Brad Schwartz


'Pine Print Suite #4'

(Click image to pop-up an enlargement )


Artist's comments ...

I found this small poem in an old gardening / home improvement book and found it very inspiring for woodblock printing.

The Prayer of the Tree

(A notice found nailed to a tree in one of the parks of Seville, Spain.
Copied from the book "Spanish Sunshine," by Elinor Elsner.)

"To the Wayfarer:

Ye who pass by and would raise your hand against me
Harken ere you harm me!

I am the heat of your hearth on the cold winter nights,
The friendly shade screening you from the summer sun.
My fruits are refreshing draughts,
Quenching your thirst as you journey on,

I am the beam that holds your house
The board of your table,
The bed on which you lie,
And the timber that builds your boat,

I am the handle of your hoe,
The door of your homestead,
The wood of your cradle,
And the shell of your coffin.

I am the bread of kindness, and the flower of beauty,
Ye who pass by, listen to my prayer; harm me not."


Initially this image was going to be completed on cherry wood, but due to time constraints it was carved on linoelum. The image size is 7x9" and is printed with Daniel Smith black relief ink on Mulberry paper.


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