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Sylvia Waltering

@sylviawaltering

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German born. UK based. Artist and educator. Studio @bankleygallery. Collaboration @land____dialogues. DM for sales, mentoring and workshop enquiries.

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Points of Attention, Mokuhanga print with cyanotype chine collé.

Another print I made during this summer’s five week residency @cfshe_gallery MiLab in Echizen, Fukui, Japan.

I have been looking for ways to combine my photographic and printmaking practices, so have been experimenting with adding chine collé cyanotype elements to my Mokuhanga prints.

The opportunity to spend time in Echizen, a region famous for washi making and to test different handmade washi for both Mokuhanga printing and cyanotype making has been eye opening and so inspiring. Something I want to spend a lot more time exploring now that I’m back in the UK. My studio plan chest is full of paper treasures waiting to be used!

#mokuhanga #printmaking #washi #japanesewoodblock #Cyanotype taken in Bankley Studios + Gallery by @sylviawaltering

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8 days ago

Garden Fieldnote and Supermarket Fieldnote are two of the prints I made during this summer’s five week residency at @cfshe_gallery MiLab in Echizen, Fukui, Japan. I’m showing these for the first time at my Open Studio Event @bankleygallery this weekend.

The Mokuhanga prints were inspired by my daily walks around the local Awatabecho area. They also reference the Japanese practice of Suminagashi, which can sometimes be seen carved as the background in Ukeyo-e prints.

#mokuhanga #printmaking #japan #japanesewoodblock #trees taken in Bankley Studios + Gallery by @sylviawaltering

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9 days ago

‘Points of Attention’, Mokuhanga on Echizen Washi with toned cyanotype chine collé, 2026.

I’m always looking for ways to bring my Mokuhanga practice and photography together. During my residency at MiLab in Echizen, I experimented with using toned cyanotype elements in my prints.

Using photographs from previous travels in Japan, I made tracing paper negatives to expose onto Echizen washi that I coated with cyanotype solution in the garden. After toning the cyanotypes with green tea, I chine collé-ed them into my Mokuhanga prints. It’s a process I’m excited to continue exploring now that I’m back in my own studio @bankleygallery.

Trees are a constant presence in my work, but so are circles. I see them as symbols of harmony and belonging, and as reminders of the continuity of time beyond a human perspective. They also suggest portals or connections to something beyond ourselves, something we might not be able to grasp with a rational mind, but should nevertheless pay attention to.

I used one of the early test prints to learn how to make a hanging scroll with the guidance of master craftsman Toshio Soyama. A slow process that took time, patience and a whole load of precision cutting and measuring. Perfect for focusing the mind and thinking with your hands.

I currently only have APs for what will be an edition of 10, with varied cyanotype elements once the weather in the UK has cooled enough to get printing again.

@cfshe_gallery

#mokuhanga #japanesewoodblock #cyanotype #hangingscroll #milab by @sylviawaltering

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2 months ago

I have been back in Manchester for a week and it will take me a while to catch up on sorting through all the things I have brought back with me, the things I learnt, the new ideas I have and the hundreds of photographs I took.

I was incredibly lucky to be able to return to MiLab as one of the artists selected for this year’s Advanced Programme. I took part in the Basic Programme back in 2022. MiLab has moved from Fujikawaguchiko to Echizen and even though there are no more views of Fuji san out of the studio window, the move means that there is now an opportunity to learn so much more about Washi paper. Echizen is famous for its Washi production and we were lucky to not only meet the paper makers, but to also tour the mills, test loads of different types of washi and have (another) go at making our own.

Thanks to @cfshe_gallery for having me. Thanks to @ct_1015, @asukatsutsumi_ , @hiroko_tamura_ and @tobykobayashi for all your knowledge and teaching.

Thanks to my fellow artists @dshewison @spitzattack @_annettemurray and @tonyspencerarts for being a great residency crew.

‘Garden Field Notes’ and ‘Supermarket Field Notes’.
Mokuhanga on Echizen Washi. 2026. I am yet to print the full edition, but these will be available soon.

#mokuhanga #printmaking #japanesewoodblockprints #japan #residency by @sylviawaltering

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3 months ago

I’m really happy to be back in Echizen at MiLab for five weeks, learning more about Mokuhanga, more about handmade washi, more about looking after my tools, being inspired by others, being in the studio from 9am till 9pm, carving, printing, going for strolls to rest sore hands and shoulders, trying to practice Japanese daily, eating good food and making connections.

Thanks @cfshe_gallery gallery for having me back.

