[Baren]: The mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking. Baren Digest Thursday, 10 June 1999 Volume 07 : Number 590 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Graham Scholes Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1999 22:08:11 -0700 Subject: [Baren 4590] Re: Acetate/plexi/oily folks Somebody wrote: > Oil based ink still has a special >draw for me, I like the sound of it as it rolls and love the way it sits on >the paper, especially when combined with others, which gives it a special >shine. I can relate to this and the most important factor in all this printing stuff is the image and the statement one wants to make. What you use is only important up a the point and the need to experiment. It is this that advances the the art form. Keep experimenting it keeps you keen. Graham ------------------------------ From: David Bull Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 14:19:13 +0900 Subject: [Baren 4591] Re: Dave's latest print Georga wrote: > regarding the gradations that you got in your print..... is this the > technique refered to as bokashi? Yep! The word 'bokashi' simply means 'gradation' ... There are four of them on that print ... find them all? *** Re, the list of advantages of a natural bamboo baren sheath, Graham added: > And I think one more that no other material offers. > The ribbed texture of the bamboo aids in the burnishing technique. This Graham, is one of those times when you and I will have to agree to disagree ... Before wrapping the skin around the ategawa (after moistening it and softening it up), traditional printers here do their best to 'kill' those ribs. In the old days a dark black stone was used, http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~xs3d-bull/hyaku-nin-issho/1993/summer/stone.jpg ... but nowadays they mostly use the back end of a pair of shears. First, the inside of the sheath gets a cursory rub down, and it is then flipped over on the board so that the working side is face up, and rubbed violently until you would think it would tear to shreds. The opposite hand holds the sheath spread out on the board, and the stone or shears are rubbed heavily into the surface until the ribs are crushed flat. Many many times when I've been showing my baren to printers they have criticized me for leaving ribs. They run their fingernail down the face of my baren, and when they hear the sound of their nail running across the ribs they look at me sideways, and shake their head ... I would guess that in your case Graham, you are perhaps using the paper quite a bit dryer than I do. When the paper really is quite wet, any ribs on the sheath tend to start to pull threads off the back of the sheet ... Getting rid of them becomes very important. *** Joe wrote: > So I cheat a bit and I will share my crime with you ... A most interesting technique! I know that the old guys here would kill themselves laughing if they saw you do this, but what the hell, they laugh when they see _me_ trying to do it the traditional way anyway ... It sounds very effective. I would only ask one small point - there seems to be no way with this 'twist-tie' technique to get the two twisted parts of the handle drawn _tightly_ together for tying. This is a very important point, as any looseness at this point means not only a loose 'handle', but that all your carefully folded portions also become loose ... When tying this final point with string, one starts looping it around the two ends of sheath, and then works _downward_ towards the ategawa, tightening as one goes, thus pulling the two ends towards each other, and bringing the whole thing into a taut condition. *** A couple of months ago, when I was at one of the craftsmens' association meetings, I spoke to Sato-san, one of the older printers. I asked if I could visit him to ask some questions about printing with metallic pigments, and he said sure, but wait just a bit because he was busy just then. I called him up last night to see if he wasn't too busy, and yes, it turned out that he isn't so 'busy' ... It was his daughter on the phone, and she said that he was hospitalized, and that he couldn't see anybody ... I guess that means that I will be getting another of those phone calls sometime - the same type of phone call that I have received four times already this year, letting me know the date/time for the funerals ... Ito-san, Shimano-san, Okura-san, Noguchi-san ... It's turning out to be a bad year for the association here. And as for his knowledge of those metallic pigments ... I now just have to kick myself for not going to see him earlier ... Dave ------------------------------ From: "Jean Eger" Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 00:13:05 -0700 Subject: [Baren 4592] Re: Baren Digest V7 #589 I had some success recovering my baren with cooking parchment, as someone previously suggested here on Baren. Jean Eger ------------------------------ From: Gayle Wohlken Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 07:55:38 -0400 Subject: [Baren 4593] Re: Baren Digest V7 #589 Joe's description of how to tie a bamboo sheath sounds like a good "One-Point Lesson" for the Encyclopedia. * * * Thank you Barbara for the information about the McClain's catalogs. I can't remember when I last ordered from them, but I think it was last year, so I hope I'm good for a new catalog. I want to check out the barens (Jim asked me what I want for my Birthday). Dave, didn't you mention that bamboo sheaths were getting hard to find? * * * Julio, I was happy to hear your voice again. I thought you were gone from us. Gayle ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V7 #590 ***************************