Spring has sprung in NYC, and summer is right around the corner. Between fighting with allergies, I have been busy making prints, preparing for shows and enjoying the flowers blooming across the city. I am happy to have finished two prints since my last newsletter, one at the tail end of 2024, and the latest in preparation for summer. First the newest print, a departure into painterly abstraction, impressed from carved wood.
Rhéos, 2025
Reduction Mokuhanga on Uwazen Washi
Made from four woodblocks with 11 color layers
13 x 17 inches
“That splash,
Heard from afar,
Imagine those rolling colors
Just beneath the tannined waters.
From my desk,
Those gleaming gems
Sparkle in the sun.”
This print was departure from my usual subjects with a new focus on abstracted colors and carving to build undulating patterns and flows. The colors are bright and saturated in contrast to the deep Sumi ink background as the fish rise thru the tannined waters. It is printed on a handmade “Uwazen” washi from Awagami paper mills. This washi is a warm off-white color that ended up being a perfect fit for the subject. Based on photographs, and sketches my wife and I had taken from a recent trip to the Buffalo Botanical Gardens, a treat for anyone in upstate New York.
Near the end of December, I also finished another print referencing the early 20th century masterpiece, Moonlit Sea by Shoda Koho.
Apparition, 2024
Reduction Mokuhanga with gold leaf on Ichibei Kizuki Hosho washi
Made from four woodblocks with 14 color layers
12 x 19.5 inches
“I wake up, startled,
Like someone, something is watching
A deep breath out, frost in the air.
As if possessed, I step out the front door,
Down by the lake,
It hangs, glowing
The orb, unwavering brilliance,
Casts its light across my soul”
This print was a fun experiment with “luxury” materials, more traditionally used in Surimono prints - private commissioned Ukiyo-e often made for special occasions or as gifts as opposed to mass produced images.
“Apparition” is printed on Kuzuki Hosho washi made by National Living Treasure Ichibei Iwano, one of the most honored and famous papermakers currently making paper in Echizen, Japan. 24K Gold leaf is applied to the reflection and the Prussian blue pigment was derived from a vintage pigment supply from the now defunct Imperial Pigment Color co, originally from Glen Falls NY.
And lastly, my spring was filled with fantastic opportunities to show my work. While we live in such a digital world, woodblock prints always benefit from being able to be viewed in person, and I am always thrilled to be able to send them out to the world. The above image is from the local newspaper from Fort Wayne, Indiana of a great exhibition of prints at Artlink Contemporary .
Around the end of March was the inaugural exhibition of the Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair at Powerhouse Arts in Red Hook. An amazing exhibition space, it was wonderful helping out at the Society of American Graphic Artists booth and show their diverse collection of handmade prints.
And last but certainly not least, I was recently accepted into the 2026 MI-Lab (International Mokuhanga Laboratory) Artist in Residence program in Echizen Japan. I am planning on spending a month in Japan as part of this residency that will be in the Summer of 2026. I have always thought of MI-Lab as a right of passage for international mokuhanga artists, and am incredibly excited to be included in this program next year.
As always, thank you all for your continued support of my work.
