[Baren]: The mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking. Baren Digest Thursday, 1 October 1998 Volume 05 : Number 298 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: mkrieger@mb.sympatico.ca Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 08:17:45 -0500 Subject: [Baren 1783] starch pastes and distilled water A little more info Distilled water wouldn't probably contribute any advantage as far as mold prevention. Mold spores are everywhere suspended in the air. Whenever they find a spot they like, they will grow. Warm moist dark conditions favor mold growth. So cold, dryness and light will discourage it. UV light and such agents as formaldehyde or bleach kill at least some of the mold organisms so that if favorable conditions reoccur the mold will not continue to grow. Distilled water may preserve the existing PH of the paper. Anyone living in an area where the local water supply stains their bathroom fixtures or in a building with older cast iron plumbing may want to consider using distilled water. For most of us, tap water will work just fine. Here's how I make starch paste. I use it for hinging prints, and making paper mache with my kids as well as for printing. Any refinements people would like to contribute are welcome. Each starch has its own characteristics as people have already pointed out. You can experiment with the variety of specialty flours available if you are adventurous. Rice flour and potato flour are both readily available in Winnipeg. I've used the rice flour for printing paste and it worked fine. I've never tried the potato. I wonder about tapioca. It makes a lovely clear glaze when one makes stir fry. I start with a mixture of flour and water. I don't generally measure so I can't give you exact proportions. The consistency I want is thin enough to pour but thick enough coat the spoon. I cook this over a low heat stirring constantly. I know when it is ready when the mixture thickens and becomes slightly translucent. When you rub a little between your fingers and thumb, it is slick without a grainy feeling and very sticky. Use it as soon as it cools or keep in the fridge. Yes it will grow mold like crazy if you let it. Some recipies I have seen include a drop of formaldehyde to prevent this. I don't like this complication - too hard to store formaldehyde safely in a residence. I just make it when I need it. Mary Krieger ------------------------------ From: David Bull Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1998 00:10:58 +0900 Subject: [Baren 1784] Two from Julio ... Julio asked: > in the photo of Kayoko-san she seems to be >carving into a block made up of strips of wood glued together on the side, >kind of like engravers do ... No, that's not what you are seeing in that picture. What she is doing is working on a piece of wood that will be used to print a very small label. The block is so small, that it's difficult to hold it while carving, so she is using a 'jig' to hold it firmly. The jig is a plank of wood with two 'end pieces'. The little block is placed between these, and then a number of strips of wood are used to fill in the space between the block and the end rails. A couple of small wedges are pushed in to hold everything in place. So the jig can thus be used to hold blocks of any different size - just by varying how many strips are used ... I believe a similar system is used to hold printing blocks and type in place on the bed of presses. What do they call all that stuff - 'furniture'? I forget ... *** Julio also asked: >I got a technical question regarding carving & printing of hair detail ala >japanese style. In many prints the hair detail is phenomenal, with many >very intricate lines that cross each other and overlay other lines such as >neckline or dress. How is this detail obtained/done ? There must be >several different blocks for the hair lines that overlap and then they >must be printed in the correct order to give the correct prespective. Right? Sometimes yes, multiple blocks are used for overlaid and overlapping hair lines. In some ukiyo-e prints three or four blocks might be used for the hair alone. But you can't assume just because you see 'crossing lines' that they are carved on separate blocks. Those guys were good, and they were quite capable of carving intricate stuff on a single block. I've got an image on my own web site of a Meiji-era print taken in a single impression that shows some rather impressive detail ... http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~xs3d-bull/hyaku-nin-isshu/set10/print_10-3/fig3_large.jpg ... but if you look closely, you can see a couple of places where he accidentaly 'popped out' a tiny piece of two ... Dave ------------------------------ From: Matthew.W.Brown@VALLEY.NET (Matthew W Brown) Date: 30 Sep 98 12:31:55 EDT Subject: [Baren 1785] Yoshida Richard, In your post about the "formaldehyde man" I became confused. The man you spoke of was Toshi Yoshida, but did you mean Hodaka Yoshida, or. . . did you mean Toshi's printer? Didn't Toshi pass along two years ago? Matt ------------------------------ From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 16:32:17 -0500 Subject: [Baren 1786] re: Art supplies James writes about Aiko's Art Supplies: >"Julio, this place is the mother lode. A friend was there recently while >visiting a friend of her's in Chicago and had to be dragged out of the >store before she bankrupted herself. " I talked to a very nice oriental lady over the phone and inquired about papers, specifically student grade. They seem to have a large variety and when I mentioned Nishinouchi she indicated it was expensive and "not really" for students. She did not give me a price as they are out of Nishinouchi right now and I don't know what her idea of expensive is. I won't be able to go by the store till saturday as they close by 5:00pm during the week and I am still at work at that time. Funny side story. After I told her I would stop by on Saturday she asked my name and when I said "Julio" - she replied "Julio-san ??" or something like "ulio-san ??" Something like that, she must have thought I was Japanese or had a japanese sounding name... Is there a japanese first name that sounds like "Julio" ???? Thanks Dave for the quick reply to my earlier questions. Bye JULIO. ------------------------------ From: Steiner Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 11:21:25 +0900 Subject: [Baren 1787] a hairy problem from Richard Steiner, Kyoto Julio; you are right, yet there is more to it. Often, not only for the hair but also for those mosquitos nets that so frequently appear in ukiyo-e prints, separate blocks were cut for the lines that ran in separate directions. When printed, no one could tell. I also heard that, for hair that flows in the same direction, sometimes separate blocks were carved for, say, every