Mokulito/Mokuhanga project - when oil based wood lithography meets Japanese water based woodblock - Apologies for the film quality here - our plannned film is currently in lock down on a broken computer. However, this is a great chance to give an overview of this very experimental project and to show you a little bit of Japanese woodblock proof printing. You will find much more detail about Japanese woodblock printing in my other films - check out the playlists for complete series.
Mokulito is a wood lithography method I learned with East London Printmakers with Caroline Whitehead’s expert tuition https://www.eastlondonprintmakers.co.uk

Mokulito/Mokuhanga Project Introduction to Combining Wood Lithography & Japanese Woodblock Printing - Here are some links I mention in this film where I map out and mark up my first blocks to marry these two techniques:
East London Printmakers for Caroline Whitehead's excellent Mokulito course: https://www.eastlondonprintmakers.co.uk/

My woodblock playlist from this channel where you can learn more about the mokuhanga end of this project: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_FISn0pJWcA1aTmqjjHXrmAQ4mv9yTqA

A link to Handprinted for cutting tools if you are in the UK: https://handprinted.co.uk/

Polydraw 0.50 is the plastic tracing film I'm using - here's a link to Amazon, but you can get it in rolls and pads from specialist art suppliers too and it may work out cheaper so do check! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Polydraw-050mm-Double-Matt-Leaf/dp/B0090LNG7O

Preparing a Mokulito Block: Mokulito/Mokuhanga Project combining wood litho & Japanese woodblock - Here’s a link to the page I used for mixing my gum Arabic powder with water https://www.naturalpigments.com/gum-arabic-powder.html
In the film I am using bitumen roofing paint - I bought mine from Screwfix
I’m using an office carbon paper, I don’t have the name for that, but it wasn’t a very cheap make - it deposits a good thick layer of carbon.

Damping Different Papers for my Mokulito (wood lithography) /Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock) Project - Short and sweet this video - the papers I am using are BFK Rives 280g paper and Awagami Paper Factory's Yoshino https://awagami.com/products/copy-of-handmade-tesuki-art-sheets-thick-white-set-of-4

The brush I am using to wet the paper by hand is a brush I bought in Japan, but you can get a similar one here in the UK https://handprinted.co.uk/collections/japanese-woodblock/products/japanese-water-brush?variant=25613594558528 and in the US you can find similar at https://www.washiarts.com/tools/wide-japanese-mizubake-water-brush-mokuhang

A video detailling damping paper for Japanese woodblock printing here https://youtu.be/ZrQbaTjxXsEjapanese woodblock

If you are enjoying & learning from my films and would like to chip in and help us keep these videos free at source, we have a fundraising page at GoFundMe gf.me/u/zd8bcq

Printing Mokulito Block One - Mokulito/Mokuhanga Project, Japanese woodblock and wood lithography - My first printing and it's oil based so we can see how the water based Japanese woodblock will sit over the oil based relief ink. I am using Cranfield traditional oil based ink and the colour is cut 50/50 with extender, then boiled linseed oil is added to make a soft mixture.

Tip - if you are using the kento system to register, send the print through the press kento corner first, it can move if you send it through corner last.

Stick on Kentos are available from Handprinted in the UK https://handprinted.co.uk/collections/japanese-woodblock/products/kento-corner-stickers, My etching press comes from Art Equipment Ltd https://www.art-equipment.co.uk/

We boobed, but it's OK! Cutting Kentos and my Japanese Woodblock for the Mokuhanga, Mokulito project - Things go wrong and that's OK - we messed up the filming, I changed my mind about the blocks - it's real life! We considered reshooting all this to make it run more smoothly, but that seemed wrong. The whole point of this series is that I'm learning and documenting my trials as I go.

Aligning Multiple Mokulito Blocks for my Mokolito/Mokuhanga project - Mokulito is a slightly dark art and it is important to understand what needs to stay wet or dry etc to get it working well. In this film I'm sharing some basic dos and don'ts as well as printing up my second block to line up with the foreground

A Mokulito Print from Start to Finish - Follow the who process of creating 'Sisters' from start to finish. You can see - and buy - the print on my website. It costs £65 and there are 18 prints in the edition https://www.lauraboswell.co.uk/printgallery.php

The board I am using is cheap builder's plywood and I have marked it up with carbon paper (the more carbon you can deposit the better!) Charbonnel liquid ground and a random lip liner pencil. I'm inking with Cranfield's traditional oil based ink mixed 50-50 with extender and enough boiled linseed oil to make the ink sloppy. The printing paper is cotton rag paper and it is damp for printing.

I think it is a good idea to take a course if possible. I studied with Caroline Whitehead, an excellent teacher, at East London Printmakers and I can thoroughly recommend the class.woodblock cutting tools,
multiblock printing
mokulito
wood lithography