“In the beginning I started woodcut and then with copper plate etching I found more possibilities to challenge myself to express a more complicated and deeper world in my images. Etching’s sharp delicate line and chemical reaction on the plate are all the evidence of my hand in the making of my work.”
‌
Maho Kino’s roots are from Japan, where printmaking began in the 8th century with words and prayers. By the 17th century an independent art form was being recognized and practiced widely. For Kino, printmaking is never subordinate to painting or sculpture but is equal. She describes it as a very natural skill to express ideas as art and as a basic instinct as a Japanese. Kino draws inspiration for this idea from the mid-12^th century Japanese animal person caricatures of Choju-Jinbutsu- Giga from the Kozan-Ji temple in Kyoto.