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

Baren Digest              Wednesday, 14 July 1999      Volume 08 : Number 628

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 17:31:36 +0900
Subject: [Baren 4956] Re: Size matters ... 

Joe wrote:
> In your comments on sizing you mentioned the possible necessity of a 2nd or
> 3rd printing of an area. Do you rest the area and continue in the print run
> or do you do the 2nd impression immediately? 

I can't give you a hard and fast rule on this.  With a fairly thick
paper, and one that isn't too wet, you can usually pull the second
impression immediately after doing the first.  But if the paper is
overly wet, then it is much better to run the entire batch with the
first impression, and then do the second one a bit later, after the
paper has had a bit of time to settle down.  The print I sent in for 
the current exchange has two areas that received a 'double 
impression, and they were done in the 'delayed' way ...


> I read somewhere that if the
> registration is crucial, it might be wise to leave the print in the kento and
> (somehow) recolor and print a 2nd time. Do you have any experience or
> suggestion on this?

Yes, but I might get in a bit of trouble by giving my opinion ...  ;>)

For example, in the Platt book that I just put up into the Encyclopedia,
he speaks about this very same point:

> A smoother and richer effect is obtained by printing the
> area twice at least. If the form is simple, lift the paper
> off the block after printing it once, re-colour the block
> and print again, but if the form is complicated even
> slight errors of register will be troublesome. To avoid
> them, do not lift the paper after the first printing, but
> put a heavy stone or lead weight on one end of the print
> as it lies on the block (choosing an 'island' to take the
> weight); turn back the other end over the weight,
> re-colour the portion of the block to be reprinted, allow
> the lifted part of the paper to fall into place again, and
> reprint. If necessary, the weight can then be transferred
> to the opposite end of the sheet and the other end lifted
> and reprinted in the same way.

Why might I get in trouble by commenting on this?  Because his phrase
"even slight errors of register will be troublesome" tells me that he
simply didn't have enough control over his registration procedure.  The
Japanese registration method, simple as it is, is capable of such
precise registration that you wouldn't believe what you see.  To the
nearest millimetre?  Get serious! To the nearest sixteenth of an inch? 
No, no ...  It is, quite simply, an _exact_ method of registration. The
paper can be put back on the block in _exactly_ the same place.

As an example, check the black lines on my third surimono print (visible
in the 'close-ups') at:
http://woodblock.com/surimono/1999/1-3/display_print_1-3.html

There are lines on that block that can only be described as 'thin as a
hair' - and yet that block was printed twice, once with light faint
sumi, and once with a heavier gradated sumi. (I ran all 200 sheets with
the light impression, and then started all over again with the
gradation.)  It was not necessary to use any lead weight ...  It _is_
necessary to have the kento cut as finely and delicately as possible,
_and_ to place the paper into it in exactly the same way each time (not
as easy as it seems).

***

Jack wrote:
> Is there an ideal diameter for a baren, or are different diameters
> useful in different situations? Does the hand size of the printer enter
> into it? 

Sorry to be late commenting on this Jack ...   Taking a tape measure
over to my baren rack, here are the numbers (in centimetres):
12, 13, 13.5, 12, 13.5, 13.5, 14, 14.5

'Ideal' will obviously change from person to person depending on what
kind of work is being done.  For the standard sort of Japanese work that
I do, the standard 13.5cm size certainly seems to do the job the best. 
The 12cm barens that I have have a strong coil, and this (combined with
their smaller 'footprint') gives them more power.  (I couldn't use them
for something like a key block with delicate lines, and overall, I don't
use them so much recently, since I started making the smaller
surimono-type prints.)

At the other end of the scale, the largest one I have, the 14.5 cm, is a
'sandpaper' baren, and is used for very light touch work over wide
areas.  

As far as hand size goes, within 'normal' limits, I don't think this
makes much difference.  Traditional printmakers here all use the same
sort of baren; whether their fingers are fat or thin doesn't seem to be
much of a factor.

> What would be your considerations if you had to choose one size
> to start with?

For somebody getting started in Japanese style printmaking, who doesn't
want to make the major investment in a 'hon' baren, the 'murasaki' baren
(five to seven thousand yen from Matsumura-san, depending on size) is I
think, far and away the best value.  It's an excellent tool, very well
made, and very reasonably priced. 

If however, I was allowed more of a budget for this 'one size to start
with' selection, I would choose a more 'all-round' tool such as Gosho
san's medium 8-strand hon baren.  With that one tool you can pretty much
do anything ...

Dave

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From: "Jean Eger" <jeaneger@LanMinds.Com>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 01:36:13 -0700
Subject: [none]

Dave,
Thanks for the info about the sizing and the frustrations from lightly sized
paper.  I hope your guy goes back to the way you work with it best.

Gayle, it's great news to find out that one of my prints was in a show and I
didn't even know it.  Would you give us info about the show so I can put it
on my artist's bio?  Thanks.  And congrats to you and April!

Flint, we encourage newbies to show their work.  You can't be a prima donna
in this crowd.

What a beautiful San Francisco day today.  I had lunch with Marco, and saw
his print show.  His show is at the Mission Cultural Center in the heart of
the Spanish section of downtown San Francisco (the barrio), which is an
exciting place in and of itself.  The Mission Cultural Center has a large
gallery on the second floor, which gives top notch shows, and Marco had a
whole room for his wonderful woodcut portraits.  They were all pretty much
the same size and not too big.  It reminded me of the museum in Amsterdam
where I saw a whole room full of small Van Gogh paintings.  Of course these
are all superb portraits done in his inimicable style in water-based inks.
He uses strong colors and no black, as he pointed out.  The theme is about
immigration, because all his models had immigrated to the USA.  I recognized
Tomoko Murakami, of whom I had made a woodcut portrait also.   We talked
printmaking, with Marco giving glowing reports about Graham's workshop.
Then we went across the street for a taco.

Jean Eger

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End of Baren Digest V8 #628
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