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

Baren Digest               Thursday, 11 June 1998       Volume 03 : Number 180

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From: "Roger A. Ball" <beckorro@inquo.net>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 08:35:34 -0600
Subject: [Baren 918] books of cuts 

Hello again.  

I thought it was interesting how hearing about Lynd Ward and Danny Pierce
got everyone thinking about or at least talking and looking at whole books
of cuts.  Few people have the time, patience or vision to do an entire book
of woodcuts.  It seems to me that a person has to be either very devoted or
nuts to want to do something that expansive.  --It's damn appealing in some
ways, though.

Just considering what I see as the permanence of a book of woodcuts seems
to intimidate me in a way that say, a novel or a book of poems can't--even
if the book was written by me.  Our images are much more personal than our
words. 

"The novel without words" as Ward put has its own appeal quite different
than Danny's style.  Both are great "expressionists" and both have found
brilliant ways of overcoming our two dimensional medium.  Ward mostly
cross-hatches, Danny texturizes or uses chiaroscuro.

Great examples from great artists abound.  Me, I'm messing with rice paste
and trying to figure out where I want to go with pigments.  And I have far
too much to learn and far too many ideas running now to think about a book.
 (I'd probably woodcut a bunch of computers eating great big chunks out of
the earth...beyond sci- fi straight to the stupid.)  Wow.  Just to get the
exposure to other working artists makes this list so helpful.

Regards,

- -Roger

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From: julio.rodriguez@walgreens.com
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 10:02:11 -0600
Subject: [Baren 919] re:video 

I still got the video. I apologize for the delay....but one of my vcr's has 
been at the shop feeling ill and very much wanted to make a copy of Dave's 
video before sending it out. The good news is that I got my vcr back this 
weekend, the copy has beeen made...and the tape should be in the mail by 
Friday. I added two new people to the mailing list ( I think Gayle and April), 
but the next stop I think is Phil , John & Ray. I will verify that 
tonight....and publish the mailing list order tomorrow. Again, very sorry about 
the delay. 

JULIO

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From: Ramsey Household <cjramsey@pacbell.net>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 08:03:36 -0700
Subject: [Baren 920] Re: books of cuts 

Roger A. Ball wrote:
> I thought it was interesting how hearing about Lynd Ward and Danny Pierce (etc.)

I don't think Artist's Books need to be intimidating.  They can be fun and
free.  They don't have to be tomes or novels, or even use words.  They are
just a different way of displaying your work.  There are many ways of making
a book. Three titles that may be of interest to some of you, are:  JAPANESE
BOOKBINDING by Kojiro Ikegami; STRUCTURE OF THE VISUAL BOOK, by Keith A.
Smith; and  MAKING BOOKS BY HAND by Mary McCarthy and Philip Manna.  You can
adapt these methods to woodcuts.  There are other good books also.  But this
is a start.  Try it, you might like it.

  Carolyn Ramsey

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 08:53:44 -0700
Subject: [Baren 921] Re: books of cuts 

 Carolyn Ramsey?

Have I missed something.
I don't recall seeing your name here before.

At any rate welcome to the Baren.
Hope you enjoy.

Thanks for the list of books.

Cheers

Graham

ARTIST DON'T RETIRE ...........THEY DRAW TO A CONCLUSION

Graham  Scholes
http://www.islandnet.com/~gscholes/

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From: Ray Esposito <brassring@brassring.org>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 12:36:38 -0400
Subject: [Baren 922] Re: books of cuts <199806101439.XAA20394@ml.asahi-net.or.jp> 

Graham wrote:
> Carolyn Ramsey?
>I don't recall seeing your name here before.

Graham

Although there may only be 30 or 35 members of Baren, there are many
"lurkers" out there.  My research indicates that they make themselves
available after reading about fifteen of your messages.  If the jokes don't
run them off and the Canadian accent dosen't confuse them, they feel free
to reveal themselves.

And after today's joke, I think we just drove most of them deeper into the
bushes.  :>)

Cheers

Ray Esposito

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From: Ray Esposito <brassring@brassring.org>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 12:39:08 -0400
Subject: [Baren 923] Re: books of cuts 

Carolyn wrote:
>> I don't think Artist's Books need to be intimidating.  (etc.)

Welcome to Baren.  Thank you for the contribution.  You will find members a
friendly bunch willing to share what they know, which is considerable.

