Japanese Woodblock Prints | Reaction to the Japan Disaster

For the "they" portion of Creative Inquiry, Chuck had us create a reaction piece to the Japanese tsunami disaster that was inspired by the woodblock prints of the Japanese artist (and genius, I might add) Hiroshige.  There weren't many other guidelines for this project; the piece just had to somehow relate to a print, whether it be the composition, content, or color. 

Chuck had loaned me his book on Hiroshige at the beginning of the semester and I fell in love.  The grace that these prints are created with are astounding.  Needless to say, I was pumped for this project. 

I took four of my favorite prints and almost reproduced them perfectly, but made a few minor changes to give a sense of destruction.  I also filled two thirds of the composition with a blue-black water color to represent the flooding after the tsunami.  Overall, I think they are very successful and haven't been this pleased with a project in quite some time.  It was a great feeling considering my week is going to be incredibly busy.

Each panel is 13"x40".  They are watercolor paintings with some pen detail on printmaking paper.

Sorry about the poor image quality.  I need to find a great space to photograph my work!