
Untitled
- Image courtesy of
- Artist website (Katherine Kenal)
Description
This untitled woodblock print emerged from Kenal's participation in the MI-LAB Basic Training Program A in Echizen, where Canadian and other international artists work through a structured curriculum on traditional mokuhanga technique. Untitled studies from the residency typically explore single-block or two-block registrations, allowing the maker to test kento alignment, baren pressure, and the absorbency of locally produced kozo washi. The print likely demonstrates controlled water-based pigment application — a defining feature of Japanese woodblock printing distinct from oil-based Western relief methods — and may incorporate bokashi gradations achieved by brushing pigment unevenly onto the dampened block. Within Kenal's wider practice, prints from this residency document her transition into a tradition that prioritizes the integration of paper, water, and carved wood. The absence of a title is consistent with how MI-LAB participants designate technical exercises and developmental works, leaving the formal qualities of carving and impression to speak without narrative framing.



