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

Baren Digest             Saturday, 14 November 1998     Volume 05 : Number 343

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From: Gayle Wohlken <blueman@pantek.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 09:38:13 -0500
Subject: [Baren 2076] Re: Sound Clip 

Dave, the sound clip was great.  I have a Mac and had no trouble
hearing it right off, but I do have a plug-in that allows it.  
So I would say, Dave, you do say "Bah" (as in Aha!) rather than "ba" as
in "yeah",  or  "beh" as in "beg".    

I am delighted you and Bill Ritchie did this for us.

This word, baren, is said rather fast in a sentence, it seems.  I think 
Americans drawl it out a bit more.   I think where I'm from it's
pronounced bare (accent on the bear) un.  Bare-un is close as I can spell it.  If
it's a Japanese word, then Dave, you guys are saying  it as well as it can be
said!  (Except of course if you are saying it with an English/Canadian
twist).  )8-D

Gayle Wohlken

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From: April Vollmer <aprilvollmer@altavista.net>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 11:32:45 -0400
Subject: [Baren 2077] Hanshita 

Way Kewl, Dave...I called up that file and plain as day, equal stress on
both sylables...BA-REN...amazing! What a way to start the day!

I used to use shellac for oil base woodcut...thank you Grahm for suggesting
varnish to strengthen the wood for waterbase!

Last Monday I wrote about a class I took with a Japanese printmaker,
Tetsuya Noda, that relates to the discussion about transferring designs to
the blocks. I had been transferring my drawings with carbon paper, then for
more complex images switched to xerox transfer with wintergreen (described
in the encyclopedia).

He reminded me how simple the traditional Japanese method is, where you
draw your image on thin washi (Japanese paper) and glue it face down to
your block with rice paste. Ten minutes is about the amount of time for the
moisture to soak halfway through the paper, when you peel/rub off the top
surface of the paper, revealing a thin layer of paper fiber so your drawing
can be seen quite clearly. I couldn't believe it really works!

>From there, you cut and print THAT block on thin washi, including the kento
registration marks, and after painting additional color areas on, paste
those prints face down on the color blocks for cutting.

Of course this method only works if you are using a key block, and the
kento registration system. But I was impressed how straightforward it is.

If you're using a computer or photographic images, the wintergreen xerox
transfer works really well.

April Vollmer

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From: "Ray Esposito" <brassring@brassring.org>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 11:37:02 -0500
Subject: [Baren 2078] Re: A as in abracadabra ...

WONDERFUL

MY LIFE IS FULFILLED

I HAVE HEARD THE VOICE OF GOD.

Just think, thanks to the magic of computers, I have heard the voice of our
guru and mentor.  I immediately dropped to my knees and shouted Hosanna's to
the East.  What a magical moment.  Alas, I will surely awaken from this
dream.

Ray

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From: Becky or Roger Ball <beckorro@inquo.net>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 10:11:07 -0700
Subject: [Baren 2079] Question about "frame" 

Gayle,

With screws, I mount an 'L' frame to a layout board (spacing never works
right this way, but until I can get a photo):

=================  <--Top of Frame
||  |===========|
||  |   BLOCK   |*<--screw here to secure block
||  |           |
||  |===========|*<--screw

 ^         ^
 |         |
 |     Block slides into
 |     frame this way
 |
side of frame

I then use two screws directly into the layout board on the right side of
the block to hold the block against the frame I have already mounted.  (My
layout board is just a flat pine plank about 20" x 30" x 1".)  My kento are
on the left and top left of my _frame_.  I just slide the next block up and
into place after I pull the previous one down and out.  Hope this helps.
Ask more questions if it doesn't!  I will try to illustrate this better later.

Joy to you,
- -Roger

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From: StudioJNC@aol.com
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 12:16:57 EST
Subject: [Baren 2080] Re: Question about "frame" 

Roger

Thanks Gayle for asking and double thanks Roger for your great description of
registration. A picture is worth a thousand words!!!!!!

Jeanne

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 09:36:43 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 2081] Re: A as in abracadabra ... 

Dave wrote....
>> Gosho-san no baren wa totemo ii baren desu ne!

It strikes me that the "ne"  is a little something like our "eh" which is a
trade mark of us Canadians.....

