[Baren]: The mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking.

Baren Digest              Friday, 13 February 1998      Volume 02 : Number 068

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 08:57:30 -0800
Subject: [Baren 380] Re: Joke & Aging. 

Thanks for the feed back Ray. It is for the same reason I sent my apologize
note.

Graham

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From: Dan Wasserman <dwasser@slam.org>
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 15:57:12 -0800
Subject: [Baren 381] ageing paper 

Dave et al.

I just spoke to a friend of mine who is a paper conservator who once
trained under a very _creative_ art _restorer_ about ageing your paper
and he said the mater is very simple.  _Physical manipulation_...
drawing the paper across the edge of a table at an oblique angle before
printing.  The fellow he worked for usualy followed that up with
smoking, toasting, and maybe an accident involving a cup of tea but my
friend says the drawing across the table edge should soften your paper
nicely without impairing the longevity of your paper.  Hmmm.

~dan

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From: David Bull <davebull@asahi-net.email.ne.jp>
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 20:22:39 +0900
Subject: [Baren 382] Re: Aging paper 

Dan wrote:
>  about ageing your paper ...
> ... and he said the mater is very simple.  _Physical manipulation_...
> drawing the paper across the edge of a table at an oblique angle before
> printing.  

'Before printing'?   But actually, getting rid of the sizing before
printing isn't a problem - simply order paper without sizing ...  I
_need_ the sizing in the paper during the printing process, and then
once that process is _finished_, I'd like to get rid of it.

The technique you mention, physical manipulation of the paper, does
work.  Bashing the paper does make it soft.  There was a standard
technique 'back in the old days' called 'creping', which involved taking
a bunch of completed prints, rolling them onto a fat round dowel, and
then beating them with sticks with a slightly sideways motion from the
ends of the roll towards the centre.  The idea was to shrink them down
to a smaller size, and give them a 'crepe' finish.  I understand this
was done both crossways and lengthways.  

I've never seen a print done like this, but have read about it in a few
sources.


> The fellow he worked for usually followed that up with
> smoking, toasting, and maybe an accident involving a cup of tea but my
> friend says the drawing across the table edge should soften your paper
> nicely without impairing the longevity of your paper.  Hmmm.

'Visual' aging like this is of course a different story.  I've done
various 'experiments' with tea, coffee and other murky liquids, and it's
possible to make some really nifty looking 'old' prints.  I've got one
hanging up over my workbench, a print that I made back in Canada and
which I soaked in warm tea for a while soon after finishing.  Now, ten
years later, it has collected dust and stains, and has developed a
wonderful ambience.  I've never done this sort of thing with prints that
I sell, but just for my own fun.

Another good one is cobwebs - the kind that start to droop from the
upper corners of rooms that aren't cleaned properly.  They collect a
particularly fine kind of dust that does wonders for the appearance of a
print ...

But somehow, I just can't imagine one of Graham's lighthouses done this
way ... tea stained, dusty and old ...    How about this Graham, have
you ever had fun playing around with this sort of thing?

As far as my original question goes - getting rid of the hardness of
fresh prints - I was wondering about some of these ideas:
- - subjecting the print to extended ultra-sonic vibration.   Would this
perhaps break down the molecules of gelatin?
- - Would sub-sonic be better?
- - zapping it in the microwave.  I think this probably softens up the
gelatin temporarily, but as soon as the radiation stops, the molecules
will firm up again.
- - Subjecting the print to rapidly alternating hot and cold
environments.  Take it from a hot oven (not hot enough to set the paper
on fire) and put it in the freezer.  Take it out and put it back in the
oven ...   Perhaps do this a few times.  What would happen to the
gelatin?

I haven't tried any of these ...  One day when I've got a bit of time on
my hands ...

Dave

P.S.   The web site of [Baren] member Dan Wasserman has moved (or anyway is in the process of moving).  Please note the new address:
<http://www.nothnbut.net/~null/>


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End of Baren Digest V2 #68
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