How Japanese Woodblock Art Shaped My Direction as  a Pattern Designer Some styles are admired. Others quietly become part of the way we see. Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints — and especially the work of Katsushika Hokusai — were never just a visual reference for me. They became a way of thinking about nature, rhythm, and pattern . ( Hokusai - Wikipedia ) 🌿 Nature as a Story, Not Decoration Hokusai showed that a flower, a bird, or a wave does not need to be realistic to feel true. In his work: line guides the eye, color breathes, composition allows space for silence. That silence — the space between forms — is what resonated with me most deeply. It changed how I approach pattern design. I began to understand that richness does not come from density, and that rhythm can be more powerful than excess . A motif can repeat like a calm refrain, without overwhelming the eye.  From Contour to Watercolor — My Own Choice While painting my collections — Jap...