Cheers

Ray Esposito

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 08:21:47 +0900
Subject: [Baren 924] Graham's 'secrets' 

(Scrambled post ...)

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 09:52:42 +0900
Subject: [Baren 925] Graham's Secrets - Retry ... 

Oops!  I'm sorry about this repeat post.  When I sent posting #924 
I forgot one of the basic rules of email: 'Don't send a message that
contains multiple lines with nothing but a period at the beginning'

I did so in that post, and the message was truncated at that point by
the server.

Here's the post as it was originally written ...

***

Graham wrote:
>Does any of the info I write about ever get into the 
>encyclopedia?  You are welcome to use it.

Actually Graham, I had been waiting for _you_ for some articles or
entries.  When the Encyclopedia was first announced, you said:
>Anyway I will be contributing stuff for the site. 

So I've been waiting to see what you had in mind.  I know what I would
_like_ to see from you - a long descriptive illustrated entry in the
section 'Overviews of the Printmaking Process'.  So far, there are
entries in there from four printmakers, and I want a _lot_ more!

I very much would like a piece from you that shows us how you actually
make one of your prints - from first sketches right up to finished
work.  There are a million questions to be answered:

- - do you do an outline drawing?
- - how do you get the drawing onto the block?
- - do you do a semi-finished 'master' colour drawing of the complete
image before starting carving?
- - do you do any kind of a 'key' block, or do you carve all the colour
blocks independently?
- - do you print from deeper colours first, or lighter?
- - how do you get your trademark 'speckle' colour?
...

Your prints are very attractive, and I would very much like the
Encyclopedia to contain a good documentation of how they are made.  If I
could find the time to get over there and watch you work for a while,
then _I_ could write the story ... but I'm afraid that just won't be
possible for a while yet.  

I have mixed feelings about asking you for this.  You are obviously a
'doer', not just a 'talker'.  You want to _make_ prints, not just talk
about them, and every minute you spend at your Mac is a minute you're
not making prints.  But if you do have some time available, perhaps
after a good day's work in the studio, on a day when it's too rainy to
spend the evening working in your beautiful garden ... please consider
starting work on such a page.  I know that a lot of people would be
_very_ interested in reading it ... and not only current [Baren]
members, but all those in the future ...

***

Roger wrote:
>Few people have the time, patience or vision to do an entire book
>of woodcuts.  It seems to me that a person has to be either very
>devoted or nuts to want to do something that expansive.

I had to laugh at this Roger - I've been making arrangements with a
bookbinder person to put together some of the remaining sets of my
'poets' prints when the series is finally done, later this year.  Ten
years worth of prints - each set of one hundred bound into a nice fat
leather volume.

But I think if I had to choose between your two options ... I know which
one I'd take!

Dave

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 18:19:40 -0700
Subject: [Baren 926] Re: books of cuts 

>And after today's joke, I think we just drove most of them deeper into the
>bushes.  :>)

To much Ray, you really have a wonderful sense of humour.  ...or is that
humor!!!

Is compost, humourous?

Graham

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 19:09:59 -0700
Subject: [Baren 927] Re: Graham's Secrets  

Dave wrote,
>Actually Graham, I had been waiting for _you_ for some articles or
>entries.  When the Encyclopedia was first announced, you said:
>>Anyway I will be contributing stuff for the site.

I did not realize that you wanted an article per se.
I don't think there is any secret stuff in what I do. It is basically the
Japanese technique with a lot of.....what ifs. Kind of the seat of my pants
approach.  I will work on something between jobs. What I need is a scanner 
so that I can do it right. ....... Eventually.

The gardening is just about finished now. I have just got another dozen
hanging baskets to go and the watering system for them.  After that finish
one bed in the back garden. After that ....well you don,t really need to
hear all the details.

There is one interesting thing. It was raining here to day and decided to
do a sculpture to fit in the 21 foot Vase sculpture that sits in our back
yard.  It will be a 3 foot Sunflower.  Ya, me and Van Gough have a thingy
about them. It has something to do with the birds.!!  (forget it Ray) (<:

I have 7 prints that are quite low on inventory so this is almost priority no.1

A studio tour this weekend sponsored by the local Arts Council.  Lots of
tire kickers will be around.

I'm thinking about you Dave.

Regards,
Graham

ps
> How do you get your trademark 'speckle' colour?
I'm damned if I know.

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End of Baren Digest V3 #180
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