Japonisme: Fireworks and Cherry Blossoms

I remember walking through Monet’s house at Giverny and being captivated by the vibrant yellow walls lined with Japanese woodblock prints. It was a quiet revelation—my first true awareness of how profoundly Japanese art influenced the French Impressionists.

Japonisme: Fireworks and Cherry Blossoms continues this centuries-long artistic dialogue between East and West, past and present, printmaking and photography. Drawing inspiration from Hiroshige’s Ukiyo-e, I use photography as a bridge—layering each image with hand-painted gilding, colored surrounds, and fragments of text cut from ancient Japanese poetry books. Each photograph is interpreted uniquely, all are created in or inspired by Japan. These choices are not merely decorative; they are gestures of reverence, transformation, and connection.

As a woman working across disciplines, I’m particularly drawn to the quiet labor of embellishment—the kind of slow, meditative handwork often overlooked, yet filled with intention and power. My process honors the precision of traditional woodblock printing while asserting a contemporary, female presence.

This series is both homage and reinvention. By layering mediums, histories, and hands—my own included—I seek to create work that feels timeless and intimate. Japonisme: Fireworks and Cherry Blossoms is not just a tribute to what came before, but an invitation to continue the conversation—through new forms, new stories, and new ways of seeing.