IMC 2024 Echizen submission

Faith Stone's submission to the 2024 International Mokuhanga Conference (IMC) print exchange, the triennial gathering that has become the central convening point for the contemporary mokuhanga movement since its founding in 2011. The Echizen designation refers to the handmade [washi](/glossary/washi) from Fukui Prefecture used as the printing substrate — a [kozo](/glossary/kozo)-fiber paper prized for its strength under repeated [baren](/glossary/baren) burnishing and its receptivity to layered water-based pigments. Submissions to IMC exchanges typically follow a small-format specification, encouraging printmakers to demonstrate technical refinement within constrained dimensions. For Stone, whose practice centers on American Buddhist iconography rendered through traditional Japanese mokuhanga technique, the IMC exchange represents participation in the international printmaker community that her teacher Hiroki Morinoue helped cultivate at Donkey Mill Art Center in Kailua-Kona. The exchange format — where each contributing artist receives a complete portfolio of every other participant's print — places her devotional subject matter in conversation with the global range of approaches now defining contemporary mokuhanga practice.