Graham

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From: jimandkatemundie@juno.com (James G Mundie)
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 12:43:52 -0500
Subject: [Baren 2082] another exhibition announcement 

Baren folks,

Just a note to let you know that I will have new work in the
Creative Artists Network's 1998 Group Show
19 November 1998 through 8 January 1999 
at Creative Artists Network
the Barclay, 237 South 18th Street, Suite 3A
Philadelphia PA 19103 USA

Artists include:

Joseph Brenman		Robert H. Motes
Mario Francois Isenmann	James Mundie
Scott Jackson		Debra Rosenblum
Diana Lehr		Nancy Sophy
Daniel Marder		Timi Sullivan
Brian McCutcheon		Beth Sutherland

Exhibition sponsored by the Samuel and Rebecca Kardon Foundation

Gallery hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday

Mise le meas,
James Mundie, Philadelphia USA

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From: Greg Bonnell-Kangas <bonnell-kangas.1@osu.edu>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 14:44:21 -0400
Subject: [Baren 2083] Pronunciation enhancement 

Thanks, Dave, for that sound file. I can now speak with confidence!

Greg B-K

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From: Elizabeth Atwood <elizuno@midcoast.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 15:14:40 -0400
Subject: [Baren 2084] The spoken words 

Dave, Bill, Gayle........Enjoying the discussion about "Baren"......I, too,
pronounce it Bare-un.....except when adding the British or Canadien "ah".
My Mac welcomed the sound. Perhaps, those of us less worldly could start to
learn a little Japanese!
Carry on....Eliz Atwood

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From: Shimizu <shimizu@mail1.nai.net>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 17:27:10 -0500
Subject: [Baren 2085] Mokuhanga 

So much information - I want to print out all of the conversations so I
don't miss anything. Thanks to all!

Jean Eger asked the difference between "hanga" and "moku-hanga".
"Hanga" means print, "moku" is wood, thus "moku-hanga" is woodblock
print.  ("Hangi" is the term for the block itself.)

I was also asked to elaborate on how I "happened to study in Japan".  I
wish I had some dramatic story to tell about boarding a steamship and
arriving at the port of Nagasaki.  At the risk of boring all,  let's
just say, like so many foreigners in Japan, I arrived with a contract to
teach English.  The search for a woodblock instructor was more
challenging....  Something like Goldilocks, Tokuriki Sensei was my third
try for a teacher.  I had bought his pocket sized book in Osaka, saw his
phone number in the back and proceeded to make "first contact".  He
asked me to bring a portfolio to show and with my cheat sheet of
Japanese phrases (still written in the book), I arrived at his
doorstep.  There was a young lady who helped me get started at his
atelier.  I often wondered who she was and what happened to her.  I
think she was returning to New York.  Are you one of the group?

Lynita

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From: Gary Luedtke <GLuedtke@compuserve.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 17:57:31 -0500
Subject: [Baren 2086] Re: A as in abracadabra ... 

Dave, 

  Great idea!  Every Friday, along with your one pointers, we can get a
Japanese Lesson as well.   Maybe you can work your way through the Baren
alphabet of tools and materials with a pronunciation lesson.   Then we can
move on to the entire language.   You taught English to your fellow
citizens there, now you can teach Japanese to us via the internet.

I look forward to the next lesson.    Domo.

Gary

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 1998 13:11:58 +0900
Subject: [Baren 2087] The Voice 

Ray wrote:
>I HAVE HEARD THE VOICE OF GOD.

A voice from above, Ray?   How do you know it wasn't from below!

***

Graham wrote:
>It strikes me that the "ne"  is a little something like our "eh" 
>which is a trade mark of us Canadians.....

This is quite true.  That sentence could have been spoken as:
> Gosho-san no baren wa totemo ii baren desu.

... without the 'ne' on the end.  In that case it would have been a
simple statement, without the added 'isn't it' feeling.  That's not so
different from the way that Canadians do sometimes use the 'eh' ...

***

Gary wrote:
>Every Friday, along with your one pointers, we can get a
>Japanese Lesson as well.   Maybe you can work your way through the Baren
>alphabet of tools and materials with a pronunciation lesson.  

I think you're looking at the wrong guy to do this.  If I was going to
learn Hawaiian for example, would I trust what I heard from some guy
living in say, Kansas City?  

But your idea is a very good one.  There is a Glossary of Japanese
Printmaking Terms in the Encyclopedia, and putting a short .wav file
connected to each entry, so that people could actually _hear_ the words,
would perhaps be very useful.

