The Mighty Bluegill Logo

In the east, individuals use a chop (or hanko) as an official signature on documents as well as art and craft work. Typically the chop contains the person's name in Kanji (at least in Japan). It doesn't work culturally for gaijin (outsiders) to do this unless they use katakana, which would require more letters than a chop typically contains. 

The chop that I designed and carved is a nod to Japanese origins of this artform with the red seal, but the image is a simple "M" in the shape of a fishtail. I'm a white guy, practicing an artform that is traditionally Japanese. I don't ever want to come across as pretending to be something that I am not or appropriating the culture of another people. 

On the topic  of appropriation, my work was featured on a Japanese TV show which celebrated the influence of Japanese culture on the rest of the world. In the section on my work, they describe how some outside of Japan are practicing "colorful gyotaku." This is different from the traditional sumi ink on rice paper.