#mokuhanga #japanesewoodblock #japan #washi #printmaking taken in 越前和紙 / Echizen Washi by @sylviawaltering

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4 months ago

‘Cold Moon’ for the ‘Into the Woods’ 103 International Baren Forum Print Exchange.

10 x 15cm. Edition of 40. Holbein Watercolour, Sumi and Mica on handmade kozo washi from Echizen, Japan.

#mokuhanga #japanesewoodblockprint #woodblock #watercolor #printmaking taken in Bankley Studios + Gallery by @sylviawaltering

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7 months ago

Congratulations to @sylviawaltering for winning the fourth week of the Materiality Matters Game in collaboration with @artistsupportpledge + @peopleofprint

Sylvia Waltering is an artist born in Germany, now based in Manchester. She completed a BA (Hons) History of Art & Design and an MA in Communication Design at Manchester School of Art. Her practice focuses on water-based woodblock printing(Mokuhanga), which she studied at MiLab in Japan and also with teachers in both Japan and the UK. Her work was shortlisted for the Flourish Award for Excellence in Printmaking 2025 and has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She currently isProgramme Lead for MA Photography at the School of Digital Arts, Manchester, and teaches Book Arts at Hot Bed Press in Salford.

“Place is the starting point of my work, whether close to home or far away, urban or rural. I am interested in how places are encountered through the body as much as through thought—through touch, movement, sound, and sensation. Printmaking, and particularly Mokuhanga, allows me to think with my hands, making the process itself a way of paying attention. The work often shifts between abstraction and recognisable landscapes, holding open a space to reflect on how environments are felt, remembered, and inhabited. For me, it is an ongoing exchange between body, material, and world.” - Sylvia Waltering

Win a GUEST PLACE in the @noplaceart annual exhibition, Edition Two | Materiality 2026.
To take part, upload an artwork using #NPAVOTE2026 - or add the hashtag to an existing post. Upload as many artworks as you want! by @sylviawaltering

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8 months ago

Making Winter Swimming

This Mokuhanga print was inspired by quiet, early morning dips in a local lake throughout the winter. It was created using a traditional water based, non toxic printmaking process, one of the things I love most about Mokuhanga is its gentleness both on the body and the environment.

The piece is currently shortlisted for selection towards @noplaceart Materiality Exhibition and voting is now open, you can support me via the link in my bio or my stories.

Winter Swimming is also one of my works that will be on show at @leicesterprintworkshop from Friday, 6th as part of the Flourish Award for Excellence in Printmaking exhibition.

Thank you for watching, sharing and supporting me with your votes. 💙

#Mokuhanga #printmaking #japanesewoodblock #blue by @sylviawaltering

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8 months ago

Thank you to everyone who made it to @bankleygallery Open Studio weekend.

So many great conversations, kind words, so much inspiring work to discover and a really nice way to also meet the new artists who joined the co-op in the last few months.

#openstudios #artiststudios #mcr #bankleystudios #levenshulme taken in Bankley Studios + Gallery by @sylviawaltering

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a year ago

Thanks to everyone who came to see Dialogue One; Project Space @bankleygallery. We are still open until 4.30pm today and would love to see you.

Land Dialogues are @pollypalmerini, @sophiemeganlee and @sylviawaltering. by @sylviawaltering

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a year ago

It’s been a real pleasure showing my three Mokuhanaga prints as one of the shortlisted artists for the 2025 Flourish Award for Excellence in Printmaking.

The exhibition in Huddersfield finished yesterday, but it will now tour to Leicester and Newcastle. So if you haven’t been able to make it you might get a chance to see it there. I’ll share details and dates as soon as they have been finalised.

1. Shirahama Pine #1 & #2
2. Installation view Huddersfield
3. Winter Swimming

DM for enquiries.

#printmaking #mokuhanga #japanesewoodblock #exhibition by @sylviawaltering

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a year ago

Works in progress by @sylviawaltering

Land Dialogues is an ongoing collaboration between @sophiemeganlee @pollypalmerini and @sylviawaltering , exploring ideas of landscape, time and making through a feminist lens.

Dialogue One marks the first public sharing of work and research developed through this collaborative process. For a short period, @bankleygallery becomes a project space, offering an opportunity to test new constellations of practice, share ideas with audiences, and foster conversations between the artists and visitors. This exchange helps the work to grow and provides a moment to reflect on what has emerged so far.
The project has been supported through the Manchester Metropolitan University Research Development Fund.

The exhibition opens @bankleygallery Friday 19th September 6-8pm and continues Saturday 20th 12-4:30pm by @sylviawaltering

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a year ago