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Indigo Mushikui 2017 Framed
intaglio on old book pages from Japan, collage Cleveland Clinic Art Collection

Yellow Mushikui III 2020
etching, aquatint on old book pages from Japan, collage Private Collection Photo by Will Slabaugh

Mushikui II 2008
collage of old bookpages from Japan 11" x 7" Private Collection

Indigo Mushikui 2017 Framed
intaglio on old book pages from Japan, collage Cleveland Clinic Art Collection
Journey through Mushikui
Mushikui is the the Japanese word for wormholes. In 2006, I discovered some worm-eaten Japanese woodblock book pages in an antique book fair in Japan. I was fascinated looking at the nature of the paper. Mushikui usually make old prints less valuable, however, for an artist like me, they have become wonderful materials for my artwork. The mushikui create irregular shapes on paper that have a subtle, delicate, textural beauty.
My mushikui collages create something new by reusing old material. The tactile quality and simplicity of my work is related to the aesthetics of wabi sabi. Wabi sabi is the beauty of things, imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.
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