Mokuhanga and Japanese Papermaking with Elspeth Lamb and Alison Newman: Academician's Masterclass | RSA x Edinburgh Printmakers
Edinburgh Printmakers, photo Eleanor Buffam
Day 1: Edinburgh Printmakers, 10am - 5.00pm
Day 2 and 3: Royal Scottish Academy, 10am - 4pm
Early Bird: £380
Standard: £420
Concession (Student, Senior Citizen (65+), Unemployed, Disabled): £400
Discover Japanese papermaking and Mokuhanga woodblock printing in this unique three-day workshop developed by Elspeth Lamb RSA and Alison Newman. This masterclass is part of a new collaboration between the RSA and Edinburgh Printmakers, offering a unique opportunity to learn from acclaimed Scottish artists
An Early Bird Discount is available for bookings made 1 month prior to the start date! Completion of this course also entitles you to a FREE 3-month Associate Membership at Edinburgh Printmakers to use the studio and consolidate your skills.
On the first day, we will explore the process of making fine, high-quality paper using Eastern fibres, including Kozo, Mitsumata and Gampi plants. Working with a range of mould sizes, including a traditional Japanese sugeta, you will create a collection of handmade papers.
The following two days at the RSA will focus on Mokuhanga, a Japanese Woodblock printing technique. We will use traditional cutting knives, Japanese inking brushes and barens (printing pads) and introduce you to artisan sumi ink sticks from Japan.
Printing on Kozo (Mulberry) paper sourced from Tokyo, you’ll produce a small edition of Mokuhanga prints, crafted using traditional methods once used by Hiroshige, one of Japan's most celebrated print masters. The masterclass will use the reductive print method, in which sections of the same block are removed and printed to achieve layers of colours.
About Elspeth Lamb RSA
Elspeth Lamb RSA is a Scottish artist who works across several media including printmaking, collage and watercolour.
Lamb taught at Edinburgh College of Art for 21 years, latterly as Head of the Department of Printmaking. She gave up her academic post in Edinburgh in 1999 to allow more time for her practice and has continued to deliver workshops at many art colleges and art centres across the UK and abroad.
In 2000, Lamb undertook an international residency project in Japan in the village of Nagasawa, where she learned the Mokuhanga woodblock printing method from master printer/carvers. She has returned to Japan several times since to study oriental papermaking and Mokuhanga, and took part in a pilot project in Echizen last year (an area of Japan which has around 50 papermills), to explore the properties of Japanese sumi ink when used in combination with locally produced washi papers.
The influence of Japanese techniques and subject matter is clear in her recent work. Lamb currently works from her studio Bon à Tirer Editions in Glasgow, producing lithographic and Mokuhanga prints. Her book Papermaking for Printmakers was published in 2006 by A&C Black, Soho Square, London and has sold worldwide.
Alison Newman
Alison studied Fine Art Printmaking at Glasgow School of Art (GSA), and this is where her interest in papermaking and paperart began, under the tutelage of paper artist Jacki Parry RSA. After several years facilitating creative learning experiences, Alison returned to GSA where she completed her MPhil 'Multiple Settings', researching papermaking as a therapeutic medium within community environments. To further her knowledge of Japanese papermaking, Alison travelled to Awagami Kaikan, in Tokushima, Japan in 2004. She then established PULP: Paper Arts Workshop in 2005, a Glasgow based papermaking studio dedicated to the medium. Here, she produces her own paper, tutors workshops and courses, works on commissions and makes her own small etchings inspired by the fibres and forms she finds during the papermaking process.
