Water-based Mokuhanga and Stencils – Prof. Keiko Hara
Machine-carved Mokuhanga – Prof. Benjamin Selby
5 – day workshop
Monday to Friday 9 am – 5 pm
Dates: March 30 – April 3, 2026
Arrival date: on Sunday March 29, around 6 pm.
Departure date: on Friday April 3, after 5 pm.
6-8 participants
Where? At the Art Print Residence, located in Arenys de Munt, near Barcelona.
Description
Art Print Residence is delighted to welcome Keiko Hara and Benjamin Selby, from the Mokuhanga Project Space, for a special exploration of contemporary visions in Mokuhanga. Through their unique perspectives and creative practices, they will guide students into the evolving language of this traditional Japanese printmaking technique.
In this immersive printmaking workshop, students will be introduced to the expressive possibilities of Mokuhanga and stencil printing on delicate washi paper—where water, pigment, and wood converge to transform the image into something dimensional, luminous, and alive.
Guided by the subtlety of the water-based Mokuhanga technique, carved woodblocks are inked with translucent pigments and pressed by hand into the fibers of washi, allowing color to sink deep into its textured surface. Through stencil work, pigment is gently layered onto the paper, capturing both gesture and form in a process that celebrates touch, rhythm, and materiality.
Students will explore the full spectrum of the technique—from designing block sets (to be either hand-carved or machine-carved with a router), to inking and hand-printing using traditional Mokuhanga methods. No press is required. Water is the only solvent. Students will create richly multilayered prints, each one a singular reflection of this timeless and ever-evolving craft.
Accommodation
The accommodation at the residency will be in shared rooms* and it is included on the price of the course. Meals and drinks are not included.
* Individual accommodation is also available at the hotel in the village (not in the residency). Please, note the price of the pack will be slightly higher for that option.
Booking The Class
We offer an all-inclusive package covering tuition, materials, and shared accommodation at the residency for a total cost of 2.200 €
* For private accommodation at the hotel, the cost o the package is 2.500€.
Workshop Program
Day 1:
9-12:30pm: Keiko – Introduction to Basic Mokuhanga
12:30-1:30pm: Break
1:30-5pm: Ben – Introduction to CNC Carving and Digital Designs
Day 2:
9-12:30pm: Keiko – Introduction to Stencil Printing
12:30-1:30pm: Break
1:30-5pm: Individual Project Worktime
Day 3:
9-12:30pm: Individual Project Worktime
12:30-1:30pm: Break
1:30-3pm: Individual Project Worktime
3-4pm: Ben: CNC Block Printing Demo
4-5pm: Individual Project Worktime
Day 4:
9-12:30pm: Individual Project Worktime
12:30-1:30pm: Break
1:30-5pm: Individual Project Worktime
Day 5
9-12:30pm: Individual Project Worktime
12:30-1:30pm: Break
1:30-4pm: Individual Project Worktime
4-5pm: Reflections
What we provide:
- Shared accommodation in the apartment enclosed to the studio (or private accommodation at the hotel).
- A peaceful, bright, and charming, cozy atelier.
- Space in the studio to create.
- Tools and materials listed below.
Materials provided to artists:
- 2 Shina plywood 30×22,5cm (for hand-carving)
- 2 Shina plywood 15×22,5cm (for machine-carving)
- 3 sheets of Kozo natural Select 46 g/m2 52x43cm from Awagami Factory
- 3 sheets of Kitakata Gampi 36 g/m2 52x43cm from Awagami Factory
- Apron
Mokuhanga Tools available for use in the studio:
- Carving tools. Power Grip 5-tool set
- Sharpening stones
- Plastic Barens
- Baking paper for use as ategami
- Tosai’s Gouache Set
- Guerra pigment dispersions
- Holbein Pigment Paste Set
- Liquid Sumi ink
- Pigment cups
- Printing brushes
- Pigment brushes
- Water brushes
- Squirt bottles
- Spray bottles
- Rice and wheat starch glue
- Zokin
- Sponges for bokashi
- Non-slip mats
- Bench hook
- Handsaw
- Jigsaw
- CNC router machine
- Plastic damp pack covers
- Blotting paper
- Boards for drying the prints
Miscellaneous tools and supplies provided in the studio:
- Drawing tools, pens, pencils, erasers, brushes, etc.
