etching, relief etching on antique woodblock printed book pages from Japan, thread 14.25" x 19" Private Collection Photo by Will Slabaugh
etching, indigo dye on antique woodblock printed Japanese book pages, thread 9.75" x 14" Private Collection, Curator's Choice at the Cleveland Museum Print Fair 2022 Photo by Will Slabaugh
etching and monotype on old book pages, thread The Dalad Collection
etching, relief etching on antique woodblock printed book pages from Japan, thread 14.25" x 19" Private Collection Photo by Will Slabaugh
Edo Sky
Many of the woodblock print pages used in this work are from a historical Japanese astronomy book about the earth, the stars and the moon. It was first published in Japan during the mid-Edo period c. 1730.
The title of the book is Tenkeiwakumon. This book provided the some of the earliest scientific knowledge of the stars and constellations to Japanese astronomers.
Edo Sky is also a tribute to Yuko’s Baba (grandmother). The process of stitching straight lines is the way Yuko remembers her grandmother. She used the cotton threads that her grandmother gave to her many years ago. As a child she watched her grandmother sewing for her family.