Quiet elegance

Through pages of beautiful images, authors Michael Verne and Betsy Franco, of the Verne Gallery of Japanese Art in Cleveland, introduce the work of nine American artists who have all honed and tempered their craft in an intense encounter with Eastern culture. In nine individual essays, the authors reveal the experiences that formed these artists - the years of study with Japanese masters, the effect of an ancient culture on their perceptions, and their willingness to break with tradition and try new forms. Daniel Kelly's prints show us a true melding of Japanese object and Western eye. Karyn Young studied Kasuri weaving and kimono stencil dyeing, which are now elements of her colorful kimono prints. Joshua Rome's prints reflect the mountains that surround his rustic mountain home in rural Japan. Margaret Kennard Johnson's very modern intaglio reliefs and paper sculptures are inspired by ancient Japanese food vessels. In Brian Williams's works we see the serene landscapes that inspired the Japanese masters. Sarah Brayer uses traditional papermaking methods to create her colorful, many-layered paperworks. Micah Schwaberow's woodblock prints redefine the technique - he has eliminated the dark lines that normally define the shapes in a traditional print so that his works look more like watercolors. Joel Stewart's watercolors and etchings depict the ageless beauty of a traditional Japan that is slowly disappearing, while one of Carol Jessen's prints depicts a modern scene in the style of a Hiroshige print.