Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
By Annie Charnley Eveland* special to the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
April 29, 2025
Works from a Mokuhanga Project Space residency will be exhibited May 2-July 13 at Foundry Vineyards Gallery, 1111 Abadie St. The main reception is set there from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2.
“MPS has hosted the participating 12 artists in five separate 10-day residencies. We will host four more artists in June for Residency 6,” according to a release from MPS co-directors Keiko Hara and Lynn Sealey.
A reception during the summer residency will be from 4-6 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at the Foundry gallery.
“Some of our resident artists come from afar: Italy, Japan, Scotland and Spain,” evidence the art is spreading around the world,” Sealey said.
The Watermarks exhibitions showcase prints made by artists who have taken part in the Mokuhanga Project Space residencies in Walla Walla since summer 2023, according to a release.
The traditional Japanese woodblock printing method called Mokuhanga exemplifies the use of natural materials such as wood, water, pigment and paper.
The method has deep roots in history and is a growing international art form. Mokuhanga Project Space in Walla Walla provides artists with the time, space and support to push the boundaries of the medium, encouraging new ideas, deeper
exploration and meaningful connection to materials and place.
“At its core, mokuhanga uses simple materials, yet is a deceptively complex process that relies on water at every stage, from moisture in the air to mixing pigments, dampening paper and wetting the woodblocks. That deep connection to water makes it especially meaningful today, as artists explore environmental concerns and our changing relationship with the natural world,” according to Sealey.
Mokuhanga Project Space was created to give artists the time and space to go beyond the basics, to experiment, take risks, and advance the art form in new and thoughtful ways.
Watermarks brings together work created during and in response to each artist’s time in residence, reflecting their personal responses to the environment, the materials and this unique moment in mokuhanga’s ongoing evolution.
“Through this exhibition we hope to show how this centuries old art form continues to grow through the hands of today’s artists and the flow of water that ties it all together,” Sealey said.
Find out more about the nonprofit Mokuhanga Project Space at Mokuhangaprojectspace.org. It has been promoting the method through workshops, residencies and exhibitions since 2016. Donations are welcome to help MPS with expenses connected with workshops it hosts and for its residencies and exhibitions.
Lisa Anderson and the Foundry Vineyards team have provided long standing support of MPS.
* Retired editor/journalist Annie Charnley Eveland freelances the Etcetera column and stories for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.