Located at Inyo and Van Ness in Downtown Fresno. 3’ x 5’ cut steel panel, 2015.
On May 12-13, 1942, all persons of Japanese descent living in the city of Fresno were instructed to meet at the Droge Building, where an official wartime civil control station was established, to exchange their personal identities for family numbers. The Droge Building was one of eight wartime civil control stations for Fresno County.
For this permanent public art piece commissioned by the Fresno Housing Authority, I drew and carved a linoleum block depicting a Japanese American on the verge of exile— a woman who was born in Fresno and had known no other home, to express the unfathomable loss she experienced during the World War II incarceration of over 120,000 people of Japanese descent, 3/4 of whom were American citizens.
In honor of my late grandmother, Miyeko Kebo, I have affixed her family number onto the print, so that her journey through the Droge Building, itself now a ghost of the past, will be remembered.
Fountain, camellias, porcelain bowls, oranges, mikkan, mirrors, soil, rice, tea, mung beans, sesame seeds, paper. Collaboration with Yonsei Memory Project, Fresno Fairgrounds, Fresno, CA 2018.
A series of 10” diameter ten bronze medallions based on linoleum block prints, Alameda County Arts Commission, East County Hall of Justice Project, Dublin, CA, 2017.
6’ x 11’ linoleum block print and acrylic on interface material. Oakland Animal Shelter, Oakland, CA, 2018.
7’ x 4’ circular stainless steel sculpture with etched details and laser cut edges, in honor of the Japanese Americans of the Hayward and Mt. Eden Township area. Commissioned by the City of Hayward. Hayward Heritage Park, CA, 2020. Photo by Russell photography/footephoto.com.
The three layers also follows a hierarchy of earth, man, and heaven. The largest metal cylinder references the surrounding geography and land, the "earth," where the names of 606 Japanese Americans, who were forcibly removed from their homes and businesses in Hayward on May 8, 1942. The uppermost edge of the cylinder echos the undulating surrounding hills, with its spring streams and oak and bay laurel forests. The shape of the Hayward hills are meant to capture the vista and root the names in this site specific place.
The second cylinder, or "man" tells the story of the Japanese Americans who settled in this region and were predominately engaged in the floral industry, growing carnations, chrysanthemums, lilies, and roses among other cut flowers and plants for the booming flower industry. This image of the once ubiquitous greenhouse, that enabled the community to bloom, despite a rampantly anti-Asian climate, is mirrored by an image of the stark barracks at Topaz—the roses of their labor transforming into lengths of barbed wire that would entwine in their lives during the war.
The third and uppermost circle, or "heaven," features four circular motifs that represent peace, solidarity, Japan and the United States, and finally a remembrance of the day that the community was forced into exile by their own government. These circular symbols intentionally hang above the greenhouses and barracks like constellations in the night sky.
I call this artwork "The Bell" because from the beginning, I pictured a Buddhist bell as I built it. Historically, bells are associated with religious rites and are used to call communities together, and when they are struck, they resonate notes that can be heard over long distances. Bells are also a metaphor for alarms, ringing loudly to awaken or alert others of danger.
3’ x 3’ linoleum block, printed with a 7-ton 1924 Buffalo Springfield steamroller. Featured artist in the 15th Annual San Francisco Center for the Book Roadworks Festival. September 2018.
13” x 13” linoleum block print, ink, paper, printed on a letterpress, 2009.
Inspired by a short story by Oakland writer Susan Ito, who commissioned me to do an illustration for a chapbook of her work.
13” x 13” linoleum block print, ink, paper, printed on a letterpress. 2009.
Inspired by a quotation from Tom Robbins' "Still Life with Woodpecker."
"Perhaps what a writer needs is a different sort of writing implement. Say, a Remington built of balsa wood, its parts glued together like a boyhood model; delicate, garceful, submissive, as ready to soar as an ace.
Better, a carved typewriter, hewn from a single block of sacred cypress; decorated with mineral pigments, berry juice, and mud; its keys living mushrooms, its ribbon the long iridescent tongue of a lizard. An animal typewriter, silent until touched, then filling the page with growls and squeals and squawks, yowls and bleats and snorts, brayings and chatterings and dry rattlings from the underbrush; a typewriter that could type real kisses, ooze semen and sweat."
