Cool Breeze (Sofu)

Created in 1993, Cool Breeze (Sofu) combines photoetching with color woodblock printing, a hybrid technique Chizuko Yoshida explored in her later career. The Japanese word sofu evokes the refreshing wind that brings relief on a warm day, a sensation that is fundamentally about the body's encounter with moving air. Chizuko translates this tactile experience into visual form, using the different textures available from photoetching and woodblock to create contrasting surfaces within a single print. The etched passages offer fine, photographic detail while the woodblock areas provide the broader color fields and wood grain texture of traditional printing. This combination of processes reflects Chizuko's willingness to extend the woodblock tradition rather than preserve it in a fixed state.