The Japanese Paper Place Homepage
About The Japanese Paper Place Section
Who we are
What We Do
What People Say
Warehouse
About Japanese Paper Section
About Washi
Who Uses Washi
Inspiration Gallery
Wholesale Section
Online Catalogue
What's New
Terms & Ordering
Trade Shows
Retail Section
Partner Resellers
Artist Resource Centre
Specialty Papers
Tools
How to Order
Goings On
Workshops
Events
On the Road
Contact Us Frequently Asked Questions Site Map Legal Stuff

Below are some previously showcased works using Japanese paper we are pleased to be able to share with you. Roll your mouse over each image to see it enlarged.

Inuit prints from the Cape Dorset Printmaking Co-op, Nunavut, Canada

The first catalogued collection of graphic art was produced in the Cape Dorset print studio in 1959 and the practice of producing an annual collection of prints continues to this day.  In the 60's, any Inuit still lived in camps and would make drawings there in their traditional environment. During the next visit to the trading post, the artists would present their finished work for sale in the hope of having one or more made into limited edition stonecuts, stencils, or engravings.

Today, most artists work in their homes in Cape Dorset and more recent printing techniques also include lithographs, etchings and aquatints. Although many of the early artists are now deceased, a new generation has emerged, also expressing their unique vision in strong compositions and compelling images.

Washi has been used from the very beginning in Cape Dorset for both stencil prints and the stonecuts, often mixing the two techniques in the same print.

Kenoujouak's Golden BirdsIn 2003, The Japanese Paper Place arranged for a family of 3 Japanese papermaking generations to visit Cape Dorset, to introduce them to the printmakers who were using their paper. The highlight was the presentation by the Co-op of one of Kenojouak's "Golden Bird" stonecut to the Osaki family, a magnificent glowing print on fine seichosen kozo.

In addition to being aesthetically appealing, Inuit works on paper offer invaluable documentation and insights into a culture that endured largely untouched until the middle of the 20th century.

If you would like to read more about this fascinating piece of Canadian art history, check out the new book release by Leslie Boyd called Cape Dorset Prints: a Retrospective or to purchase a print visit www.dorsetfinearts.com.


Rebecca Cowan

"As  printmakers, we are drawn increasingly to beautiful paper and so I discovered what Japanese papers would do for my work. Images that looked quite ordinary on ordinary paper seemed to glow on fine thin Japanese paper.

Green-Eyed Dreamer detail: translucence
Detail of Green-Eyed Dreamer translucence - click on image to enlarge

"This series of little etched accordion books, "Small Stories of Big Ideas" was inspired by an etching class which I was teaching in which I used a long skinny plate to demonstrate a number of techniques. The result appeared to fall readily into this book form and I did the first of a series of 5 books as a result. They were so little that I could spring for very good quality paper which absorbs the ink completely.

"It is the combination of the strength and yet the seeming fragility and translucence of the paper that I really like. I like the idea of art which is so small you can take it wherever you go and when you have a bad day, you can open it up and be transported somewhere else. There may be more in the series..."

Kingston, Ontario printmaker Rebecca Cowan can be reached at bjwan@sympatico.ca.

Trust Think Big Green-Eyed Dreamer Shadows
       
       

Brian Kelley

"An artist can start out with an idea that he or she forces on the world or they can let the world slip something in, but what's produced by this interaction is always going to have surprises. It's not like you can get an idea and go "click" it's manifested. You deal with what's involved with working out that idea and you get new things happening, unexpected things hopefully, that play with you, that irritate and even imitate you."

    - Brian Kelley

Having first discovered washi as a substrate for woodblock prints during his studies with Toshi Yoshida in Japan in 1980, he has been endlessly exploring its other possibilities for drawing, pastel, watercolour, etching, chine collé, and pochoir (stencil prints) since then.

Cape Dorset, woodcut
River, woodcut
Brandywind Falls, woodcut
Sky is the limit, woodcut and pochoir
Webster Falls, woodcut and pochoir
Game, woodcut
Forest Floor, pochoir
Woodcut book
Apricots and Rose, pochoir
Peaches as Plums, pochoir

Drawing and Painting

Japanese papers, especially 100% kozo or gampi, can add depth and richness to painting. Using water-based paints, especially gouache, inks and fabric paints, the effects of the special union of paper and paint can be explored. By adding drawing mediums over the paint, a wide variety of effect can be expressed on a single piece of washi. Here are some examples.

Lorraine Pritchard Susan Low-Beer
Paths 1 Paths 2 detail, Tools for Daily Living closeup, Tools for Daily Living
Drawing with graphite, coloured pencil and ink on kozo cards Mixed drawing and painting media on various washi
Susan Wood Mary Jane Varro
Bleeding Tulips Falling Leaves Untitled Untitled
Ink, watercolour, collage on gampi and kozo Fabric paints and wax resist on Kozuke
       

Home Decor

A boring worktable dressed up with cheery Tairei sheets.

Our very own creative Kayoko Torii sewed these colourful curtains out of Watermark Tissues.
You've seen shoji screens - how about shoji shutters?  Simple and classy.

Invitations

Tara Moore-Jones created these stunning invitations, showcasing Chiyogami and Opaque papers with Watermark Tissue overlays.

Fine Art

Mary Jane Varro
Technique: Stitching & Dyeing

Susan Low-Beer
Technique: Painting

   
Kenojuak
Technique: Stonecut & Stencil
Leah Taylor
Technique: Collage
Milt Jewell
Technique: Encaustic Monoprint