13” x 13” linoleum block print, ink, paper, letterpress, 2009.
After spending the summer in Taos, New Mexico working on a biography of City Lights co-owner Shigeyoshi Murao, I was inspired to create an autobiographical print, reflecting myself reflecting on Shig’s life as the consummate San Francisco bookman from the 50s-70s. With the literary history of Taos and the San Francisco Bay Area a constant murmur in my head, work on the book flourished.
13" x 13", linoleum block print, ink, paper, printed on a letterpress. 2011.
Obon Spirits evokes the Japanese day of the dead, usually held in late July and August every year, where the ghosts of one's ancestors return to earth to be reunited with their kin. Obon festivals around the world (everywhere Nikkei have immigrated, including the United States, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and Canada) usually feature folk dancing at dusk. Limited edition of five prints.
13” x 13” linoleum block print, ink, paper, printed on a letterpress, 2008.
12" x 12". linoleum block print, ink, paper, printed on an etching press. 2014.
In 2014, the National Steinbeck Center (NSC) celebrated the 75th anniversary John Steinbeck's classic novel, "The Grapes of Wrath" by invoking a national dialogue, seeking out the experiences of Americans today. In October 2013, I was invited by NSC with two other artists to retrace the fictional journey of the Joad family from The Grapes of Wrath. The Journey followed Route 66 through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and along to California. The team presented twenty-six educational programs and collected seventy-five oral histories from nine cities.
For the project, I created six landscape prints of the states we passed through as we drove the route from Sallisaw, Oklahoma to Arvin, California. Each block was drawn and carved in linoleum and printed on a etching press before they were handcolored.
Our journey began in Oklahoma, where we all met for the first time and moved into the RV that would soon become our chariot. That first night, there was a rainstorm of Biblical proportions that exploded over the cabin in Oklahoma City and it was a great way to start.
Sallisaw was where we had our first encounter with an old jalopy sitting in front of the library. We also had a special escort into Texas by the Sooner Model A Car Club of Oklahoma. It was then when I noticed that the car was the defining thing. I saw jalopies everywhere; it was like a mirror that made me realize that our RV and the jalopy couldn’t be separated from each other.
13” x 13” linoleum block print, ink, paper, printed with a steamroller. 2010.
Commissioned to be one of a select group of artists to carve linoleum blocks for their annual "Roadworks" street art fair to create work based on the Mexican card game known as loteria. I drew this image of a tattooed rooster atop a fixie bicycle pushing through the fog as the ultimate San Francisco character, circa 2010.
12" x 12". linoleum block print, ink, watercolor, paper, printed on an etching press. 2014.
While on the Journey, our very structured schedule on the Journey didn’t always allow for what I call “fragile coincidences,” so I thought about how to use what was apparent and in front of me. I decided to use the window frame of our RV (recreational vehicle) as a frame to express moments of our journey. We camped in Canyon, Texas and there were these incredible grasses and it wasn’t what I expected. I’m always curious about nature, plants, and what grows out of the dirt— it was beautiful.”
12" x 12". linoleum block print, ink, watercolor, paper, printed on an etching press. 2014.
When you’re in Flagstaff, Arizona you’re in high elevation surrounded by pine trees and snow on the mountains. You definitely get more of an alpine feeling while you are looking at all the dramatic, harsh, jagged mountains and the dramatic clouds.
12” x 12” linoleum block print, ink, watercolor, paper, printed on an etching press. 2014.
One question I have have always asked myself is how does food get to us? When I reread The Grapes of Wrath, I realized how big corporate farms in Bakersfield were in the 1930s and as they are today, too many of the issues that farm workers had then are still the same.
12” x 12” linoleum block print, ink, watercolor, paper, printed on an etching press. 2014.
When we plunged into the desert part of Arizona... I loved that stretch of the trip. I was riding in the Penguin Book Truck at that point and remember getting out and looking at these tiny, tiny little yellow wildflowers.
