The 2012 Gift Print

"I can't believe I didn't think of sending them a print until just today - it's the perfect gift since it's so well suited to being mailed. (I always have a difficult time figuring out what I can get them that will be genuinely appreciated but that won't cost me an arm and a leg to send!)"

Each year as we approach the gift season, I select one of the designs from my many series, get the blocks out of the storeroom, and print up a batch specifically for this purpose. The gift print for this year is one that I made some years back as a 'New Year' print, a design of the favourite Japanese way to bring good luck to one's projects - the Daruma.

To make the print - which is standard Japanese 'postcard' size (15 x 11cm) - I carved the image onto blocks of mountain cherry, and then used fine quality hand-made Japanese paper to pull the impressions.

A special feature of this year's print is the sho-men-zuri ('front rubbing') that we have used on the design. After the application of all the colours is complete, a final impression is made on the front of the paper, to give the red surface of the daruma doll a realistic shiny textured effect. To see this in the way that the viewers of the old days did, one must turn off any overhead lighting and hold the print near a window or lamp. The light falling horizontally across the print will then highlight this - and the embossments - and allow the full texture of the beautiful Japanese paper to be enjoyed.

	About the Gift Prints ... (including video ...)

Price ...

The gift prints are US$30 - including gift wrapping and packing as illustrated above.

I can mail to you, or directly to somebody on your behalf as a 'Gift from Japan'. The usual way is to include a slip of paper along the lines of: "For Ms. Happy Recipient, here is a small gift from Japan - sent to you at the request of Mr. Gift Sender", but of course I can use any message you wish to include. (At your choice, I can ship immediately upon receipt of the order, or can hold the package back and post it later for arrival in (say) mid-December.)

I have also printed up more copies of the images I used in the previous few years, a design of a flying crane, a pair of birds by Isoda Koryusai, a Meiji image of a young girl, and our very popular carp design by Katsushika Hokusai, and you can choose from these as well. Just select the appropriate quantities on the order form below.

	Gift Print Selection Form Use the quantity selectors to choose the print(s) you would like. (These can be changed later in the shopping cart.) Each print is $30, gift wrapping included. Postage is a flat $2.50, to anywhere on the planet. Note from Dave: I am in Vancouver at the moment - for our annual family reunion - and thus unable to make any shipments. If this is a 'rush' order, I am sorry but I can't help you just now. If you are in no particular hurry, then please go ahead and place an order, and I will ship your print(s) as soon as I return on March 2nd. Thank you for your consideration! \n"; $LINES = file ("2012_input_form.txt"); foreach ($LINES as $LINE) { echo $LINE; } echo ""; echo ""; ?> After making your selection of prints please move ahead to the next step, where you can select a payment method (Paypal, credit card, cheque, money order, etc.) and then confirm the order (if you wish). Shipping information for yourself and/or your gift recipients will also be filled in at that time.

If you like this idea of a woodblock print as a gift, but are looking for something a bit more substantial, please have a look at these ideas:

• Illustrator Jed Henry and I have begun a very interesting (and affordable!) new project - the Chibi Heroes subscription series ...
• A few years ago, I made a spectacular item - a woodblock-printed hanging scroll ...
• The complete set of 12 woodblock prints and books of the 'My Solitudes' series is available, complete with a paulownia storage box.
• A 'gift subscription' to my current series - 'The Mystique of the Japanese Print'. They receive a new print each month for the duration of the series ...

And if none of the ideas on this page are suitable for your gift, perhaps you would be satisfied with sending your recipient friend a woodblock.com eCard ...