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

Baren Digest                Monday, 8 March 1999        Volume 06 : Number 478

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From: Mariten@aol.com
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 17:34:31 EST
Subject: [Baren 3421] Re: Printmaking phase.out? 

>From Maria in LV

First, I'm jealous of the print exchangers! 
Welcome Ruth Leaf; when I studied printmaking at UNLV we used your book as a
reference and I purchased a copy for my ever-growing home library.
Phasing out printmaking at U's just mean more opportunities for entrepeneurs
to start their own printmaking atteliers?
As the deadline approached for the print I wanted to mount on silk, I ventured
on my own. I used a very thin layer of acid free wheat paste and just stuck
the paper to the silk on a flat surface. Worked great. The silk was thin
enough to allow the paper to shrink without "pulling" on the cloth. After
laying it flat under weights for a day or two, I hung the whole thing from a
black enamel covered dowel and rolled another one at the bottom. Looks great,
made it into the show, and was the only woodcut there.
Maria

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 07:41:44 +0900
Subject: [Baren 3422] Re: Paper ... etc. ... etc ... 

Sarah wrote: 
> Dave, I was curious after seeing your video - what type of paper do you use
> for your prints?  

So far, pretty much every print I have made has been on 'hosho' paper. 
The particular type is 'Echizen hosho'.  This is the paper that has been
used for 'ukiyo-e' type Japanese prints for centuries.

Thick, soft ... takes wonderful embossing.  Stands up to an incredible
amount of 'beating up' ...  lasts for centuries.

***

Bea wrote:
>How do I get in line to see Dave's video?    

There are two videos around and about.  The one you saw mentioned on the
list the other day is one made a year or so ago (a half hour NHK TV
program), and is slowly making its way around the [Baren] group.  I have
no idea at all who currently has it. Would that person please contact
Bea directly, get her address, and add it to the list of names attached
to the video ...  Thanks.

The second video is a one-hour documentary program on my work, and has
not yet been circulated to the group.  'Still in preparation'.  I'll be
letting you know when things are ready ...

***

> How many people were part of the print exchange?

Just as soon as I get my own set of the prints, I will be putting up a
page on the [Baren] web site that contains scans of the entire set.  You
can check it out already, but nothing is in there yet:

http://www.woodblock.com/forum/exchange_99/exchange_frame.html

This reminds me about something that I forgot to mention earlier - the
sheet that we sent out with the folio simply carried participant's
names, their location, and the title of their print.

But on the web site, I have room to include lots more info, as well as
general comments from the artist, stuff like that.  Any exchange
participants who want other information included, please send it to me
(directly, of course), and I will see that your 'personal' page in the
exchange section is updated to include it.

***

Ray wrote:
> The next exchange is most likely being planned by Dave and I 
> suspect that there will be changes based on what he learned 
> from the first one.  

The next ... and subsequent exchanges are most certainly being planned. 
But until we get this one wrapped up, it doesn't make any sense to start
another one; I want to learn as much as I can from this first one. 
Should any of you have any suggestions, comments, criticisms, etc. -
_any_ feedback at all that you think I should take into consideration,
please let me hear it ...

***

Jean wrote:
>I can't find the slide show on Dave's web site.  The last address you
> gave for it, Dave, led to the bank of pictures of membeers.

Ray has already answered this for you Jean, but I think you've been hung
up on your 'cache' here.  I changed that 'bank of pictures' a week or so
ago, and it now contains a link to the slide show.  It could be that
your browser has stored a copy of that page in your local cache, and you
are thus not getting the newest version. 

Anytime you make repeat visits to a page out on the web that you think
might be changing, tell your browser to 'Reload' the page; you will then
be sent the newest version.

(The slide show is also linked directly from the woodblock.com 'portal'
page ...)

http://www.woodblock.com

***

As Sheryl has pointed out to everybody, the list is receiving repeated
'visits' from that Happy99 virus.  

I too, must remind everybody not to 'click' on any attachments you
receive from the list, or you may become infected.

Whenever you see such an attachment coming into your mail reader, simply
hitting your 'delete' key will ensure that it doesn't hurt you.

Dave

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@home.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 15:19:18 -0800
Subject: [Baren 3423] Re: Printing woodblocks 

Ruth wrote....
When I was teaching my motto was if it works do it.

I use to tell students....
There is the rule no go and break it and make it work.

>If you store the block flat they shouln't warp.

They will warp if both sides do not have the same moisture content.
It is much better to store the blocks on their ends with a slight space
between them .... The grain running vertically. This will enable both sides
of the plate to breath and dry. Now they can't warp.
I store freshly milled cedar lumber this way. Some of it is 10 to 16 ft
long.  Ain't warped yet.
Sticky under pressure is also OK but the sticking can mark the surface of a
plate.

Regards,

Graham

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@home.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 15:33:28 -0800
Subject: [Baren 3424] Re: Printmaking phase.out? 

Maria in LV  wrote....

>Phasing out printmaking at U's just mean more opportunities for entrepeneurs
>to start their own printmaking atteliers?

Thanks for this feedback about the benefits of Universities cutting the
printmaking electives.....U of Victoria has done the same......they have a
wonderfully equiped department that is only about 5 years old and the
presses sit there collecting spider webs.

Before reading your e-mail I was walking around here kicking stuff due to
frustration from the news.

Regards,

Graham

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From: April Vollmer/John Yamaguchi <jy6@columbia.edu>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 20:43:34 -0400
Subject: [Baren 3425] Noboru Sawai 

So, Grahm, who is Noboru Sawai? I need a paper source for some double
weight hanga hosho. Hideshi mentions PAPER NAO, do they have it?

