thank you to our civil servants public employees capitol building washington state wa dc rose roses woodcut print by artist charles spitzack woodblock and mokuhanga printmaker Japanese wood block print printmaking washi seattle fine art pnw nw relief

Civic-themed work combining a capitol building with roses, framed by the dedicatory title 'thank you to our civil servants public employees.' The composition pairs architectural subject with floral motif, recalling the way Edo-period prints occasionally combined famous buildings with seasonal flowers, though here the gesture is overtly contemporary rather than poetic. Mokuhanga's capacity for flat, graphic color planes suits architectural subjects, where geometric elements like domes, columns, and pediments must read clearly against ground; bokashi handles the rose petals and any sky gradations. Water-based pigments printed on washi maintain the matte, absorbent surface that distinguishes mokuhanga from oil-based relief. As a print produced in the contemporary American political context, the work positions mokuhanga within a tradition of socially engaged printmaking that runs from the WPA-era American printmakers through to contemporary protest graphics. Spitzack's Seattle base places him within a Pacific Northwest art community where civic subjects have a sustained presence in printmaking practice.