Ebbtide, Bodega Bay

Micah Schwaberow

Printmaker Micah Schwaberow studied color woodcut in Japan with Master woodcut printmaker Toshi Yoshida. Schwaberow depicts a sunset in Bodega Bay, California at an ebbtide.

"Ebbtide, Bodega Bay" depicts Bodega Bay and Bodega Head, located on the Pacific Ocean in Sonoma County, California. The village of Bodega Bay has been a harbor for fishing boats for decades, protected by Bodega Head, which projects out into the Pacific, and a jetty.

Schwaberow captures the sunset at low tide, as the sun begins to set and the colors of the landscape start to recede. He uses small gouged lines to create the effect of the movement of the water at ebbtide as the light flicks across the surface. In the sky Schwaberow utilized the Japanese printing technique of "Bokashi" to suggest the atmosphere.

"Bokashi" is used to achieve a variation in lightness and darkness (value) of a single color or multiple colors by hand applying a gradation of ink to a moistened wooden printing block, rather than inking the block uniformly. This hand-application has to be repeated for each sheet of paper that is printed.