Copper etching is a printmaking technique so specialized that it’s rarely taught outside university degree programs. Tacoma-based printmaker Yoshi Nakagawa, whose 25-year career spans continents, will introduce this traditional method at BARN’s Print & Book Arts Studio in June.
The class offers a rare opportunity to learn a specialized printmaking method that yields remarkably precise and textured images.
“Printmaking can get pretty technical,” Nakagawa acknowledges. “I don’t want people to get intimidated by it.” Yet it’s precisely this blend of technical skill and accessibility that has established her as a sought-after instructor throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Artistic Origins
Born in Tacoma and raised in Portland, Nakagawa has been fascinated by printmaking through her mother’s collection of ukiyo-e woodblock prints by master printmaker Hasui Kawase. “Growing up with the ukiyo-e in the house, I just loved them,” she recalls.
Nakagawa didn’t pursue formal art training until university. While majoring in Foreign Language and International Affairs with an art minor at the University of Puget Sound, she encountered printmaking. Her first attempt at lithography resulted in disappointment. “It was like magic to me. I couldn’t wrap my head around how the image appears,” she remembers.
But she found her groove when she tried woodcut and copper etching. The methodical nature of the work resonated with her. “A lot of people find it really tedious, but I guess I like that repetition,” she says. “You’ve got to repeat things over and over and focus on the details.”
International Influences
Nakagawa’s work reflects her diverse cultural connections. With parents from Kyoto and Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, she maintains ties to Japanese artistic traditions while developing her own contemporary expression. For nine years, she lived in Oaxaca, Mexico—a region she considers “the mecca of printmaking in the world”—further developing her artistic perspective.
These experiences inform both her creative work and teaching approach. She has exhibited and taught workshops across the United States, Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Africa, and Honduras. Now working from Tacoma, she balances creating art with educational outreach to students of various ages.
Natural Inspirations
Nakagawa’s background in landscaping and gardening directly influences her artistic themes. “A lot of my artwork is also a lot of patterning,” she explains, noting the connection between natural structures and her visual vocabulary.
This influence appears in recent works like “Furusato,” a series that uses Japanese washi paper with relief and monotype prints of Northwest native flora and landscapes. The project included community quilts incorporating prints by workshop participants from organizations, including the Asia Pacific Cultural Center.
Her 2025 publication “sukoshi,” a handmade artist book, features linocuts paired with Japanese proverbs about small natural elements. The book was created with letterpress printer Jessica Spring at Springtide Press.
The Etching Process
In her upcoming June workshop at BARN, Nakagawa will teach copper etching, which produces finer detail than other printmaking techniques.
“You know the handles on your spoons and forks, and the designs on your sterling silver earrings? That’s all etched,” she explains.
Copper etching involves covering a plate with waxy ground, scratching designs through it with an etching needle, and then immersing the plate in a chemical bath that creates grooves where the ground was removed. Aquatint techniques add shading and gradation. The printing process involves pushing ink into these grooves, wiping the surface clean, and transferring the image to paper using a press.
The workshop will be conducted partially outdoors under a tent for proper ventilation. Day one focuses on preparing plates and creating line drawings; day two introduces aquatint techniques for shading. By the end of the weekend, participants will produce at least three prints on high-quality cotton rag paper.
This represents a distinctive opportunity—BARN has never offered copper etching before, and formal instruction in copper etching remains uncommon in the Pacific Northwest outside of university programs, Nakagawa says.
The Reflective Craft
In her artist statement, Nakagawa considers the philosophical dimensions of her practice: “There is great beauty and simplicity in our everyday lives: the respect for working by hand, finding enlightenment in something very repetitive.”
This reflective quality permeates her work and teaching philosophy. Her open teaching style allows students to explore the technical aspects of printmaking at their own pace.
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