Katazome Postcard, Ayu Sweetfish

Here pictured is a katazome printed postcard, created by a silkscreen process relying mainly on resist-dyeing (meaning the first layer of printing masks off areas using a glue-like paste made from soy-milk which will eventually be washed off and remain un-dyed); it seeks to reveal the beauty of the handmade paper which lies beneath. In chiyogami printing techniques, the pattern covers the entire surface and most often includes gold power for maximum effect, but the beauty of katazome lies in a more typically Japanese minimal and restrained approach to aesthetics.