For this edition, master ukiyo-e wood block printer, Yasu Shibata, traveled to the artist's studio with blocks of plywood. Placing the block on a table, Helen Frankenthaler used brushes, sponges and her hand to pour and move acrylic paint directly onto the plywood block.

Returning to the Pace Editions Ink print shop, Yasu's task was to replicate the detail and spirit of Frankenthaler's original painting. The process begins with careful study for color separations which are transferred to numerous sheets of shina plywood. Because the artist had painted onto a woodblock, Yasu had to reproduce the subtleties of the wood grain in the print. For distinct shapes within the print, Yasu carved the blocks to create relief areas that were hand inked with water based pigments.

To replicate Frankenthaler's rich watery passages, Yasu painted polyurethane onto the blocks and allowed the open unpainted areas to absorb the pigment when it was brushed and squeegeed across the surface. In these areas, successive layers of color were printed to achieve deep accumulations of tone.Working in collaboration with Frankenthaler, Yasu took numerous proofs to Helen's studio, which were compared with the original painting to determine further refinements for the editions.