12” x 12” linoleum block print, ink, watercolor, paper, printed on an etching press. 2014.
One of the things that I am personally engaged in is race and how we commodify culture in America. Images like these shape the way we see the world. That’s why I am so interested in the visual language, it’s powerful, and can be used in many ways.
5" x 7" linoleum block print, ink, watercolor, paper. 2014.
7" x 9". Two-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
7" x 9". Two-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
7" x 9". Two-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
7" x 9". Two-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
7" x 9". Two-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
7" x 9". Three-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
7" x 9". Two-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
7" x 9". Two-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
7" x 9". Two-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
7" x 9". One-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
Tokonoma (床の間 toko-no-ma) is a built-in recessed space in a Japanese style reception room, in which items for artistic appreciation are displayed as a focal point.
7" x 9". Two-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
7" x 9". Two-color linoleum block print, ink, printed on a Challenge Proof press on Fabriano papers. 2012.
8” x 14”, five color linoleum block printed on a Vandercook letterpress. 2010. I participated in a linoblock food alphabet challenge and was assigned the letter “Q".
5" x 7" Four color linoleum block print, ink, paper, printed on a letterpress. 1997.
Linoleum block printed with black Van Son rubber ink on Vandercook SP4 letterpress, then hand watercolored, 2018. Fritillaria affinis (checker lily, chocolate lily) is a highly variable species in the genus Fritillaria, native to western North America, in California, Klamath Ranges, the north coast ranges, Cascade Ranges, north Sierra Nevada foothills, and the San Francisco Bay Area, north to British Columbia and Idaho. It is found at elevations ranging from sea level to 5,000 ft. It grows from a bulb, and flowers in the spring in a 'nodding' style. Edition of 10, 2018.
Commissioned thank you keepsake. Two color linoleum block with handset metal type (Bernard Modern), printed on Vandercook and C&P platen press with rubber based inks. Edition of 500, 2019.
11" x 14.5" linoleum block print of an snowy egret framing Oakland's beloved Lake Merritt. 2019.
16" x 20" linoleum block printed with black Van Son rubber ink on a etching press, then hand watercolored. 2019.
Magnolias are ancient plants, possibly first fertilized by beetles before bees evolved, with nearly 120 different species. The flowers are characteristically large, with creamy white petals flushed with pink, purple, green or yellow and are extremely fragrant.
Linoleum block, hand watercolored print, inspired by my mother's kitchen table, where she keeps a lazy susan filled with the condiments and flavors ubiquitous to Asian American and in particular, Japanese American palettes. The linoleum block is drawn and carved in linoleum and printed on a etching press before I handcolor each one. 10” x 11”. 2019.
Two-block linoleum block is printed on Canson Mi-tientes paper, using rubber based Van Son inks on a Vandercook letterpress. 9” x 7”. 2019.
Two color linoleum and metal type postcard, printed on watercolor paper. 1999.
5" x 7". Two color linoleum block print card on Canson papers, printed on a C&P letterpress. 2013.
5" x 7". Two color card printed with polymer plates on Canson papers, printed on a C&P letterpress. 1998.
4" x 6" . Two color card of two sparrows courting over a pale green spray of blossoms. Printed on dove grey Canson papers, using light apple green and black Van Son rubber inks on a C&P pilot letterpress. 2015.
7" x 4.75". Two color linoleum block printed with white and black Van Son rubber inks, on olive green and periwinkle blue Canson papers. Printed on a C&P pilot letterpress. 2009.
7"x 4.75". Two color linoleum block card printed on a C&P letterpress. 1996.
5" x 7". Zodiac of all twelve animals of the Chinese calendar card, one color linoleum block on poppy red Canson papers, using black Van Son rubber ink. Printed on a C&P pilot letterpress.
4.5" x 6.5". Three color linoleum block print card on Canson papers, printed on a C&P letterpress. 2005.
4.5" x 6.5". Two color gocco print postcard. 2006.
4.5" x 6.5". Three color linoleum block print card on Canson papers, printed on a C&P letterpress. 2001.