- Drawing paper, copy paper
- Tracing paper for color separations
- Transfer paper
- Long metal rulers, craft knives, cutting mats, scissors.
- Masking tape
- Newsprint paper, newspapers
- Cleaning supplies: soap, rags, towels, brushes, etc.
- Laser Printer
Additional Materials available for purchase:
(Subject to availability)
- Kozo Natural Select, Kitakata Gampi, Mingeshi, Kizuki, Mulberry, Tengucho, Gampi, Okawara papers from Awagami Factory
- Non sized Japanese papers: Arakaji, Hosokawa, Mitsumata, Seikosen
- Colored papers for Chine Collé
- Shina plywood
What should participants bring?
- Carving knives (if participants have them)
- Baren (if participants have it)
- Sketchbook
- Photographic images for reference
- Laptop (advisable)
About the Teachers
Keiko Hara
Keiko Hara moved to the USA from Japan to pursue her career as an artist and earned an MFA at Cranbrook Academy of Art, and was granted United States permanent resident status as an artist. She lives and works in Walla Walla, WA, where she is professor of art emeritus at Whitman College.
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
1976 M.F.A., Printmaking, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI
1975 M.A., Printmaking, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
1974 B.F.A., Painting, Mississippi State University for Women, Columbus, MS
1966 Painting, Oita-Kenritsu Art College, Oita, Japan
1964 Painting and Drawing, Gendai Art School, Tokyo, Japan
TEACHING
2006–Present Professor of Art, Emerita, Whitman College, Walla Walla, W
1985–2006 Professor of Art, Chair of Art Dept.,Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
1980–1985 University of Wisconsin-River Falls, River Falls, WI
1978–1980 Carthage College, Kenosha, WI
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2017 Artist in Residence, Pilchuck Glass Summer Program, Stanwood, W
2016 Public Art Commission, Washington State Arts Commission, Seattle, WA
2012 Mokuhanga Innovative Artist-in-Residence for Mid-Career, Tokyo, Japan
2011 Research Teaching Fellowship, Associated Kyoto Program (AKP), Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan
2008 Public Art Commission, Regional Arts & Culture Council, Portland, OR
2006 Public Art Commission, Washington State Arts Commission, Seattle, WA
2005 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, New York, NY
2000 Invitational Public Art Grant, King County Art Commission, Seattle, WA
1999 Northwest Academic Computing Consortium Grant (NWACC), Portland, OR
1997 Perry Summer Research Grant, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
Gellet Teaching Fellowship. Purchase Award, Portland Art Museum/Gilkey Center for Graphic Arts, Portland, OR
1994 Fellowship Grant, Artist Trust, Seattle, WA
1991 Purchase Award, Oita Art College, Oita, Japan
1989 Artist-in-Residence at Centrum, Pacific Rim Cultural Connection Project, Washington State, Centennial Commission, Olympia, WA
1987 Research Teaching Fellowship, Associated Kyoto Program (AKP), Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan
1984 Selection Award, Philadelphia Print Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA
1983 Artist-in-Residence Grant, Artpark, Lewiston, NY
1976 First Prize, Michigan Print & Drawing Exhibition, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
PERMANENT COLLECTION:
PUBLIC SPACES
Arkansas Arts Center, AR
Art Institute of Chicago, IL
ASU Art Collection, Temple, AZ
AT & T Co., Chicago, IL
Bellevue Art Museum, WA
Chapman & Cutler, Chicago, IL
Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Art, Racine, WI
Council House-Johnson Wax Company, Racine, WI
Cray Research Co., Minneapolis, MN
Detroit Institute of Art, MI
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
IBM Corporation, Chicago, IL
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, WSU, Pullman, WA
Jundt Art Museum, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA
King County Public Art Commission, Seattle, WA
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
MacMurray College, Jacksonville, IL
Marshall Field & Co., Chicago, IL
Microsoft Software Co., Seattle, WA
Milwaukee Art Museum, WI
Muskegon Museum of Art, MI
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, WA
Oita Art College, Oita, Japan
