Series: 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Medium: Oil based woodblock print on cream paper
Dimensions: 15 x 15 inches
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1935 - 2022
Date finished: 2018
Date of plate: 1986
Edition: of 10
Printer: Sidereal Fine Art Press
Condition: SFAP Chop in the lower right hand corner.

Recommended by Rebecca (Gallery Associate):

This series, '13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird' by Michael Spafford, is the artist's interpretation of a poem by Wallace Stevens. For this piece, the poem reads: "I was of three minds / Like a tree / In which there are three blackbirds." Spafford was a beloved Northwest artist and a teacher at the University of Washington for more than 30 years. His work focused on abstracting mythology into compressed, black and white forms. 'I Was of Three Minds' showcases Spafford's powerful simplicity, where the blackbirds intersect in the figure's mind at the point of a triangle, visible only because of the white grid crossing the black face. It is clear yet complex, perfectly echoing the poem.

Medium: Color woodcut
Dimensions: 30 x 38 inches (image/sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1925 - 2016
Date finished: 1997
Edition: of 50
Reference: Summers, 223

Recommended by Rebecca:

(Gallery Associate):

This sublime example shows Carol's inventive woodblock printing technique that achieved a wonderful watercolor effect. To ensure that there were no hard edges, he loosely carved out shapes and used a rasp (file) to soften any sharp lines. He would then lay Japanese paper on the blocks and roll on the color following the relief area on the block. In conventional printing, the artist reverses the image on the blocks so that the resulting image is facing the correct direction. By using his special technique, Carol printed the blocks directly and did not have to reverse the image, so it was clear to him how the end product would look. After rolling on the inks, Carol blew solvent over the paper to further soften the edges and encourage the ink to stain or dye the paper. Sometimes he would print on the back of the paper first to lessen the absorbency of the paper and to give the solid color fields more variation. This is illustrated in the comet and the waterfalls in the hills.Davidson Galleries has been showing Carol’s work since the early eighties. We miss him.

Medium: Moku hanga woodcut
Dimensions: 9 1/2 x 26 1/2 inches
Signature: Signed
Artist details: German, 1966
Date finished: 2019
Date of plate: 2011
Edition: of 30

Noted "In memory of Beth Cullom" verso

Recommended by Catherine (Collections Specialist / Gallery Associate

'The heat and frenetic energy of summertime always spark a desire in me to escape to scenic and remote areas, where shady forests and bodies of water are plentiful. Viewing Eva Pietzcker's moku hanga woodcut 'Cape Flattery' transports me to such a place, inspiring a feeling of cool tranquility second only to the actual experience of visiting the country's northwesternmost cape. Pietzcker's use of perspective and depth, created by the contrast of dark cliffsides against an uninked sky, pulls me into the sparkling azure and cerulean water.'

Medium: Woodcut
Dimensions: 8 x 8 inches (Image) 11 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches (Sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Japanese, 1940
Edition: of 30

Recommended by Nikki (Art Photographer / Marketing and Exhibitions Specialist):

Aoki is so good at showcasing the human experience.To me, this piece encapsulates so much of the dynamic between anyone in relation to another. It could be between two coworkers, two friends, two lovers, two family members, or two strangers. The focus is on two fingers pointing at one another, accusingly, but the space between their curved bodies and their defensive opposite hands tell more of the story. It’s what isn’t said and how our bodies react to another’s accusations that tend to fill up negative space in a relationship.

Medium: Woodblock
Dimensions: 16 1/4 x 22 1/2 inches (image) 24 1/2 x 30 1/4 inches (sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1946
Date finished: 2019
Edition: of 30

Recommended by Rebecca (Gallery Associate):

During a visit to Machu Picchu in 2017, Arnoldi was inspired by the ancient, drystone walls where the irregular shapes of organic stones fit together perfectly. Arnoldi then made a series of paintings that became this series of woodblocks. In 2019, his publisher, Harvey Bayer, facilitated a relationship with master printers at Thumbprint Editions. Together, Arnoldi was able to freely enjoy the printing process with abandon and utilize the knowledge of the master printers who create consistent, beautiful impressions. It involved a unique way of printing, using the separate, cut blocks with overlaid inks in different viscosities, so that the blocks could be printed together simultaneously. The results are beautiful renditions of those ancient Inca walls. The series is also more accessible than the preceding paintings and in a more accessible size compared to Arnoldi's monumental-scale works.

Medium: Woodcut and drypoint
Dimensions:14 x 9 inches (image) 22 x 15 inches (sheet)

Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1983
Date Finished: 2014
Edition: AP

Recommended by Nikki (Art Photographer / Marketing and Exhibitions Specialist):

Heck’s ability to meld drypoint and woodcut together with perfect registration is incredible. The little girl is focused on tying her heart wing strings, while we watch her busy at work. Children are immensely talented at dreaming and imagining. This piece reminds me that it takes careful consideration and softness to dream, but it is just as important to do as an adult, as it is for a child. 

