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

Baren Digest             Wednesday, 13 January 1999     Volume 06 : Number 410

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From: "Roger A. Ball" <beckorro@inquo.net>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 11:32:11 -0700
Subject: [Baren 2651] Ready for exchange 

Folks:

Put several examples of my exchange print up.  There's quite a bit of
variation.  To whit:

Wet and hairy but smooth:
http://www.inquo.net/~beckorro/woodcut/beehair.jpg

Bright and vibrant but pigment too thick:
http://www.inquo.net/~beckorro/woodcut/beevibe.jpg
(not part of edition)

Pale.  Number 1 of edition of 100:
http://www.inquo.net/~beckorro/woodcut/bee1.jpg

Less smooth.  Typical of lower edition numbers:
http://www.inquo.net/~beckorro/woodcut/beeave.jpg


The edition got better as my technique improved.  I was going to toss
the ones with subdued/patchy color but decided that if one of you sent
me a similar print I'd still be plenty happy.  The edition just shows that
I learned a few things during the printing.  Comments welcome anytime.
Even snide ones...

Excitedly looking forward to seeing others' exchange pieces.  I'm more or
less ready to ship.

For some reason it seems like a number of 'Baren' members tossed their
barens and
bought presses!  Traitors!!  Go stand in the corner with the digital dudes!

Shine on,
- --Roger

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From: "Jeanne N. Chase" <studiojnc@prodigy.net>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 14:27:52 -0500
Subject: [Baren 2652] Re: various replies

Dear Ray H . in Vermont

My Ettan press is less that one year old. It works just fine, however, it
seems to bounce a lot when I am printing. Is this normal , or do I have a
problem here?

Jeanne

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From: "Jeanne N. Chase" <studiojnc@prodigy.net>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 14:33:48 -0500
Subject: [Baren 2653] Re: presses  

Dear Andrea

Since you work in oils, I have a question.
My ink seems to lay on top of the paper. No matter how I roll out the oil
paint, I either cannot get it smooth enough or it prints rough, with a
texture that I am sure is not desirable.  Some areas are shinier than
others.  It is puzzling as I have been painting {on canvas} dare I say it,
since I was 8 and never had a problem.
I guess this is a whole new ball game. Any hints?

News from Gayle Wohlken to Bareners;
She says hello and misses her Baren news. Due to a very bad illness she
cannot communicate with us as she is with her mother in another state.

Jeanne

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From: amoss@mindspring.com (JOHN AMOSS)
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 18:16:58 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [Baren 2654] passel of queries 

Hello again to all-
I have finished my exchange print and, as Roger, am eagerly awaiting
further instructions.
As I was working, I collected a pile of questions from which I will dole
out as long as you good people are kind enough to answer:

This weeks queries deals with surface prep:

Does anyone think that planing is better than sanding while preparing the
board? It seems to me that the sandpaper particles can "rough up" the
surface (even at a high grit), rather than "slice" them. During the
carving, a few how-to guides that I have read call for using a knife over
sanding to make softened edges for shapes. Thoughts?

Also, do people find that once the board is soaked in water, that the grain
raises? I think that Graham lays down a coat of shellac, then sands. Does
this limit the grain expansion after an H2O soaking? I used the technique
before (using alchohol as a thinner) and a grain remained apparent even
when sanded with 400 grit.

I hate to suggest this, but has anyone soaked the boards and sanded with
emery paper while wet, or am I all wet? (I will admit to the "behind the
ears" kinda wet)

That's all for now.

Thanks again guys!(in the unisex tense).

- -John

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 18:58:48 -0800
Subject: [Baren 2655] Re: Ready for exchange 

Roger wrote....
>For some reason it seems like a number of 'Baren' members tossed their
>barens and bought presses!  Traitors!!
> Go stand in the corner with the digital dudes!

I love it.

Graham

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From: <DARICH@prodigy.net>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 19:01:49 -0800
Subject: [Baren 2656] Re: presses 

Hi Jeanne,

Let's see, I think there are two main possibilities.  One is the ink.  I'm
not sure from your note if you are using a relief ink or oil paint.  I use
Daniel Smith relief inks.  Shiva inks also work very well but I have a
harder time finding them.  Even with the Daniel Smith inks some colors
print smoother than others.  The blues are not as smooth as the reds and
yellows.  The other factor is the brayer.  I'm using Lawrence rollers from
England and they are the best I have found.  Use the largest size you have
so you don't have to keep going over the block and put on the thinnest
layer you can.  The oil base inks do lay on top of the paper rather than
being absorbed into it.  It creates a different set of problems for us than
the water color printers have.  No problems we can't overcome though.

Tell Gayle I'm hoping for a rapid recovery for her.
Best Wishes

Andrea

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 19:16:10 -0800
Subject: [Baren 2657] Re: various replies 

Jeanne wrote....
>My Ettan press is less that one year old. It works just fine, however, it
>seems to bounce a lot when I am printing. Is this normal , or do I have a
>problem here?

Turn the music off or down.......

Graham

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 19:30:48 -0800
Subject: [Baren 2658] Mottled image 

Roger wrote....

>Put several examples of my exchange print up.  There's quite a bit of
>variation.  To whit:

I'm wondering if you are using enough rice paste in your pigment mix.
Too little paste results in a lot of mottling in the printed
area....especially large plain areas.

I like the effect and some times use it to get texture.

Just a thought.

Graham

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From: Jean Eger <jeaneger@LanMinds.Com>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 19:42:38 -0800
Subject: [Baren 2659] Re: wetting prints with alcohol 

Question:
	Would it help deter bugs and mold if I put rubbing alcohol in the water
when I spray the newsprint in which I will sandwich my prints when drying
them? I have printed some of them and will let them dry, then later
re-dampen them and dry them between blotters to flatten them.  Is alcohol
harmful or neutral to the paper? 

	Thanks for the advice on getting neoprene sheets.  I will check on those
places the next time I am out on errands.

	It's great that Graham is back in the exchange.  His prints are so very
elegant.  It will be very educational to see them in the real.  
	I also want to thank David Bull for the New Year card.  It is a handsome
card and also a humbling experience to see the work of an experienced
artisan.  His print illustrates this quote from the third chapter of the
Walter Phillips book on woodblock printing:
	"The satin texture of printed pigment, discernible in good prints, can be
attained only by the use of a perfect wood surface, Japanese paper properly
sized, pigments ground in water and applied with paste, and much
experience. If you examine the back of such a print you will see that the
pigment penetrates the paper, and seems to have become a part of it." 

Sincerely,

Jean Eger

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From: <hudson@panther.middlebury.edu>
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 06:52:45 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [Baren 2660] Re: various replies 

Dear Jeanne,
(From Ray H in Vermont).   My press doesn't bounce, so I don't know the
source of your problem.   Mine is a rather small press.   However, years
ago when I taught art in highschool in the Aleutians I had the school
purchase a larger one & it also was very stable.   Does the table shift
near the end of the printing?   I have mine resting on a very stable
counter.

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From: <hudson@panther.middlebury.edu>
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 07:07:38 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [Baren 2661] Re: passel of queries 

Dear John,
(From Ray H in Vermont)\
I find that after sanding with regular paper that if I give the board a
final going over with wet sandpaper (the wet/dry variety) that I get a
very tight surface with little or no grain showing.

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End of Baren Digest V6 #410
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