[Baren]: The mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking. Baren Digest Wednesday, 30 June 1999 Volume 07 : Number 613 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bea Gold Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 07:30:02 -0700 Subject: [Baren 4805] Re: Graham's workshop, report #2 Barbara, Your descriptions are fabulous - just printed the last one out to study in leisure. Keep remembering - it's terrific. and thanks Graham for teaching her. April - Thanks for the baren offer but I asked Barbara to send me one so don't think I'll need one at the Elderhostel - glad you'll get out of the summer heat in NYC - used to go to the NY mountains every summer when I was a kid. Wasn't there another Barener going to Horizons? I am looking forward to the learning, meeting you and pleasant surroundings - although I don't know if I can compete with Grahams' "sponges". Have many responded to the question of self portraits for Exchange #4? Bea ------------------------------ From: Ruth Leaf Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 08:12:01 -0700 Subject: [Baren 4806] Re: Baren Digest V7 #611 Jean, I'm so impressed with your website. I think it's wonderful that you put all these people and explanations together. Ruth Leaf http://www.ecom.net/~leafr ------------------------------ From: Barbara Mason Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 08:00:25 -0700 Subject: [Baren 4807] Graham's workshop 3rd memory I think I am really hooked, I dreamt about woodblocks last night.....what can I say. I remembered something really important about the preparation of the wood. We used a 7ply shina plywood from Graham's friend Noboro (he will ship it to you) and sanded it first with 400 grit paper and then with 600 grit. It was like glass. Then we sealed the surface with a mixture of 1/2 thinner and 1/2 spar varnish, wiped on with a soft cloth sparingly. It dried in a few hours or less and we were adhearing our drawings to this beautifully smooth surface. Barbara ------------------------------ From: "Jean Eger" Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 10:57:24 -0700 Subject: [Baren 4808] Re: Baren Digest V7 #612 Thanks again, Barbara, for your description. I have been sandwiching my papers between newsprint, and now it occurs to me that the newsprint is full of acid that will probably ruin my prints. I blot them with paper towels after I print them, so the blobs don't get on the next print. I'm probably not doing it right, but it is working better than before. Do you just stack your prints one on top of the next? April how about a web site and photos for your workshop? I'd love to see your workshop and the approach you take. Jean in CA ------------------------------ From: Barbara Mason Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 11:25:02 -0700 Subject: [Baren 4809] Re: Baren Digest V7 #612 Jean, I usually lay my oil based prints on blotters with a piece of newsprint on top and then another blotter on top of that. Then change the blotters after about 20 or 30 minutes. Then I leave them in the new dry blotters until dry. Newsprint won't hurt your paper in a few days, but do not store it in newsprint, use glassine or interleaving (both are acid free). If your paper doesn't dry flat, you can lay a board on top of the blotters and weight it down with books or whatever is handy. Graham layed the finished prints on cardboard (not the box kind, but the solid kind) which were heavier sheets than blotters. He layed newsprint over the top also and had a board and clamping system to hold things flat until they dried overnight.He removed the newsprint after a few minutes as he said the newsprint would wrinkle from the water and mark the surface of the print with ripples. I have always used a water bath to wet my paper for oil based printing and blotted the paper on bath towels before printing. This works very well and saves buying so many blotters (blotters are used in many traditional hand printing shops) as you just wash the towels every so often and reuse them, while blotters are thrown away. We used a paper pack, damp blotter, damp paper stack, damp blotter, all wrapped in a plastic bag at Graham's. This is the only way when many people are printing, as the paper gets all mixed up in a water bath with more than one or two people using it. Although adding the damp blotter to the pack was new to me, I have usually just put the damp or wet paper in a plastic bag. The water based prints did not offset to one another, which really surprised me. Too much info in only a week!!!!! Hope this helps, Barbara ------------------------------ From: Barbara Mason Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 11:26:16 -0700 Subject: [Baren 4810] Re: Baren Digest V7 #612 Jean, I