Submited to the CWAJ exhibition in Tokyo, one of the best international forums in Japan for new prints. Inazuma means Lightning, but is a literary term that brings ideas of fertilising the fields derived from ancient poetry. I have chosen a large size for this design – 66 x 32cm, or around 26 x 13 inches – to give the feeling of the verticality of the bolt of lightning as it crackles between dark clouds and rain to earth. This print is in a small edition of only 40, but still employs 14 different printings, including three printings of solid black overlaid to achieve a deep, opaque darkness in the heaviest clouds.
"Over a dozen years ago I made this reduction woodblock print design of a bolt of lightning among clouds using both sides of just one block with the blue printed from one side and all the pale gray to deep black printed from the other, carving out between tones. I was surprised that the edition sold out very quickly indeed, within months in fact, and some collectors love a reduction woodblock print as it is clear no more can ever be printed from the block." Binnie, Jan 2023
