bowling ball spitzack woodblock woodcut mokuhanga print printmaking washi seattle art

"Bowling Ball" announces an unambiguous subject: a single mass-produced object treated as the sole compositional element. Such object studies are a recurring strategy in contemporary American mokuhanga, where the medium's history of careful surface description is turned toward subjects far removed from the floating world. The spherical form presents specific technical challenges — modeling a smooth, reflective sphere in water-based woodblock requires layered [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations transitioning between deep and pale tones, with each color block carved to register against the others using [kento](/glossary/kento) marks. Finger-holes and the characteristic marbled or solid coloration of a bowling ball would be carved as separate impressions on dampened [washi](/glossary/washi). The choice of a banal recreational object reflects a strain of contemporary mokuhanga that uses Japanese technique to elevate the everyday, a practice consistent with Spitzack's wider work and with the international conversations at gatherings like the 2024 International Mokuhanga Conference in Echizen, where his work was recognized.