movements of appreciation 2025 woodcut print flowers woodblock print charles spitzack roses mokuhanga shina plywood seattle art artist printmaker

Mokuhanga study of roses, working within the kacho-e (bird-and-flower) tradition that has been central to Japanese woodblock printing since the Edo period. The carved shina plywood blocks—a contemporary substrate increasingly used by mokuhanga practitioners in place of cherry—allow fine detail in the petals and stems. Water-based pigments applied with a baren on washi produce the soft tonal gradations characteristic of mokuhanga, distinct from the heavier inks of Western relief printing. As a flower study from Spitzack's 2025 output, this work adapts an originally East Asian genre to subjects from his American context: roses rather than the plum, iris, or chrysanthemum that populated traditional kacho-e. The title's reference to 'movements' may suggest compositional rhythm across the petals or the sequential bokashi gradations achieved through multiple block impressions. Such adaptations are part of the broader contemporary mokuhanga revival, in which artists trained outside Japan approach the genre as a living tradition rather than a historical idiom.