The Mystique of the Japanese Print series of woodblock prints was originally put together by Dave in order to demonstrate various techniques and unique qualities of Japanese printmaking, while also challenging himself as a carver and a printer. This means he made the prints difficult for future printers who would use his blocks. Suga-san did not let that deter her, and she has just wonderfully demonstrated her skills by printing a lovely batch of 'Classical Beauty' - print #15 in the series.

In the above picture, you can see the pearl powder reflected in a spider web design around the collar of the woman's kimono. Applying pearl was a new process for Suga-san, so it took some practice. Once she became accustomed to using it, though, the results were gorgeous!

Above is a full view in which the pearl is less obvious, but you can see the effect of the deeply embossed border, which had not yet been pressed into the paper when I took the previous photo.

You can truly see the mark of a great printer here in this close-up shot of some hair on the woman's forehead. By applying just the right amount of pigment and pressure, Suga-san made the hairs dark enough to be seen, without any 'tamari' - where the pigment pools in places where it's not supposed to be. Each line on the ruler marks 1 mm of distance, so she was working with some very fine details.

Wonderful work, Suga-san! Some of you reading this may be waiting for this print to be delivered since it was on back-order for a little while. It's on the way out to waiting subscribers now, and I believe it will have been well worth the wait.