other hair. When printed, because the keying was so precise, the hairs all looked like they were carved and printed from the same block. Several months ago, Mother Dave showed some amazingly detailed photos of a block he had borrowed of just this thing, tho the carving there was of all the hair on just one block. But the detail!!! No doubt Dave will tell you of this if he answers you. Again, referring to Toshi Yoshida, for really fine detail, he would draw it in black to the same scale as the print, have the drawing photographed and a zinc plate made of it. This plate he would fix to a block with the proper kento marks on it, and then print it as he would any usual, wooden block. Inking was no problem. I have seen and touched such plates, so I know first hand this information. Graham; I don't understand what you are saying. Toshi's printer probably starting printing from the age of three, or thereabouts. His whole life is printing. He knows nothing but printing. He knows everything about printing. He doesn't moan that he has to print more than 5 prints for fear that his arm will fall off or that he will get bored. That very recent discussion about editioning and why to, who not, set me off, as anyone who knows me could guess. This BarenForum is supposed to be for professionals, semi-pros and serious newbies. When I read that printing more than 5 (who wrote that I don't remember; I deleted it) wears the writer out, or that printing more than 15 is boring, I can't help thinking that I am in the company of children, and why do I want to waste my time here? Not only me, but others I know print 125 and more, if they do editions. I have just finished printing 200 copies of next year's calendar; 8 colors, times 200 is a lot of printing, and my arm didn't fall off. The calendar will have 14 pages (cover, index, the 12 months) all done by 14 different people, all printing the same number of times. This comes closer to being pro than the whiners who can't print 5 sheets without getting a headache. Look at Dave, who prints 100 sheets each of his project, and not two colors either. When last we met, he still had both arms. I belabor the point. Graham, I am given to exaggeration, as you ought to know by now; it greatly helps me to make my point, and add color to the conversation. Other pros are real, to the extent that their lives are wholly devoted to their craft, that it is in their blood, that they can't do anything else nor want to. If I think about it, I suppose I could find some unpro-like pros, men or women who are good and who depend on it for their livelihood, but who have an attitude less than convincing. (I am big on attitude.) I will close before I do more damage. Steiner/Kyoto ------------------------------ From: Steiner Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 11:21:32 +0900 Subject: [Baren 1788] Re: Yoshida Matt asked: > In your post about the "formaldehyde man" I became confused. The man >you spoke of was Toshi Yoshida, but did you mean Hodaka Yoshida, or. . . did >you mean Toshi's printer? Didn't Toshi pass along two years ago? Yes and no, Matt. The printer was Toshi's, not Hodaka's. And the event I related occurred about ten years ago. Toshi and his brother both passed on within months of each other, a couple years ago. Tremendous loss. The printer, however, is still at it. Great stuff, formaldehyde. Karen Krieger (Baren 1783) wrote about making her own paste and dropping in a drop or two of formaldehyde, but couldn't seem to store it (the formaldehyde) properly. Karen, wouldn't a tightly sealed glass jar do? Here in Japan, we buy the stuff at the drugstore in glass jars, double sealed, and it keeps for literally years. We have to sign papers and swear not to use it inadvisably before they will hand it over. Steiner/Kyoto ------------------------------ From: "Daniel Kelly" Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1998 11:46:45 +0900 Subject: [Baren 1789] Re: a hairy problem I support Richard when he writes: >Graham; I don't understand what you are saying.The printer.. > He doesn't moan that.. he will get bored. >the writer,, that ...printing more than 15 is boring, I can't help thinking >that I am in the company of children, The attitude of bordom and large editions is either eletist or comes from the inability to sustain concentration. Who said we had to entertain those people? d ------------------------------ From: David Bull Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1998 19:33:13 +0900 Subject: [Baren 1790] Monthly Update ... It's the end of another month ... As it's also the end of a quarter, I have updated the 'downloads' page of the Encyclopedia with the complete packages of [Baren] discussions for the previous three months. http://www.woodblock.com/download Here is the current 'Top 10' for the Encyclopedia (along with previous month's rankings). Lots of changes this month ... 1 (1) - Contributors to the Encyclopedia 2 (2) - Printmakers on the web 3 (4) - 'Editor's Choice' Exhibition 4 (3) - Carving Techniques for Creating Texture (Mundie) 5 (new) - Library - Woodblock Printmaking (Yoshida) 6 (5) - Basic Carving Tools (Bull) 7 (new) - Library - Japanese Wood-cutting and printing (Tokuno) 8 (6) - Suppliers in America (Bivins) 9 (7) - 'Turn of the Century' Printmakers Exhibition 10 (new) - Library - Japanese Wood-cutting and printing (Tokuno) Dropped off: - - Traditional Keyblock Method (Bull) - - Bibliography - - Groups and Associations I have also updated the 'stats' page at: http://www.woodblock.com/stats/stats.html There has been a very large increase in the numbers of people visiting the 'Library' ... _and_ in downloading the complete books (more than a hundred copies have been downloaded already ...) I can only assume that those long-dead authors would be fairly happy about this ... *** In a recent post, Richard said: > This BarenForum is supposed to be for professionals, > semi-pros and serious newbies. > I can't help thinking that I am in the > company of children, and why do I want to waste my time here? I have responded to Richard privately on this, but I feel that it is also necessary to make a public response: [Baren] is for _anybody_ with an interest in woodblock printmaking. At present there are 51 members, and this means that 51 points of view are represented. I hope everybody will remember that no one of these 51 views is more 'accurate' or 'right' or 'real' than any of the other 50. Each and every one of us is entitled to find his/her own way through life, and through the byways of this art/craft that we all love. There are no 'right' or 'wrong' paths in printmaking, and we _must_ each remain tolerant towards those people who have ideas which may differ from, or oppose, our own. Thank you Dave ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V5 #298 ***************************