forgot to mention that the prints were not stacked on top of each other to dry, but certainly were when we were printing them with no harm to them. Barbara ------------------------------ From: Sherpsm@aol.com Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 15:31:43 EDT Subject: [Baren 4811] Re: Baren Digest V7 #612 Keeping the paper moist. Once I have moisted the paper with brush, I place my printing paper between wet blotting paper. I also add more moistened blotting paper between every 10 sheets or so. I let the stack percolate overnight and the result is an even water content throughout. During my printing process I keep the blotting paper in the stack. On a long run I could wet the edges of the blotting paper to keep the paper moist. Joe ------------------------------ From: Aqua4tis@aol.com Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 15:32:11 EDT Subject: [Baren 4812] Re: Baren Digest V7 #612 Jean wrote: > April how about a web site and photos for your workshop? I'd love to see > your workshop and the approach you take. hi everyone i just wanted to say that i agree with jean i have really enjoyed seeing the pics of grahams workshop graham your wife is lovely! and i would love to see pics from aprils workshop as well georga ------------------------------ From: "Jeanne N. Chase" Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 16:34:14 -0400 Subject: [Baren 4813] Stuff Bea and all the other females out there who are interested in the Self Portraits. I think most of the response was Positive. David will have to assess that one. Anyway, there is a great book that just came out about Self Portraits of Women. It is rather pricey but fantastic. The author's name is Brokowsky or something very similar. Next time I go to Barnes Noble I will write down the exact title and author's correct spelling. Barbara; You should write a book on "How To" Your posts have been pretty terrific. Makes you almost feel like you were there! Question to All I have been having a struggle trying to get a line back in my woodblock. I accidently carved the wrong line away. It is important to the image and for the life of me, I cannot get it back. No splinter will make it. I tried wood putty. Let it dry. Then sanded the area. But the putty keeps sinking into the block and I still have no line. Anyone kn ow a solution to this problem???? It is driving me insane, which means I do not have far to go. The whole block is complete and I would hate to have to carve a new one for the sake of one line! Jeanne ------------------------------ From: David Bull Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 07:29:14 +0900 Subject: [Baren 4814] Re: Block repair, etc. Jeanne wrote: > I have been having a struggle trying to get a line back in my woodblock. I > accidently carved the wrong line away. John Amoss has put up an Encyclopedia page on exactly this topic, Jeanne. Head over to: http://woodblock.com and click on the 'Troubleshooting' link ... *** > interested in the Self Portraits. I think most of the response was Positive. Yes it was, plenty of good response to the original suggestion (from who, I can't remember). So just as soon as Exchange #3 is fully subscribed (ten spots still available), I'll set up registration for #4, and put down 'Self-Portrait' as the theme. *** Jean wrote: > the newsprint is full > of acid that will probably ruin my prints. I too, am curious about this. It's easy to think that because the contact time is so short, there wouldn't be any leaching of acid from the newsprint to the printing paper, but considering that a lot of moisture is passing back and forth, I wonder about that ... *** John has reminded Exchange #2 members about sending me their info on print title, etc., and I'd like to add my own reminder. Please send me this info as soon as possible (surely you know the print title by now!) so that I can print the colophon. John can't send you your complete package until this is ready ... Thanx Dave ------------------------------ From: Bea Gold Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 21:29:19 -0700 Subject: [Baren 4815] Re: Baren Digest V7 #612 I'll be attending Aprils' workshop but my husband, Jack it taking a photography class at the same time so there goes our camera. Maybe April has a camera and I can help document the activities - I also can try to write a description of the process she uses - love what Barbara is doing - but she definitely is gifted - I'll do the best I can. Guess I'll take my laptop with me. By the way for all you computer well wishers - I don't know how I did it but I got all my messages back and that lets me build an address book again without calling everyone! Bea ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V7 #613 ***************************