4.5" x 6.5". Two color linoleum block print card on silver cardstock papers, printed on a C&P letterpress. 2008.
4.5" x 6.5". Two color linoleum block print card on Canson papers, printed on a C&P letterpress. 2009.
4.5" x 6.5". Two color linoleum block print card on Canson papers, printed on a C&P letterpress. 2011.
4.5" x 6.5". Two color linoleum block print card on Canson papers, printed on a C&P letterpress. 2014.
4.5" x 6.5". One color linoleum block print card on Canson papers, printed on a C&P letterpress. 2015.
4.5" x 6.5". Three color linoleum block print card on Canson papers, printed on a C&P letterpress. 2017.
Conjure, if you will, the twang and deep throated rumble of a four-stringed biwa lute, accompanied by the tense voice of a blind storyteller who sits in the shadows. His song, the "Heike Monogatari," is ageless, having survived for thousands of years in the form of narrative poetry, although it has also found life in classic paintings, books, plays, films, and musical scores and is considered to be the greatest of the Japanese war stories.
This 4" x 4" book, entitled "Mimi-nashi Hoichi (or Hoiichi the Earless)" retells the story of a blind biwa player named Hoichi, whose ears are sheared off following a score of nights performing the "Heike Monogatari" song cycles in a cemetery off the shores of Shiminoseki, Yamaguchi-ken. I drew and hand carved the linoleum block illustrations to accompany the text which was printed entirely on Vandercook and C&P platen presses during an artist residency at the San Francisco Center for the Book in spring 2015. The story is a century old translation from a Japanese ghost story, written down in English and popularized by the American folklorist Lafcadio Hearn and adapted for this project by me.
All linoleum handcarved and printed using Ganson rubberbased inks. Twenty pages, printed on natural and jade handmade Loksa Nepalese papers. Japanese stab binding. Edition of 50.
Six linoleum blocks on the theme of Japanese new year symbols and celebratory customs. Handcarved linoleum blocks and metal type printed on Vandercook letterpresses with Van Sons rubberbased inks. Six pages, printed on Stonehenge printmaking papers. Case binding with cloth covers, in an edition of five.
A family keepsake book created in honor of my grandmother, Miyeko Kebo nee Okamura, on her 80th birthday. April 10, 1997. Each cover had a different, one of a kind papercut. Edition of five, thirty-six pages, in Book Antiqua typeface using kozo washi paper, made by me in Mino, Japan.
Linoleum block print and haiku book on the theme of migrant workers in California's Central Valley. Six images printed with silver inks, text xerox transfered. Japanese washi paper made by the artist, as is all the poetry. Accordion turkish map fold binding. Edition of 5.
Several years ago, I read tanka written by Ishikawa Takuboku in an international literary journal that specialized in translation, and was intrigued by the intimacy and brutal candor of his poetry. Ishikawa was a disturbed artist in every sense, burdened with extreme poverty, ailing from tuberculosis. His daily struggle with meaning in the context of the rapidly modernizing Meiji era Tokyo lent themselves quite naturally to the photographs, and at times appear as if they were thought bubbles above the photographs subjects. I sat down to the task of translating a handful of his tanka with a kanji dictionary and other translations of his work and then chosen the twelve best.
The poems are accompanied by photographs I took of people on the trains and subways of Tokyo over a period of six years, with a particular interest in loneliness and compassion.
4" x 6", 24 pages, 21 photographs and 12 tankapoems printed onto color copies mounted onto boards with sanded corners. Cloth spine letterpress printed. Edition of 10. 2005.
Three-color, reduction linoleum block 2022 Chinese Zodiac Year of the Tiger calendar. 10" x 13" block print on white Mohawk cardstock paper, printed on a Vandercook letterpress with a mini monthly tear off calendar attached.
Limited edition of 50.
Three-color, reduction linoleum block 2021 Chinese Zodiac Year of the Ox calendar.
10" x 13" block print on white Mohawk cardstock paper, printed on an etching press with a mini monthly tear off calendar attached.