Hideshi-san, are you ready?

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 23:17:35 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 2088] Re: The Voice 

>Ray wrote:
>>I HAVE HEARD THE VOICE OF GOD.

Dave wrote....
>A voice from above, Ray?   How do you know it wasn't from below!

Is that a gotcha or what Ray!!!!!


>Graham wrote:
>>It strikes me that the "ne"  is a little something like our "eh"
>>which is a trade mark of us Canadians.....
Dave wrote....
> This is quite true.  That sentence could have been spoken as:
> Gosho-san no baren wa totemo ii baren desu.

That's amazing........I was just being my usual silly self.....

Gary wrote....
>Maybe you can work your way through the Baren
>>alphabet of tools and materials with a pronunciation lesson.

I have been thinking I could contribute here......
I can speak any language but Greek ...I never quite mastered it.

Maybe you would like to hear some....just ask for help and I will be there.....

Regards,
Graham/Victoria BC...eh

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From: Jean Eger <jeaneger@LanMinds.Com>
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 1998 00:35:58 -0800
Subject: [Baren 2089] Re: Baren Digest V5 #342 

Dear Barens and barenesses,
Your advice will be appreciated, as I begin to wrestle with the exchange
print which I hope to execute with water based inks.  In anticipation I
tried printing an already cut block with water based inks.  I put a couple
of images up on
http://users.lanminds.com/~jeaneger/bay.html

This is a woodblock cut in cherry wood with V-veiner and gouges (shallow
cuts).

It was printed on dampened student grade Hosho paper.

The ink was made from Daniel Smith lamp black dry pigment mixed with
alcohol and water, into a paste consistency. It was mixed on the block with
rice flour paste made from four teaspoons rice flour to one cup water. The
damp paper was printed three times. I had problems
with the ink blobbing at the edges, filling the cuts, and brush marks. 

The brush was an American hair stencil brush (probably made in China), that
was burned down to further flatten it. Click on the image to see a larger
image. 

Thanks in advance for telling me how to get a better layer of ink on the
print.

Jean Eger

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 1998 17:54:43 +0900
Subject: [Baren 2090] One-Point lesson ... 

Here is this week's 'One-point' lesson 

(contributed by Dave Bull)

********** ********** **********

(#30)  Baren miscellania ...

Here are a few points on baren usage - none of them major enough to
warrant an entire 'one-point' lesson to themselves ...

- - When in use, the baren sits on the piece of cloth known as a
'baren-wata'.  This is a square cloth 'pad' cut just a shade larger than
the baren itself, and which over time becomes quite saturated with the
camellia oil used to lubricate the baren surface.  Choose a cloth that
doesn't shed 'lint' easily, as small threads and bits will inevitably
find their way onto the surface of the block.

- - Whenever pausing in the work for anything longer than a couple of
minutes, flip the baren over onto its back - don't leave it sitting in
its 'normal' position on the cloth.  The skin must be allowed to air
out. Leaving it always 'face down' will give you a 'soggy' and loose
skin.  After the work is finished, store the baren in a place where air
can circulate - an open shelf for example - not in a closed drawer.

- - During the progress of the work, after every few prints (after _every_
print in heavy work) rotate the inner disc and coil inside the skin. 
Push against the disc with a few fingers while holding the baren flat in
the opposite palm, and give it a twist.  This will ensure that the high
spots of the inner coil don't always dig against the same place in the
skin, and the skin will thus last much longer.

- - If you have done a very good job tying a new skin, it will be
extremely difficult to do this twisting, as the skin will be so tight
(we should always be so lucky).  Tapping the baren up on edge gently
against the table top may loosen it a bit.  Gently ...

- - When selecting a skin for wrapping the baren, it is generally best to
choose a thin one. The thickness of skins varies widely, even in any
given 'batch', and if you wrap the baren with a thick heavy one, it will
be far less responsive, as the effectiveness of the coil will be
weakened considerably.  The down side of a thin skin is that it will
wear out more quickly.  That's OK - you'll get more practice tying!

********** ********** **********

Next week -  TBA  ...

These 'One-point' lessons are being collected into a section in the
[Baren] Encyclopedia of Woodblock Printmaking.
http://www.woodblock.com/encyclopedia/updates.html

Contributions from experienced printmakers for future 'One-pointers' 
are eagerly solicited.

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End of Baren Digest V5 #343
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