey lino when it comes to printing - it is so finicky. Photos are: new print / old print / new gomuban block.
Tetra Pak prints of Teto from "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" manga, including a hand-colored one.