For the past twenty years, Paulette Nejko has been working in the Japanese methods taught by Toshi Yoshida. This approach to printmaking looks more painterly and holds greater possibilities for expanding the medium. Nejko creates her prints by first carving into one inch, cherry blocks of wood. The artist carefully selects these blocks; they are free of knots and are a center cut, to prevent warping. Nejko draws her design onto these blocks of wood and carves away the portions of negative space with Japanese tools. She designates two or three colors for each side of the block of wood and uses between two and six blocks for each design. Nejko creates the print by pressing dampened, handmade paper over each of the cherry blocks, which have been hand-painted with watercolor. The resulting print displays soft, luminescent images that showcase Nejko’s sensitivity to color and form. Printed in editions of 150 or less, each of Nejko’s prints are unique pieces of art, reflecting the subtleties achieved through hand-pulled prints.

Paulette Nejko has exhibited her work throughout the Northeast in galleries and shows. She has achieved recognition among her peers with membership to Audubon Artists Society in New York where she has exhibited her work since 1992. 

Her work has also received national awards from juried shows at the Summit Art Center (New Jersey), Women’s Hall of Fame (Seneca Falls, New York), and the Parkside National Print Exhibition (Wisconsin). At the present time her prints are being sold through the Gnidziejko Gallery and can be found in other galleries and short term shows.