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I began making woodblock prints using the traditional Japanese hanga method in 1993. Hanga is color woodblock printing with multiple blocks using water, pigments, and rice paste. It was the technique used to make the ukiyo-e and shin hanga prints of Japan. My imagery is mostly of New England, the lakes and mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. I also pursue image ideas inspired by trips to the coast of Maine, to New York City, to the mountains of Colorado and Utah. I have made copy prints from the work of other artists, I have made prints depicting my family, especially when my boys were small. |
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Fascinated by how two-dimensional art can change the way we see our world, I am pre-occupied with the art form of color woodblock printing, especially the Japanese hanga method. Hanga is an art emphasizing issues of pictorial structure and color relationships. Built out of the simple conversation between carved wood shapes and brushed flat colors, it is a art-making manifesting the idea that "limits are form".
I love the look of these prints: the clean carved edges juxtaposed with the soft watercolor look of the colors. I love the simple materials of wood and water. I love the fact that though the artist makes the blocks, it is the blocks that make the prints.
Highest quality artist pigments, rice paste, and acid-free cotton rag paper are my printing materials. Brushes and a hand-held baren are my printing tools. Each print is hand-rubbed, often from 10 or more separate carved blocks.
Using my baren to print