Series: Still Lifes
Medium: Moku hanga woodcut
Dimensions: 26 1/4 x 12 5/8 inches
Signature: Signed
Artist details: German, 1966
Date finished: 2016
Edition: Numbered

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager / Marketing Coordinator):

The tulips are in full bloom in my neighborhood park, and while I love the much missed color they bring in the spring, Eva Pietzcker's 'Tulips' emphasizes the beauty of the flowers' shape and interaction with light. I see the beauty of their leaves in a new way. I feel the curve of the vase echoed in the curve of the petals. The light, brushed texture of the ink draws me in to explore the composition. I find myself thinking about flowers as beautiful gifts, both for a friend in their home and for our community in a public park.

Medium: Woodcut
Dimensions: 7 1/2 x 12 inches (Image) 13 x 17 inches (Sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1937 - 2012
Date finished: 1986
Edition: of 33

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager / Marketing Coordinator):

The VW Bus is charming all on its own, but Lockwood Dennis’s version is even better. His woodcut style blends so well with the simple, graphic nature of the bus. This piece is not trying to be perfect, it's just trying to show its true character. It has plenty of nostalgia in the best way, showing a love for the bold graphics of the ad era when sleek and minimal had yet to reign. 

Medium: Woodblock
Dimensions: 7 7/8 x 7 7/8 inches (Image) 10 5/8 x 10 5/8 inches (Sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Japanese, 1940
Edition: of 30

Recommended by Nikki (Fine Print Photographer / Marketing and Digital Content Specialist):

Aoki’s woodcuts have a delightful charm. ‘Everyone on Earth 2’ breaks away from the traditional rectangular woodblock shape and playfully pulls viewers into its circular shape. Inside the circle, there are silhouettes of people in exaggerated poses that make the piece feel kinetic. Aoki’s world full of people has a liveliness to it that is captivating and lightens any mood.

Medium: Woodcut
Dimensions: 12 1/2 x 37 1/4 inches
Artist details: Korean, 1954
Date finished: 2009
Edition: of 20

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager):

For me, ‘Go Out Together’ is about how individuals make up a community. While I sometimes feel like a nonentity walking around my city, artists like Lee Chul Soo remind me that I’m part of a greater network, that while I’m just one person experiencing the city in my own way, that itself makes me a member of the community. The simple composition gives me time and space to look around, examine each moment, and give it the value it deserves. I try to look at my neighbors (and of course the dogs) with the friendly eyes that Lee Chul Soo uses.

Medium: Woodcut
Dimensions: 30 x 30 inches (image/sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1925 - 2016
Date finished: 1997
Edition: 38/75
Reference: Summers, 224

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager):

"'Jungle Bouquet' brings me so much energy and joy. It takes Summers' signature bold colors and blurred lines even further so the tassels become hyper saturated red blobs. The proportions are complicated with huge palm trees fitting into a ceramic vase that occupies an entire stage setting. To me, these contradictions and oddities are just playful and inviting. I enjoy this piece at first glance every time I see it."

Medium: Woodcut and Pochior
Dimensions: 15 x 11 inches (image/sheet)
Signature: Signed Verso
Artist details: American, 1955
Date Finished: 2013
Edition: of 13

Recommended by Catherine (Collections Specialist):

"Jean Gumpper's woodcuts are expressions of her experiences in nature and each print feels like a spontaneous glimpse into the natural world, dynamic and full of depth. For her piece titled 'Tracery', Jean combines traditional woodcut printing with pochoir, a French stencil-based technique, to create a deeply layered and multi-textured quality. The lively leaves and vines in the foreground wind over an intricate web of dark branches, which resembles tracery on a gothic window. I'm drawn to any metaphor between the natural world and historical architecture, and the play of light shining through this nature-formed window inspires my imagination."

Medium: Woodcut and drypoint
Dimensions: 14 x 9 inches (image)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1983
Date Finished: 2014
Edition: 9/9 EV

Recommended by Suzannah (Marketing and Communications Manager):

"There is an aching tenderness and familiarity in Ellen Heck’s portraits of young people. Each child is full of peace and personality, and the combination of woodcut and drypoint mediums produces playful blocks of color and precise feathery lines. I was particularly struck by “Two”, a portrait of a child obscured but looking directly out of the page, holding two hearts against their chest. Worked exclusively in grey tones, the child’s expression shows such freedom and soulfulness, an ineffable emotion and state of being that feels unreachable in adult life. The child does not wonder who they are or how they must be in the world. They simply are themself, and have never considered being otherwise."

