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

Baren Digest              Thursday, 18 March 1999      Volume 06 : Number 490

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From: "Jeanne N. Chase" <studiojnc@prodigy.net>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 09:26:42 -0500
Subject: [Baren 3579] Re: exhibition...  

Judy

I am all in favor of the exhibition. A great start for all of the members,
especially as it is the FIRST portfolio exchange.
As I do not live in N.Y. sorry cannot help out but I think there are a few
who do line in N.Y. You are very gracious to suggest the show!!!

Jeanne

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From: Ruth Leaf <leafr@ecom.net>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 09:07:58 -0800
Subject: [Baren 3582] Viscosity printing 

All of you who are interested in viscosity printing should be aware that
it is a procedure that requires great intestinal fortitude.  I have done
quite a few viscosity prints and in order to get 75 prints for an
edition I usually print 150.  However I must say it's worth it.  Stanley
William Hayters book (unfortunately I don't remember the title, the book
disappeared when I moved) was how I figured it out.   The principle is
that an oily ink will pick up an infinitesimal amount of an ink that is
drier, allowing most of the less viscous ink to remain , leaving you the
two colors.  The intaglio ink should be stiffer than usual. The rollers
should be the different durometers mentioned. The hard roller should
have the stiffer ink.  The softer roller should have the oily ink.  The
plate has to have different levels so that the softer roller will hit
the lower level  Depending on the levels in the plate a third very soft
roller can be used.  The ink on this roller should be the oiliest.
There is a way of telling if your viscosities are correct.  Use small
rollers, durometer doesn't matter, roll a strip of the ink with less oil
.  Over that  roll your oilier ink across the strip.  The strips should
look as though the roller did not go over the dry ink.  Your roller with
the oily ink should have some of the drier color on it.  I hope this
helps, although a demondstration would be better.  Ruth

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From: agatha <agatha@uswest.net>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 09:21:18 -0800
Subject: [Baren 3583] Re: exhibition... 

Jeanne  wrote:
> I am all in favor of the exhibition. A great start for all of the members,
> especially as it is the FIRST portfolio exchange.

i think it's a splendid idea.  now i just need to see if you folks will have
my lowly woodcuts for your exchange.  blargh.  coffee...

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From: "Brad A. Schwartz" <brads@iea.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 16:26:56 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 3584] Re: Viscosity printing 

Ruth wrote:
>All of you who are interested in viscosity printing should be aware that
>it is a procedure that requires great intestinal fortitude.  I have done
>quite a few viscosity prints and in order to get 75 prints for an
>edition I usually print 150.  However I must say it's worth it.  Stanley
>William Hayters book (unfortunately I don't remember the title, the book

Very true... it's one of those things... you get your colors mixed right,
then the registration is off... and vice-versa... very tricky. Definite
case for suicide in editions of 10 or more... or god forbid 75!

S.W. Hayter - New Ways of Gravure - Very rare to find now.  I've got one.

Another good book on it that I just found for $10 used is by N. Krishna
Reddy, it is called Intaglio Simultaneous Color Printmaking. He was a
student of S.W. Hayter's.... Good book. Amazon.com sells it new for
$24.95.

Brad A. Schwartz

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From: "Ray Esposito" <brassring@brassring.org>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 20:31:47 -0500
Subject: [Baren 3585] Re: Viscosity printing

Brad

You and Ruth are absolutely right but I think you miss one important point.
One of the reasons viscosity printing is my favorite media (sorry Dave), the
that you often get something totally different than what you planned or
thought you would get.  Much like the "happy accidents" you get from
monotypes, viscosity printing can sometimes present very pleasent surprises.

But then again, the points you and Ruth make are also true, sad to say but I
ignor those and look for my happy accidents.

Cheers
Ray

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From: James G Mundie <jimandkatemundie@juno.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 22:42:07 -0500
Subject: [Baren 3586] a question 

As no one seems to be asking any questions about the exchange prints, I
guess it is up to me to get the ball rolling...

Karla, your print was done with two or three plates, one of which has
been turned and printed twice, right?
How did you get the fade effect on the red/blue block toward the middle? 
And the background... is that more than one plate?

Roxanne,  I know you had been planning to mix other media into your
print.  How did you finally approach your print, and what techniques did
you employ?

Ray H., the area on your print that changes from red to blue: was this
printed or hand-colored?

Mise le meas,
James Mundie, Philadelphia USA

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From: Gregory Robison <grobison@swiftuganda.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 06:38:20 +0300
Subject: [Baren 3587] Re: Viscosity printing 

Ruth wrote:
>Stanley William Hayters book (unfortunately I don't remember the title, the book
>disappeared when I moved) was how I figured it out.
Then Brad wrote:
>S.W. Hayter - New Ways of Gravure - Very rare to find now.  I've got one.

Well, I think we know what happened to your book when you moved, Ruth.  Brad
took it! ;-) Greg

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From: Gary Luedtke <GLuedtke@compuserve.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 23:29:39 -0500
Subject: [Baren 3588] Re: Viscosity printing 

What happened to woodblock printing with a _BAREN_? 

