Beerhorst's City

        Rick Beerhorst (USA) uses urban elements in many of his wood block prints.  I especially like his buildings, which are very simple, rough blocks.  The addition of ladders gives both visual interest with their diagonals and storytelling interest.  This piece is titled Building the City, but it doesn’t look like construction.  The ladders seem to go off in random directions, as if they’re less about building buildings and more about building experiences or adventures.

        I also like the urban setting of this Peaceable Kingdom.  The theme is one very dear to my heart (my version here) and I think we need the vision always before us with all sorts of people, in all sorts of

settings, now more than ever.  Beerhorst gives it interest with lots of modern details including a beautiful fire hydrant in the foreground, buildings and water tower in the background, and a barbed-wire-topped chain link fence which I imagine might be running along a train track or a highway that cuts through the city.  I also like the ball and jacks for the children to play with, and the friendly alertness of dove and snake.

[Pictures: Building the City, wood block print by Rick Beerhorst;

Peaceable Kingdom in the City, wood block print by Beerhorst (Images from StudioBeerhorst).]