Piper, Jaffrey & Hopwood Inc., Minneapolis, MN
Portland Art Museum/Gilkey Center for Graphic Arts, Portland, OR
Regional Arts & Culture Council, Portland, OR
Sony Co., Washington, DC
St. Paul Company, Minneapolis, MN
Tacoma Art Museum, WA
Vail Athletic Club, Vail, CO
Washington Art Consortium/Western Gallery, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
Washington State Art Commission’s Public Art Collection, WA
Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA
Yale New Haven Hospital, CT
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
2017
Paper presentation, International Mokuhanga Conference at University of Hawai, Honolulu
Mokuhanga Workshop, International Mokuhanga Conference at Donkey Mill Art Center, Kona, Hawaii
Satellite Program at Donkey Mill Art Center, Kona, Hawaii
Co-organized Mokuhanga Print Center Summer Studio Program, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
2016
Panelist at SGCI Conference, Dynamic MIx: Japanese Woodblock in the U.S. Portland, OR March 30 – April 2
Organized Summer workshops and events for the Mokuhanga Center
2015
Co-founder of the Whitman College Mokuhanga Center
Juror, Artist Trust Fellowship
Benjamin Selby
Education
Frank Phillips College – Borger, TX
- Earned Transfer Credits / 2012 – 2015
West Texas A&M University – Canyon, TX
- BFA Studio Art / Digital Art (Minor)
- August 2015 – December 2018
- Summa Cum Laude
Arizona State University – Tempe, AZ
- MFA Printmaking
- August 2019 – May 2022
Residencies
Richard Steiner’s Kyoto International Mokuhanga School – Kyoto, Japan
- Three-month course studying mokuhanga
- May – August 2018
Mokuhanga Project Space 10 Day Studio Workspace Residency
- One month practicing mokuhanga
- June – July 2024
Karuizawa Mokuhanga School – Karuizawa, Japan
- One month practicing mokuhanga
- July – August 2024
Awards and Scholarships
Alma C Madden Visual Art Endowed Scholarship
- West Texas A&M University – 2016 and 2017
Emilio Caballero Memorial Scholarship
- West Texas A&M University – 2016
Isabel Robinson Art Scholarship
- West Texas A&M University – 2017
Don Ray Memorial Scholarship
- West Texas A&M University – 2018
Best of Show ACWT Show
- West Texas A&M University – 2017
Teaching Assistantship – 2020, 2021, and 2022
- Arizona State University HIDA
Nathan Cummings Graduate Travel Award – 2021
- Arizona State University HIDA
MFA Thesis Award – 2021
- Arizona State University HIDA
Professional Experience
Seasonal Worker/Signmaker/Youth Conservation Corp Leader
- Lake Meredith National Recreation Area and Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
- 2015 – 2017
Studio Assistant
- West Texas A&M University
- 2016 – 2018
Digital Lab Assistant
- ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
- January 2020 – May 2022
Instructor of Record
- ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
- 2d Design / January – May 2020
- Screen Printing 1 / August 2020 – December 2020
- Advance Screen Printing / August 2020 – December 2020
- Color Theory / January – May 2021
- Intro to Printmaking / August 2021 – December 2021
- Mokuhanga: Japanese Woodblock Printing / January – May 2022
Studio and Safety Technician
- Whitman College Fouts Center for the Visual Arts
- September 2022 – Current
Adjunct Instructor
- Whitman College Fouts Center for the Visual Arts
- Optic Image / January – May 2023 and August – December 2023
- New Media / January – May 2025
Advisory Board Member: Mokuhanga Project Space
- January 2023 – Current
Workshops, Lectures, and Demonstrations
Demonstration: Southern Graphics Council Conference 2021 Make Ready
- Photomechanical Mokuhanga: Laser Carved Halftones
- https://www.sgcinternational.org/makeready-events/
Demonstration: Mokuhanga International Conference 2021 Sumi Fusion
- Photomechanical Mokuhanga: Laser Carved Halftones
- http://2021.mokuhanga.org/2021/09/27/photomechanical-mokuhanga-laser-carved-halftones/
Artist Talk and Demonstration: University of Wisconsin Platteville
- February 2024
Artist Talks: Lincoln High School
- September 4, 2024
- December 3, 2024
Workshops: Mokuhanga Project Space
- Workshops: Foundry Vineyards Gallery
- July 23, 2023
- June 22-23, 2024
- June 9, 2025
- Winter Children’s Workshops: Whitman College
- December 3, 2023
- November 24, 2024
