Why Fuji?
This twelve-page drawing, Fuji, has a long history woven into it. Recently shown in a group exhibition, it drew more questions and curiosity than any other piece on the wall. Viewers wanted to know where it began, how it was made, and why Fuji. The truth is, its influences stretch back decades, and I am still discovering threads of inspiration that shaped it.
Fuji, Completed work, sumi ink on rice paper, twelve sheets each 21" x 29.5"
Early Influences
I can’t remember exactly when or why I began collecting postcards of Mt. Fuji, but on the back of my twelve-page drawing Fuji is the date: 1972. Looking back, I can see this was the moment I was moving away from pure abstraction. I had already been studying the prints and drawings of Hokusai, whose work fascinated me.
Vintage Fuji postcards
Beginning in 1834, Hokusai worked under the name Gakyō Rōjin Manji (画狂老人卍; “The Old Man Mad About Art”). My own recollection has always been his name as Old Man Mad About Drawing.
Scribble Drawings
In my flat files are dozens of other drawings, all dated 1972. I called them scribble drawings because they consisted of abstract, scribbled lines — some even made with both hands. They began as a form of pretend writing, laid out on a horizontal grid that kept a clear reference to handwriting and text. To learn how to represent water and rocks, I turned to The Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden — a classic guide to Chinese brush and ink drawing by its masters.
How I Did It
I began Fuji one sheet at a time, moving slowly across the surface until all twelve pages came together. This grid shows the six main sections in the order I worked, each one growing out of the last. Section 6 was completed in four parts, noted here as a–d.
Installing Fuji
