Japanese Woodblock and following the Tokaido

On Thursday April 1 at 3:30 in room 2059 in the 2000 building, see Campus Map, artist and printmaker Walt Padgett will share his quest for knowledge about Japanese woodblock prints.

In 1984, Walt Padgett bicycled the route of the ancient Tokaido Road in search of the actual places and landscapes depicted in the famous woodblock prints by Ando Hiroshige and Jun'ichiro Sekino, the "53 Stations of the Tokaido." In this slide lecture, he will talk about the old and modern Tokaidos, explore comparisons between the two great woodblock artists' works and the subjects they chose to depict, and share his own adventures of the road.

Walt Padgett began making woodcuts in 1976, hand printed in the western tradition, but when he witnessed an exhibition and demonstration of the Japanese woodblock printing method in 1978, he became enthralled. He completed an intensive one month of study at the Yoshida Hanga Academy in Tokyo in 1983 and has made three subsequent trips to Japan since. His current work reflects both western and eastern influences.

Tokaido series: Totsuka, Boys' Festival 2009 11 1/4" x 18"

His work is on display at the SCC Gallery from April 1 to May 4.

For more information, contact Art Instructor and SCC Gallery Director, Natalie Niblack.

Information and copy of artwork courtesy Shoreline Community College Gallery.