Keiji Shinohara takes pride in the details.

The Japanese woodblock artist spent 10 years apprenticed to a master printmaker learning his craft. Each print he makes is created by hand carving multiple wooden blocks, coating them with water-based ink and carefully stamping them on rice paper so the images overlap precisely.

“After you make a drawing, it is sort of like making a puzzle. The sky is one block. The mountain is another block. ... It can be just two or three blocks, or it can be 20 blocks or up to 100 blocks. It depends on what you want to achieve,” said Shino-hara of Middletown, Conn.

Shinohara’s prints are one of five new exhibits at the Rocky Mount Arts Center, said Catherine Coulter, visual arts specialist. The spring shows feature two artists, a national juried art show and a variety of works from the center’s permanent collection.

Shinohara’s and Stuart Kent’s shows probably will evoke the biggest reactions from viewers, Coulter said.

It took Shinohara months to convince master printmaker Keiichiro Uesugi to accept him as an apprentice in ukiyo-e, a system of Japanese wood block print production. As an apprentice, Shinohara swept floors, cleaned toilets and did whatever his teacher told him to do. He also watched Uesugi and gradually learned his craft through imitation.

When his apprenticeship was finished, Shinohara immigrated to the United States in 1985.

“I wanted to be an artist, but in Japan, there is a gap between artists and craftsmen. Craftsmen are always lower than artists. Because my teacher was very well known as a craftsman, I couldn’t find anyone who would present my work in a gallery. That is why I came to the United States,” Shinohara said.

Shinohara’s show runs through May 23.

---

Detail also is important in Kent’s work with wood, but on a much larger scale, Coulter said. The Greenville artist started as a custom wood furniture designer and branched out into more artistic work. Now he creates large-scale wood-turned vessels inspired by antiques. Kent’s show runs through May 9.

“Stuart’s pieces are just monumental. You walk in, and they take your breath away because they are so much bigger than you are. You just kind of can’t believe that somebody made a vase that is 8 feet tall. And they are very graceful in that as well,” Coulter said.

Coulter also expects “Handcrafted,” a national juried art show, to be well-received. Shinohara, who judged the show, received images of 91 submissions from 26 artists nationwide. He narrowed the field to 39 pieces by 17 artists to be shown and chose four winners at the opening reception Friday night. The top prize, best in show, went to Kat Cole, whose piece will be purchased for $1,000 by the center for its permanent collection.

The show includes ceramics, metal, glass, stone and fiber works. The pieces range from jewelry to a triptych filled with spools of yarn to a metal crown called “The Unholy Trinity” and featuring the faces of former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The show runs through May 16.

Steve Ainsworth of Washington, N.C., entered two pieces in the “Handcrafted” exhibit. One of them, a pierced pecan hollow vessel, won him first place and $500. Ainsworth carved the ornate vase using a woodturning method.

“I do the basic shape on the lathe. Then I go to hand carving to define the petals. Then where all the holes are is called piercing. It is done with a dental drill,” Ainsworth said.

The final two shows feature ceramics and landscape paintings taken from the center’s permanent collection, Coulter said. Both place strong emphasis on N.C. artists.

All exhibits at the center are free. For information, call 972-1163.