Bear In Mind

Printed using the mokuhanga technique—Japanese water-based woodblock printing on [washi](/glossary/washi)—this work depicts a bear subject with the soft, absorbent tonal gradation characteristic of water-based pigments on Japanese paper. Mokuhanga's capacity for [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi), the graduated blending achieved by dampening the block before applying pigment, would allow Schneider to render the bear's fur with atmospheric subtlety rather than the hard contrast associated with oil-based Western woodcut. The title's wordplay suggests an intentional register: the work is both an image of a bear and a directive to hold the animal in memory, reflecting Schneider's broader advocacy framing. The multi-block registration typical of mokuhanga permits layered color that can describe form volumetrically, distinguishing the animal from its surroundings through careful key-block drawing and color separations applied with a [baren](/glossary/baren) across dampened washi.