A Career in Five Prints

Willy Wonka

Printmaker · Woodblock Carving & Water-based Printing · Kanazawa

willy.wonka@example.com +81 555 018 2203 wonka-prints.example.com

FOREWORD

I carve and print woodblocks in Kanazawa, working mostly in water-based sumi and Prussian blue. Over 11 years I have cut around 340 blocks and pulled roughly 6,200 impressions, from single-sheet commissions to a 24-print landscape series. I keep registration error under 0.3 mm, which my chiropractor says explains a lot.

THE SERIES · WORK

Five prints, arranged in order of carving, newest block first

PRINT V

Master Printmaker & Studio Head

2020 – Present

Wonka Print Studio · Kanazawa

Run a 3-person studio producing 14 to 18 limited editions per year, each in runs of 50 to 120 sheets.
Completed "Rivers of Kaga," a 24-print series sold through 6 galleries; the edition of 80 sold out in 14 months.
Teach a monthly carving workshop capped at 8 seats, 41 sessions held so far with a 70% return rate.

PRINT IV

Senior Carver

2016 – 2020

Hokusui Print Works · Toyama

Carved key blocks and up to 9 color blocks per design for a catalogue of 60 reproduction prints.
Cut average block-carving time from 26 to 19 hours per key block by reworking the knife sequence for hair lines.
Trained 4 apprentice carvers; all 4 passed the workshop's third-year proof test on the first attempt.

PRINT III

Printer (Surishi)

2013 – 2016

Kaga Mokuhan Atelier · Kanazawa

Pulled about 1,400 impressions a year across 30 active editions, holding rejects under 4% of sheets.
Mixed and logged 210 pigment recipes, including a 3-step bokashi gradation used on 12 sky designs.

PRINT II

Apprentice Carver

2011 – 2013

Kaga Mokuhan Atelier · Kanazawa

Sharpened and maintained a set of 32 knives and gouges daily; carved practice blocks 6 days a week.
Promoted to paid commission work after 20 months, 4 months ahead of the atelier's usual schedule.

PRINT I

Conservation Assistant (part-time)

2009 – 2011

Ishikawa Paper & Print Archive · Kanazawa

Catalogued 780 Edo-period sheets and flagged 63 for humidity damage during a 2-year survey.
Built condition reports that cut average retrieval time for loan requests from 3 days to 1.

TRAINING

BFA, Printmaking

Hokuriku University of the Arts · 2005 – 2009

Traditional Woodblock Certificate

Kaga Craft Guild · 2013 · proof score 92/100

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

"Blue Hour over the Sai River" (solo)

Gallery Tsukimi, Kanazawa · 2024 · 28 works

Hokuriku Print Triennial (juried)

2018, 2021, 2024 · jury prize, 2021

TOOLS & PIGMENTS

Key-block carving Bokashi gradation Beni & vermilion mixing Prussian blue (bero-ai) Kento registration Baren finishing Washi selection Seal carving Edition documentation