May 2021 carry us above high waters and onto safe grounds! The Ox is the second animal in the celestial zodiac, and known to be strong, reliable, and able to push through adversity. Recent years of the Ox are: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, next year---2021.
Limited edition of 40.
The rat is the first animal in the zodiac cycle of thirteen animals, rats are clever, quick thinkers; successful, but apparently they are also generally content with living a quiet and peaceful life. Recent years of the Rat are: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020.
The calendar is carved from linoleum and printed on a Vandercook SP-20 letterpress onto heavy printmaking papers, and a small tear-away monthly calendar is adhered to the front.
Limited edition of 95.
Linoleum block, letterpress printed four-color 2018 Chinese Zodiac Year of the Dog calendar. 13" x 19', printed with handcarved linoleum blocks in pale blue-grey, pale yellow, burnt orange, and black inks on white Mohawk cardstock paper. Printed on a Vandercook letterpress SP20. Limited edition of 50.
Letterpress printed, five color reduction linoleum block 2019 Chinese Zodiac Year of the Dog calendar. 13" x 19', printed with one handcarved linoleum block cut and carved down for each color: in butter yellow, pale blue, pink, spring green, and black inks on white Mohawk cardstock paper. Printed on a Vandercook letterpress SP20. Limited edition of 35.
12" x 18" two-color linoleum block 2016 calendar celebrating the Chinese zodiac's new year of the monkey. Printed in black, fuschia pink and a midnight purple on white Mohawk cardstock paper on a Vandercook SP20.
13" x 20" linoleum block inspired by California nature, printed in black on Crane printmaking papers. Printed on an etching press.
11" x 17" desert blooms linoleum block and letterpress wall calendar. Two-color linoleum block printed on sage green heavy cardstock paper with a SP20 Vandercook letterpress. Inspired by a recent trip through the Arizona and Utah desert, this calendar features an intricate illustration carved into linoleum (two blocks).
MUSEUM OF LOST ANIMALS
a calendar dedicated to extinction
The past five hundred million years of the earth's history have been rife with the extinction of countless species and entire ecosystems. Evidence suggests that with every appearance of human habitation, animal extinctions rise dramatically. A dreadful syncopation links the sudden and devastating loss of 74 to 86 percent of species, especially very large mammals, with ancient human migration throughout North and South America and Australia, nearly 20,000 years ago. Some believe that we are witnessing the onset of a sixth major extinction event.
HORNED GOPHER: ceratogaulus hatcheri
extinct early pleistocene era
TASMANIAN TIGER: thylacine
extinct 1936
SWORD BEAK: phorusrhacos longissimus
extinct miocene era
SABER TOOTHED TIGER: smilodon
extinct pleistocene era
DODO: raphus cucullatus
extinct mid-to-late 17th century
XERCES BLUE: glaucopsyche xerces
extinct 1943
DUNKLEOSTEUS: dinichthyidae
extinct late devonian era
MESOSAURUS
extinct early permian era
CARIBBEAN MONK SEAL: monachus tropicalis
extinct 1952
OBLIVIOUS TIGER BEETLE: cicindela hirticollis
extinct early 1990s
QUAGGA: equus quagga
extinct 1883
YUNNAN LAKE NEWT: cynops wolterstorffi
extinct 1979
This is a limited edition of 50 calendars, each image carved from linoleum blocks and hand letterpressed on a C&P platen press on seven richly hued shades of blue Canson papers. Calendar dates inkjet printed.
6.25" x 8.25"
The thirteen hand-carved linoleum blocks in this calendar are based on the photographs of Scott Squire and printed on Vandercook and C&P letterpresses on Canson papers. Quotations were taken liberally from William Emery’s miraculous essays with Bell MT typeface. 8” x 12.5”.
Edibilism: The common human desire to personally participate in the production of some or all of their food or drink. Intentional practitioners of edibilism include gardeners, farmers, butchers, canners, wine makers, fishers, gatherers, and hunters. Edibilism seeks to replace Industry with industry, a word that once meant diligence and skill. It is agrarian, futurist, and communitarian. Its sole measure is the human hand.