In the last hundred or more postings I don't think there has been a
relevant statement or question concerning the type of woodblock printing
this forum was created to discuss and exchange information about.   Has
that subject reached the end of the line? Or has this forum been hi-jacked
by the press gang?   All I hear is oil ink viscosities, pressure plates,
blankets, intaglio, sales information about printing presses and that sort
of junk.   Did the good ship Baren go down and I'm the only one in the
dinghy?  Shoot, they didn't even leave the paddles in here!     What
happened to you other woodblock printers that joined because the word
"baren" was something you used and knew about?  You guys are getting more
silent and "presses" seem to be escalating in frequency.  

Maybe  we need to start a Press club too?   And then it's counterpart,
"Press After Five"  or "Press into the Night", or "Press your Pants" , or
"Press Your Luck"!  (I think right now I'd be a founding father of that
one!)

If I'm off base here and somehow wandered into the wrong forum with the
same name as the one I used to belong to, please let me know.  

Maybe the fact that Dave has created such a thorough Encyclopedia of the
craft, leaves only the social comraderie aspect left to the group, and
because of that, printing with presses is a new topic not thoroughly
explored yet,so it rises to the top in the chit-chat column.  

I don't know, am I the only one who feels this way?   If that's the case,
Ray, throw me out on my ear, and I'll take it like a man.   First, slide an
iced Pepsi down here and some salted peanuts, oh, and a raw steak, I have a
feeling I'm going to need it.  What???  This _isn't_ Baren After Five....?

"Taxi!"

Gary

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From: agatha <agatha@uswest.net>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 20:52:46 -0800
Subject: [Baren 3589] Re: Viscosity printing 

can't we talk about both?

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From: "Brad A. Schwartz" <brads@iea.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 21:02:52 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 3590] Re: Viscosity printing 

Gary Luedtke wrote:
- ->Maybe  we need to start a Press club too?   And then it's counterpart,
- ->"Press After Five"  or "Press into the Night", or "Press your Pants" , or
- ->"Press Your Luck"!  (I think right now I'd be a founding father of that
- ->one!)

I've started another list that covers all topics/media of printmaking.
You can subscribe by going to www.onelist.com. The list is called
Printmakers.  I realize that [Baren] is predominantly about woodblock
printing, but it appears that a lot of the artists that are on that list
are not solely woodblock printmakers, but printmakers in general. It seems
to me that people would do well to learn about other disciplines in the
printmaking domain as it will only provoke thought and encourage
experimentation in their own work.  My .02 cents.

Brad A. Schwartz

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From: Qndivauniv@aol.com
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 00:11:55 EST
Subject: [Baren 3591] re-the baren 

Gary- I don't use a baren-I use a plain ole 25 cent wooden spoon.  There are
some of us here who are still using primitive methods...... :-). Oh, well,
sometimes I use the press at school.
                                Rhonda (the Diva)

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From: "Daniel Kelly" <daniel@vowel.or.jp>
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 14:27:12 +0900
Subject: [Baren 3593] Re: Viscosity printing 

Hi Brad
For $.02 I say lets keep the baren as a special group for wood cuts and let
the other groups be what ever... why water down a good thing?

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From: dean brink <interpoetics@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 21:39:26 -0800
Subject: [Baren 3595] Re: Viscosity printing 

I take "Baren" to be a metaphor for the broader craft of woodblock
printing, not as imposing the use of bamboo leaves. (Speaking of barens,
what's with the window-screen-wrapped foam on plastic rollerball
handshields at Daniel Smith's? )

Also, some members have mentioned that presses are necessary for them due
to health concerns (arthritis especially). 

If I might venture an observation on the place of "baren"/"press" in
dialogues about printing... There seem to be divergent assumptions or
schools of thought about the purposes of doing woodblock printing. The
process is a very important  aspect, either when it is taken as mapped out
from point A to Z, or as ambiguously left in flux so as to cultivate "happy
accidents" and unexpected, uncoerced interplay between printer and
materials (which becomes an effect of the final image as a record of this
process). 

Printing (of any kind) requires planning in a way that painting does not
(the process is by definition fixed, replicable for each in an edition).
But it is a matter of degree when we make revisions or not during the
process. 

As one in awe and respect of traditional ukiyoe techniques, though not like
our founder (at least at this time) aiming in this direction, I am
interested in the historical origins of ukiyoe as originated from a first,
fixed image as painted by the Chikanobu, Kuniyoshi or Hiroshige. 
The painting would be developed into the blocks and printed edition by
others. 
As everyone knows, the deterioration and divergence of this tradition
appeared with the rise of Western Romantic-subject-inspired "creative
printing" (sousaku hanga) in the 1910 and 20s (if someone has more specific
dates for the movement ...). What I guess I might be saying is that we
cannot ignore the process as a psychologically, historically, socially
engaged endeavor, *in conjunction with the physical process of the craft
side.* 

Since few if any of us have the inspiration, constitution or talent to
emulate David Bull's illustrious and yet also (hope you won't mind my
saying, for I consider it a compliment for any artist) eccentric
(ironically, since you are sustaining a tradition too) approach to
woodblock -- the sharing of data in discussions about technique, in tandem
with debates over just why and how we do art in general and woodblock in
particular, should and surely are always close to our hearts so to speak.
The process is twofold, historically engaged in a personal and technical
manner. 
   
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End of Baren Digest V6 #490
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