WINTER STUDIO WORKSPACE RESIDENCY - February 16 - February 25, 2025
Florence Neal, Patty Hudak, Julie Strasheim, Ariadna Abadal Lloret
In total 4 artists joined us this winter, 3 by application and 1 by invitation. This year’s invited artist was the renowned artist and printmaker Florence Neal. The artists were greeted by a snow-covered Walla Walla, arriving at the tail end of a winter storm. Florence accomplished so much during this residency; installed an exhibition, worked on prints that are part of that body of work, as well as started a new set of prints using CNC router carved woodblocks. Julie worked on a series of prints made using hand carved leaf designs and printed with rain water collected in Walla Walla. The work, printed on translucent washi, is inspired by her photograpghs of fallen leaves on water and is a reflection on death and cycles (of life). Ariadna created a print inspired by her time in Walla Walla, depicting scenes of the snow-covered park across from the studio. Patty laser carved and cut about twelve shape-based blocks. Using the laser for carving allowed her the time to experiment with many ways of printing them. By the end of the residency the weather was warm, and the snow was gone. Ten days go by so quick, but we hope this opportunity to come together with other artists and work through new ideas has been great inspiration for the work they started and to that waiting to be created.
SPECIAL RESIDENCY - November 15 - December 1, 2024
Chihiro Taki
We are honored to have hosted Chihiro Taki for a special residency in late November 2024. Over the course of nearly two weeks, she contributed to our community in several meaningful ways, including presenting a demonstration at Walla Walla University, assisting with the annual Winter Children’s Workshops, and creating a stunning print that we hope to share with you soon. She first visited Walla Walla in 2016 as part of the inaugural MPS exhibition, Exploring Fragility and Transience, at Foundry Vineyards Gallery. This exhibition featured the work of several young mokuhanga artists from Tokyo, Japan. It has been incredible to witness the growth and evolution of her creative practice since then. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to have her here and look forward to seeing where her artistic journey takes her next!
SUMMER STUDIO WORKSPACE RESIDENCY - June 18 - June 27, 2024
Mike Lyon, Vicky Takamori, Benjamin Selby
It was such an amazing time having Mike Lyon, Vicky Takamori, and Benjamin Selby here for this summers residency. It was nine days full of creative exploration: using laser engraving, CNC engraving, experimental printing techniques, and much more. We hope that you all have been inspired by your time here as well as by the work of your fellow artists to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible. It really is the work of these three artists that made it so successful. We are excited to see what they make in the future. This and our other residencies have all been made possible with the hard work and support of Keiko Hara, Lynn Sealey, Rob Wight, Mark Giordano, Kayo Hirao, and Charles Marr. We are incredibly thankful to Rob for continuing to give our artists a place to work and stay.
WINTER STUDIO WORKSPACE RESIDENCY - January 22 - January 31, 2024
April Vollmer, Andrew Stone, Charles Spitzack, Kathleen Hargrave
Mokuhanga Project Space’s mission is to promote and support mokuhanga by exploring new dimensions of the art form in a global context. Artists chosen for this residency showed a willingness to explore, innovate, and push the boundaries of mokuhanga both technically and/or conceptually. The studio space is typically one of Keiko Hara's when not used by MPS, sits right across the street from the beautiful Pioneer Park. In total 4 artists joined us, 3 by application and 1 by invitation. This year’s invited artist was renowned artist and printmaker April Vollmer.
SUMMER PROJECT RESIDENCY - July 10 - July 18, 2023
Florence Neal
Wood to Water: Resurfacing
"Wood to Water: Resurfacing" explored the elements of water and trees through the medium of water-based woodblock prints, giving voice to immediate environmental concerns. From nature to art, water to wood, wood to paper, Florence worked on-site at Walla Walla's Pioneer Park arboretum to produce a set of mokuhanga prints stemming from selected trees. Water and wood, both the theme and medium of this project, continually interchanged during the creation process, resonating in the final prints.