8.5” x 11” linoleum block print with watercolors, ink, paper, printed on an etching press, 2020. Commissioned by Timber Press.
Thirty-four illustrations commissioned for writer and organic farmer David Mas Masumoto memoir. Linoleum blocks, ink, paper and watercolors, printed on an etching press and letterpress, 2023. Published by Red Hen Press.
Lnoleum block print for upcoming book “Healing Grounds,” by Liz Carlisle, published by Island Press Spring 2022.
Linoleum block and hand watercolored print commissioned for the National Nurses United 2021 National Conference.
8.5” x 11” linoleum block print, ink, paper, 2020. Commissioned by Heyday Books, digitally colored and designed by Heyday.
Sharpie on cardboard pizza box. Draft artwork for upcoming Ohlone Cafe artwork and logo. 2018.
Ink and paper illustrations for collaborative portrait art series with Mike Saijo, for the 2018 Okaeri Nikkei LGBTQ conference, Los Angeles.
Ink and paper logo illustration for Village Harvest Grains company, 2016.
Commissioned artwork for baby announcement, 2013.
Edited by Patricia Wakida; Foreword by Luis Alfaro; Introduction by Glen Creason.
This literary and cartographic exploration of Los Angeles reorients our understanding of the city in highly imaginative ways. Illuminated by boldly conceived and artfully rendered maps and infographics, nineteen essays by LA’s most exciting writers reveal complex histories and perspectives of a place notorious for superficiality. This chorus of voices explores wildly different subjects: Cindi Alvitre unveils the indigenous Tongva presence of the Los Angeles Basin; Michael Jaime-Becerra takes us into the smoky, spicy kitchens of a family taquero business in El Monte; Steve Graves traces the cowboy-and-spacemen-themed landscapes of the San Fernando Valley. Overlooked sites and phenomena become apparent: LGBT churches and synagogues, a fabled “Cycleway,” mustachioed golden carp, urban forests, lost buildings, ugly buildings. What has been ignored, such as environmental and social injustice, is addressed with powerful anger and elegiac sadness, and what has been maligned is reexamined with a sense of pride: the city’s freeways, for example, take the shape of a dove when viewed from midair and pulsate with wailing blues, surf rock, and brassy banda.
Inspired by other texts that combine literature and landscape, including Rebecca Solnit’s Infinite City, this book’s juxtapositions make surprising connections and stir up undercurrents of truth. To all those who inhabit, love, or seek to understand Los Angeles, LAtitudes gives meaning and reward.
Edited by Patricia Wakida and Lawson Fusao Inada. Introduction by Lawson Fusao Inada; Preface by Patricia Wakida; Afterword by William Hohri
In the wake of wartime panic that followed the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, more than 100,000 Japanese Americans residing along the West Coast of the United States were uprooted from their homes and their communities and banished to internment camps throughout the country.
Through personal documents, art, and propaganda, Only What We Could Carry expresses through words, art, and haunting recollections, the fear, confusion and anger of the camp experience. The only anthology of its kind, Only What We Could Carry is an emotional and intellectual testament to the dignity, spirit and strength of the Japanese American internees.
A project of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program
Edited by Patricia Wakida, Heyday Books, 2000.
Born in Oakland, California, in 1910, the young Toshio Mori dreamed of being an artist, a Buddhist missionary, and a baseball player. Instead, he grew flowers in the family nursery business, and—influenced by contemporaries such as Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway —produced a body of extraordinary fiction. His well-crafted, humorous, wise tales celebrate the Japanese American community he knew so well, and reach beyond it to describe the essential human condition. The promise of a writing career was tragically interrupted when the publication of his first collection of short stories, Yokohama, California, was cancelled after the United States entered World War II. Mori was soon on his way from Oakland to Topaz, Utah—one of 110,000 citizens of Japanese descent held in internment camps between 1941 and 1944. When Yokohama, California was finally published in 1949, Toshio Mori was, at last, able to claim his place as "one of the most important new writers in the country" (William Saroyan).
Unfinished Message includes fifteen stories, a novella, letters, photographs, and an interview with Toshio Mori. Some of this material has never before been published.
