In December 2014 Corvidae hosted a fabulous workshop given by Betsy Best Spadoro. This two day workshop was a rapid hands-on introduction to the basics of Japanese water-based wood cut (Moku Hanga), using watercolor paints & Nori paste rather than printmaking inks.  The six workshop participants stayed very busy: we all managed to create our own 3 block prints (3 colors) with pretty decent (kento) registration. And we all had fun! Betsy provided the entire setup with good quality tools, very nice plywood for the plates, carefully pre-cut proofing & print papers, all prepped and ready to allow us time to carve our plates, and print! She is wonderfully organized! Betsy learned this technique in a two month residency in Japan, and does a great job of introducing it to students in a two day workshop. 

The lovely little print shown at the end of this photo series was a demonstration print she created during the workshop:  note the lovely gradation of color in the blue sky: the darker blue was added after the first three colors are printed, with the paper kept damp. This shading method is called bokashi.