Kaoru Saito Mezzotint Basket sandy surfaces long prized by

sandy surfaces long prized by tea practitioners and flower arrangers alike

In printing

A carved foot adds a surprising detail to the otherwise weathered form

Such designs were often incorporated into household and temple furnishings to invite abundance and protection

he protects the great treasure pagoda of Buddhist offerings and divvies these out to faithful believers

Kaoru Saito Mezzotint Basket sandy surfaces long prized byFollowing WWII, Japanese artists were exposed to western printmaking. Rather than copy western techniques, the Japanese blended existing woodblock techniques (Sosaku Hanga and Shin Hanga) with western techniques if they used western techniques at all. One technique that some adopted was called mezzotint. Mezzotint is made by taking a plate and marking it with thousands of little dots using a metal tool with small teeth, called a "rocker". In printing,