McClain's

Is printmaking held in a different regard in Japan than it is in Europe or other places that you've experienced?

Tuula Moilanen
I think Japanese have a special relationship to prints, owing to their
long tradition in woodcut. They always nod acceptingly when I tell that
I am a woodblock printmaker. They know what I mean. Printmaking, along with
all art which is based on long training and craftsmanship, is valued
highly in Japan. On the contrary, when I was living in Italy I often
had difficulties in getting people to understand the process behind my
prints. After my long explanation about the woodcut techniques, some
people even suggested me to use a copy machine to make my life easier!

McClain's

In your travels, have you found the public to be educated about printmaking?

Tuula Moilanen
People interested in art usually know the basic methods in printmaking. But I am not sure about the average person. Probably they have no idea. It surely takes more education and personal interest to understand printmaking than it does to understand painting or sculpture.

Caught in the Sky , woodcut, 2004.

McClain's

Why woodcuts? Were you working in etchings and other mediums before concentrating on relief?

Tuula Moilanen

Woodcut has always been the back bone, the very core of my work. Before
moving in Japan in 1989, I was experimenting with many printmaking
techniques, but I never left my woodblocks for very long. In Kyoto I
concentrated about 10 years solely in watercolor woodcut, but nowadays
I sometimes use oil based inks too. Recently I have also started to
make paintings with acrylics and pastels. That is quite fun for a
change. But even now, I never leave my woodblocks for very long.

McClain's

What inspires your prints?

Tuula Moilanen

I like science fiction and fantasy the most, and get very inspired by mythology and all kinds of strange tales. I also like to read astronomy, quantum physics, medicine and other science books. Anything which has some surprising angle to the reality, gives me lots of visual ideas.

McClain's

What’s the story behind the image we chose for the cover? There are three images in that series.

The Staircase of Aesthetics, woodcut, 2004.

Tuula Moilanen

Usually my images are based on some written or visually experienced material, but the story of the hedgehog crossing over three dangerous bridges comes actually from my own life. There was a short period of time in the beginning of 2000, when I had a really tough time financially. I thought I'd never get over it, and the end of Tuula Moilanen had finally come. So what was there to do? As always when facing a problem, I took my pencils and started drawing the situation out from my head. When it is out, I feel better and I can think calmly about how to solve the problem. The cover picture "Moon Bridge" shows the hedgehog crossing over the bridge by using the moon as a stepping stone. The moral behind the picture is: "You can do it. Just believe." Well, I believed the idea of the hedgehog and made my sketches into prints. And then the miracle happened: the Bridge series became one of my most successful and best selling works in exhibitions. Having a money problem brought me money! So, whenever you are having trouble, don't panic or feel down. Take difficulties as challenges. Use your problems as precious material for stepping ahead. You can do it. Just believe.

Fish Bridge, woodcut, 2000.

Snake Bridge, woodcut, 2000.

Moon Bridge, woodcut, 2000.

McClain's

What was it about Japan that attracted you to live and study there?

Tuula Moilanen

I visited Japan first time in 1987 for three weeks. The first day in Tokyo was so much like homecoming, that it surprised me completely. I have never had such a nostalgic feeling in any other country where I have traveled.  On that short trip, I got a chance to visit some ukiyo-e printmakers and traditional paper makers. Seeing the craftsman "live" made me really hot and anxious to know more about their ways of working. During the same visit I met printmaker Akira Kurosaki at Kyoto Seika University. That was the final hook. When talking to him I knew instantly that I want to study with him. I sent my application to Seika very soon after returning to Finland, and was lucky to be accepted as a research student starting in spring 1989.

McClain's

Your colors are very vibrant and strong. Are you using dry pigments and nikawa?

Tuula Moilanen
I tried using pigment powders when I started my woodcut studies in
Japan, but mixing them was too tedious and time consuming for me.
Messy, too! Now I solely use ready made tube colors in my work. My trick is to add a tiny drop of white into bright colors, in order to make them more opaque and luminous.

McClain's

How much do you adhere to the traditionalist Moku Hanga methods you've learned?

Tuula Moilanen

A lot. For example I am totally dependent on Japanese traditional
registration method, kento. It is such a wonderful and perfect
invention, that I use it even in my black and white oil based woodcuts.
The other important Japanese technique for me is bokashi, the variety
of color gradations. I simply love them, as you can easily see in my
prints.

Dream, woodcut, 1989.

McClain's

We met in Pennsylvania during a workshop you hosted with Kenji Takenaka, a master printer from Kyoto. Can you talk a little bit about him, his mission, and what you have learned from working and teaching with him?

Tuula Moilanen
Mr. Takenaka is very enthusiastic with his work with ukiyo-e prints. Unfortunately he is very busy teaching and organizing events, and thus does not have much time to develop his own art work. Let's hope he can do so in the future. He certainly has a perfect background for it. I teach drawing and painting to his woodcut students at his workshop in Kyoto. I think we are both learning from each other. Not so much in the methods of woodcut, but culturally. He shows me the Japanese way of thinking and I show him my Finnish stubborness.

McClain's

What advice would you give a beginner to Moku Hanga?

Tuula Moilanen

1. Enjoy learning  2. Try many different paper qualities to find the
one suitable to your printing  3. Learn to sharpen your tools properly.
Using dull blades is the main reason for accidents 4. Love what you do  
5. Don't compare your work with other's work. You are unique.

McClain's

Do you think it's necessary for every artist to travel internationally?

Tuula Moilanen
I think there are two ways of traveling: One is actually moving your body and going out to see the Big World. The other is sitting still in one spot and seeing the Big World inside yourself. Both traveling styles are important, and the latter is even cost-free. Widening the views of life and seeing other cultures is beneficial to everybody, not only artists. Sometimes it is good to go abroad just for understanding how nice it is to be back home again.

To see more of Tuula's work, please visit her website at http://www.tuulamoilanen.net

Audhumbla, woodcut, 2004.