Abstracts for the New Year

         Here are a couple of abstract woodcuts that somehow seem suitable for the vibe of a new year stretching ahead.  The artist is Yukio Hasumi (Japan, b. 1927), about whom I can find no information beyond the birth date - not even a death date, which means they’re 99 this year!  Hasumi did a number of pieces with similar marks and color gradations, and I find it interesting that they used variations of the same branching, seaweedy patterns over and over.  I’d be curious to learn whether there was a significance behind the forms, or did the artist just feel like it.  Many of Hasumi’s woodcuts include “Saku” as the title, which may mean “to bloom.”

        In the absence of any further information to give you, I simply share these pieces and invite you to sink in and see whether they speak to you.  Given their dates (1970-71), they probably aim to expand your mind!

        Meanwhile, I’ve been very busy preparing for the Arisia con this weekend, in which I’ll have a very full schedule of art show, readings, panels, and shifts at the Broad Universe book table in the Dealers Room.  My panels include:

    The Moral of the Story Is…  (You all know from the April A to Z Challenge how much I love a moral!)

    Writing Hope (You know from Bittersweetness & Light, not to mention… well, everything, how much I love hopeful stories!)

    Cartography in Sci Fi/Fantasy (You know from the “maps” link over in the sidebar how much I love fantasy cartography!)

    Designing Things that Don’t Exist (You know from the number of times I’ve been on similar panels how much I enjoy this topic!  You can find some related posts here.)

    Songs, Poems, and Stories in Modern Sci Fi/Fantasy (You know from the “poetry” link in the sidebar how much I love fantasy poetry!  You can find a few specific posts to explore here.)

    Faiths of Fantasy and the Future (You know from the fact that I was on this panel last year how interested I am in the topic!  Here’s what I said about the panel then.)

        You can see my whole schedule and full panel descriptions here.  If you’ll be at Arisia don’t hesitate to say hello!

[Pictures: Saku Q-11, color woodcut by Hasumi, 1970;

Saku SZ-6, color woodcut by Hasumi, 1971 (Images from The Cleveland Museum of Art).]