tides woodblock spitzack woodblock woodcut mokuhanga print printmaking washi seattle art

The title points to a print engaged with the rhythmic movement of coastal water — the cyclical rise and fall that shapes shoreline imagery. Such a subject draws on a long lineage of water motifs in Japanese woodblock printing, from Hiroshige's coastal meisho-e to abstract wave patterns in textile and surimono designs. Mokuhanga technique offers particular resources for tidal subjects: bokashi gradations render the merge of water and shore, while keyblock lines may trace wave crests or the contour where wet sand meets dry. Hand-burnished with a baren onto absorbent washi, the impression takes on the soft tonal quality of water-based pigments, where layered translucency allows depths to read through surface marks. The restraint of a single common noun as title points away from narrative incident toward observation of natural pattern, a tendency consistent with contemporary mokuhanga practice. The print fits within Spitzack's broader engagement with marine and water-related subjects, and reflects the medium's continued suitability for the elemental imagery that has shaped much of its history.