Nice to hear from Ruth Leaf! I know your book too. Welcome! Roxanne's
lament about printmaking departments makes me feel guilty about the
Photoshop class I'm taking! I think maybe the future of printmaking lies in
a mixture of the two. I notice at my local shop, (the Lower East Side
printshop), many of the more ambitious projects involve computers combined
with more traditional approaches. Computers are great for manipulating
ideas, but computer printouts are unsatisfying somehow. Unphysical.

Interested to hear Jeanne's print was oil paint, not roll-up ink. It was
very thick. Karla's was the opposite, very smoothly laid out on a thin
paper. There seems to be a limit to the number of layers oilbase printing
will take. Waterbase blends more easily with the layers below.

NOTE: We hanga printers don't all use watercolor. I have found that unless
it is very high quality watercolor, it makes a washed-out print. Pigment is
the thing! Also, the kento registration system, cut right into the block,
is incredibly accurate. Good Japanese washi doesn't swell with moisture
nearly as much as western cotton papers do, so printing on damp paper isn't
an overwhelming problem.

April Vollmer

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From: "Bea Gold" <bnjgold@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 16:49:31 -0800
Subject: [Baren 3426] Re: Paper 

Wrong Ray - just interested in the process - knew it was too late the day I
joined Baren.  Bea

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From: "Ray Esposito" <brassring@brassring.org>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 19:56:09 -0500
Subject: [Baren 3427] Re: Noboru Sawai

>Interested to hear Jeanne's print was oil paint, not roll-up ink. It was
>very thick. Karla's was the opposite, very smoothly laid out on a thin
>paper. There seems to be a limit to the number of layers oilbase printing
>will take. Waterbase blends more easily with the layers below.

April

The bright side of Jeanne's print is that if you get your nose right up
close and breath very deep, you too can be back to the 60's.  I don't
recommend this for anyone under 25 or those who still ahve some brain cells
left.  :-))

Cheers
Ray

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From: "Bea Gold" <bnjgold@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 17:01:44 -0800
Subject: [Baren 3428] Re: Paper ... etc. ... etc ... 

Thanks Dave - looks like Sarah had it last - right Sarah?
Did you send it on?  If not -
My address is :
Bea Gold
2206 Micheltorena Street
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323)660-0106
I'm going to try to come to the workshop April is doing at Dieu Donne
and look forward to meeting you.

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From: "Bea Gold" <bnjgold@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 17:10:22 -0800
Subject: [Baren 3429] Re:   Baren Digest V6 #476 

Thanks for the site Ray  - I just looked at the slide show and loved it!
Bea

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From: Jack Reisland <reislandj001@hawaii.rr.com>
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 1999 15:20:59 +0000
Subject: [Baren 3430] Re: Printmaking phase.out? 

Maria wrote:
> As the deadline approached for the print I wanted to mount on silk, I ventured
> on my own. 

Sorry I didn't get an answer to you in time. As usual, as I got into the answer,
I made it much more complicated, with diagrams, etc., on traditional japanese
techniques. I will finish it and post it anyway, for future reference, when I can
figure out how to do the computer mechanics involved.

Jack Reisland

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From: "Daniel Kelly" <daniel@vowel.or.jp>
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 10:15:33 +0900
Subject: [Baren 3431] re: Paper Nao 

Hello Ray, Hideshi
I just want to throw in that gampi is available from multiple sources in a
large variety of colors. Its often used in chine colle due to its thinness.
I personally recommend that you all seek your local sources as Paper Nao is
infamously expensive. Although they offer a wide selection beyond the
"normal" outlets the result is that its the same paper. This is especially
true when it comes to something more generic like gampi.
Ray you might try NY Central as a source or Pearl and simply 'colle the
paper on your own choice of backing paper.
d

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From: "Ray Esposito" <brassring@brassring.org>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 21:12:28 -0500
Subject: [Baren 3432] Re: Paper Nao

Dan

Now you've gone and done it.  Just confused the hell out of me.  You write
about gampi's thinness that can be chine colle'd.  But the paper Hideshi
used was think, not thin at all.  If he chine colle'd gampi to another piece
of paper then he is a master because it looked like one piece to me.  Are
you guys trying to confuse me?  :-))  Could there be two gampi's?

Cheers
Ray

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From: "John/Michelle Morrell" <jmorrell@ptialaska.net>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 16:45:01 -0900
Subject: [Baren 3433] Presses and tympanums, blankets, etc., or yet another way to skin that cat 

What we are doing locally with wood blocks in the press is  to use basic
pinhole registration.  This requires some sort of frame but not so elaborate
as the old traditional wood engravers set up.  The rollers are raised to run
on strips of wood  type high and as narrow as feasible.  Most of us use iron
wood.  If you are using a plank (3/4" say or Resingrave or some sort of thin
plywood)  as your wood block , you can  simply shim the block up to be type
high.

Instead of the blanket we use paper.  You can experiment with the block to
see how many sheets you need of what thickness--your old printing papers
will vary considerably in thickness.  I usually use prints that didn't make
it and layer them so that the (dried) ink sides don't touch the back of the
sheet to be printed or the roller.  If you moisten the paper to be printed
the night before (every 4th one, stacked under weight and enclosed in
plastic) you can get a nice impression from the block.  (I generally use
Daniel Smith Lenox.)   Of course if you are using multiple blocks in the
run, you would not want to do the dampening until the final block, to
maintain your registration.

Of course, you do have to play with the amount of pressure and the amount of
ink to get the effect you desire.  Too much pressure will split  just about
any endgrain or plankwood block sooner or later.

Michelle Morrell   jmorrell@ptialaska.net

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End of Baren Digest V6 #478
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