Medium: Woodcut
Dimensions: 18 x 54 inches (image/sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1952
Date finished: 2007
Edition: of 16

Recommended by Rebecca (Gallery Manager):

Karen Kunc's large evocative woodcuts are inspired by human relationships to nature and landscape. She brings elements from many cultures into her work, including Moorish, Spanish, and Japanese influences. Kunc is a master of woodcut and is distinguished from other artists by her innovations in the medium.  We look forward to her solo exhibition of artist books at the Bainbridge Island Art Museum next month.

Series: #46 from Famous Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces (Rokujuyoshu Meisho Zue)
Medium: Woodblock
Dimensions: 15 x 10 inches (Oban)
Artist details: Japanese, 1797 - 1858
Date of plate: Date of Block 1853/1812
Condition: Very good early color. Margins skillfully restored.

Recommended by Rebecca (Gallery Manager):
"Of the magnificent “Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provences”, ‘Mimasake Provence. Yamabusi Valley’ displays a wonderful humor and humanity. We can all relate to the man chasing his hat that has flown away in a wind storm. Amongst this expertly preserved and restored series of breathtaking Japanese landscapes, ‘Mimasake Provence. Yamabusi Valley’ reminds us to appreciate the little misadventures that make life interesting."

Medium: Reduction woodcut
Dimensions: 8 x 10 inches (image)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1938
Date Finished: 1985
Edition: of 180

Recommended by Nikki (Fine Print Photographer & Content Publisher):
"Gordon Mortensen uses precise registration and his keen eye for layering color in this reduction woodcut. Mortensen prints a single color of ink; cuts away a small amount of wood; inks the same block in a different color, before cutting away more from the block; and repeating for as many different colors as the viewer can spot. This process can be daunting for many artists because once you cut the block, there is no going back. The result of Mortensen’s intense labor is a wide variety of texture and an expert build up of layers into atmospheric perspective that make for a stunning landscape."

Medium: Woodblock
Dimensions: 20 7/8 x 15 inches
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Japanese, 1940
Date finished: 2004
Edition: of 30

Recommended by Emma (Marketing & Communications Manager):
"Aoki's work often focuses on human interaction and human connection - or lack thereof. Amidst his many works featuring crowds of busy people and missed connections, Aoki has delivered this beautiful portrayal of two figures facing each other, stopped in time. With emphatically oversized arms, the figures demonstrate the incredible intimacy and tenderness of simple human touch. Though the figures have no facial features, the piece evokes the disarming sensation of staring directly into someone else's eyes. All that cannot be explained about human emotion seems to rest in the quiet space created between them." 

Medium: Woodcut
Dimensions: 30 x 30 inches (image/sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1925 - 2016
Date finished: 2010
Edition: 10/100
Reference: Summers 255

Recommended by Emma (Marketing & Communications Manager):
"It's unusual for Carol Summers, known for his bold color palettes, to create a monochromatic woodcut. In our increasingly digital world, the RGB version of indigo permeates our lives as the go-to color for hyperlinks and other mundane digital functions. In Las Cascadeas De Tamasopo Summers reminds me of indigo's richness and beauty. This print makes me crave the pigment and everything I associate with it - summertime, Mediterranean waters, ceramics painted by hand. I feel enthralled as if I am seeing color for the first time."   

Medium: Woodcut
Dimensions: 7 1/2 x 7 1/4 inches (Blocks) 10 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches (Sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Japanese, 1940
Date finished: 2008
Edition: of 35

Recommended by Rebecca (Gallery Manager):
"Tetsuo Aoki is a master of illustrating people, relationships, and emotions. This woodcut in particular speaks volumes about the world today. The figure's back is arched in order to put their head in their exaggerated hands. The posture speaks to the angst and despondency of the main figure, as does the darkness of the ink. Meanwhile, through the gap we can see other people walking by as if all is normal. In the Hand is a small and intimate woodcut that mirrors how I feel while overwhelmed by these tragic events."

Medium: Woodcut
Dimensions: 12 x 8 inches (image) 17 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches (sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1987
Date finished: 2019
Edition: of 10

Recommended by Emma (Marketing & Communications Manager):
"I'm delighted and pleasantly surprised by how lasting an impression this graphic yucca print has left on me since first seeing it. The vertical format, rich black gradient, and unexpected use of negative space are simple and satisfying. There's nothing to overthink and everything to enjoy. It's incredibly charming how Spitzack has taken an ordinary subject and made such striking imagery with it."

Medium: Reduction woodcut
Dimensions: 6 x 8 inches (image) 8 x 10 1/4 inches (sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1938
Date Finished: 1982
Edition: of 300

Recommended by Emma (Marketing & Communications Manager):
"Gordon Mortensen is known for his use of vibrant color palettes and his richly detailed reduction woodcut landscapes. In Winter Sumac, the palette is just ever so slightly 'muted' in comparison - if you consider gorgeous lilac and fuschia tones muted. This scene, like all of his landscapes, makes me want to go outside and appreciate the beauty of nature during this cold winter season."