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

Baren Digest               Sunday, 15 August 1999       Volume 08 : Number 661

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From: Cucamongie@aol.com
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 09:31:33 EDT
Subject: [Baren 5272] various items 

Graham, CONGRATULATIONS - sounds like a number of great surprises for you!  
Funny story about the "foot in mouth" happening also.
Ray H. - I truly thought the swirling lines were done w/the baren - hey what 
ever works!  I think it's great to combine modern touches & funky techniques 
w/the techniques of the "old masters," and thanks for sharing this w/us-
For those traveling to April's workshop - she's a great teacher - I learned 
so much from her!
Thanks all for the compliments on my "lady & 4 dogs" print (I think I thanked 
folks on after 5 but maybe not on this forum).  Like I said on the after 5 
post, it felt like the subjects who originally inspired the print were so 
wonderful it was like they did the print for me!
Best to all from rainy NYC

Sarah

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From: April Vollmer<jy6@columbia.edu>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 10:09:11 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Baren 5273] Too much stuff 

Really, too much stuff! Lets see if I can remember.

First, congratulations, Graham, hope you will remember the Mayor's name
next time around. And order more wine and cheese for the huge crowds!
Sounds like a great evening.

Then I am so pleased to be invited to Jean's. It should be a wonderful
evening. So generous of her to organize this west coast get-together!

And Bea and Lynita, great to hear you were able to meet Matt at his craft
fair. I enjoyed meeting him very much when he introduced himself when he
was at a fair in NYC. He is self-taught, he searches out information and
learns from everyone. It was a lot of fun talking with him about technique.
He knows everything about wood from his experience as a cabinet maker.

I am off tomorrow to meet Bea and Barbara Hearn at the Horizon's
Elderhostel class. I hope I didn't forget any essential supplies. I'll take
some photos.

I can't believe I have so many Baren-related activities in my life!
Horizons, then visiting Jean in San Francisco, then the Baren Exchange show
will be coming up here in NYC in October. What have you started, Dave? Oh,
and thank you Dave, for the baren-suji description. It is best achieved
when there is a little too much color on the block, right? I often get
those marks by accident if the paper is too moist, or I use too much
pressure with the ball bearing baren. I try to avoid them, so I admire
Ray's inventiveness making use of them!

April Vollmer

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From: "Jeanne N. Chase" <studiojnc@prodigy.net>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 14:21:48 -0400
Subject: [Baren 5274] Person Needs Help! 

I know I will get a lot of response so let me have it!!!
I am TRYING to print ala Japanese style.
I have been searching for an hour for info. on what do I coat my wood with
before applying the watercolor. I am not lazy. I was probably staring right
at it, could not find it at all. Help!

Gosh and Golly, just got around to looking at the Portfolio Exchange. It is
impossible to pick out a favorite. They are all soooo great. I have to take
time to study each print and then will have some comments!

Congratulations to all who are having such success with their printmaking.
And to you Graham, What an opening that must have been!  Are you supposed to
curtsey to the Mayor. Or was that the Queen? OOOpps.

I feel like I am in a foreign land all  the way down here in Florida.
Everyone is meeting other Barens and partying. !!!!!!

Jeanne

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From: judy mensch <mensch@interport.net>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 15:15:16 -0400
Subject: [Baren 5275] Re:   cross referencing Baren members 

Can anyone tell me where to buy ball bearing barens for my class at the
Manhattan Graphics Center starting the end of September? I haven't
checked the encyclopedia yet, but will.  
Also, congradulations to everyone on their shows, juried shows etc. 
This is certainly an active bunch.  It's so great
Thanks, Judy

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From: "Philip Smith" <smithart@pacifier.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 12:15:25 -0700
Subject: [Baren 5276] Re: Person Needs Help! 

Jeanne,....I'm not a pro from Dover but I think the answer is nothing,...the
idea is for the wood to soak up some of the ink,..it's different than
printing with an oil based ink,.....good luck,   Philip

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@home.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 12:55:09 -0800
Subject: [Baren 5277] Varnish  Protection 

If you plates are made from Basswood here is a suggestion.

I use a mix of Spar Varnish and cost $17.00 a quart. You want the best
varnish out there.
Take just the amount you need and using a plastic margarine tub, dilute the
varnish with the same amount of Turpentine thinners.   What you are trying
to get here is a 50/50 mix.  This thinned down mix will penetrate the wood.

This is applied after sanding down the board (plate), with 230 then 400
then 600 grit sandpaper.  I apply the mix with a cloth using rubber gloves.

I then do the carving.

After the carving, I varnish the plate again with the same mix.
This protects the area just carved.
When it is still wet I very gently sand with 600 grit paper wrapped
thightly on a sanding block. This sanding block should have a thick piece
of cloth....thin felt is good....so that there is no chance of the hard
surface of the wood sanding block does not mark the printing plate surface.

Now you are ready to print.

You will notice that for the first few coats of waterbase pigments, it will
bead on the plate.
Not to worry.  Add more rice paste and after priming the plate a few times
the pigment will stick like the proverbial to a blanket.

This technique will give the soft basswood a little more strength
preventing the water to soften the wood and making it spongy like. ....
especially those fine detailed areas.

Regards,

Graham

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 07:48:10 +0900
Subject: [Baren 5278] Re: Too much stuff 

April wrote:
> Oh,
> and thank you Dave, for the baren-suji description. It is best achieved
> when there is a little too much color on the block, right? I often get
> those marks by accident if the paper is too moist, or I use too much
> pressure with the ball bearing baren.

There are actually _two_ different kinds of marks ...

The first one, the 'baren-suji' that Ray described - swirls of 'mist' in
a Hasui or Shinsui print, for example - are usually _darker_ than the
surrounding area.  A strong baren has been used very lightly, and not
rubbed for too long (perhaps on an block with lots of pigment, as April
described).  The result is that only a few 'swirls' of pigment are
transferred to the paper.

The other one, no name that I know of, is when the swirls come out
_lighter_ than the surrounding pigment (usually a deep tone).  These are
almost always considered a 'mistake', and result from too much water in
the paper/too heavy pressure/too strong baren (or all of the above). 
These are real trouble sometimes, and can be very difficult to avoid,
especially while trying to get a good deep intense tone ...

***

Judy wrote:
> Can anyone tell me where to buy ball bearing barens for my class?

Matsumura-san has them by two different makers - about six different
types in all.

***

Jeanne wrote:
> I have been searching for an hour for info. on what do I coat my 
> wood with before applying the watercolor. 

I'll weigh in on the 'nothing' side of this ...  I can't speak for the
basswood that Graham is using, but the cherry or magnolia common in
traditional printmaking here is used 'raw'.  

Dave

... still waiting for that little box in the mail ...

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From: John Ryrie <j.ryrie@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au>
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 13:37:09 +1000
Subject: [Baren 5279] Re:   Baren 

Judy, 
in case  someone dosn't come up with somwere closer to you, ball bering Barens
are avalabul from 
Roslyn Kean
Tel/Fax 02 95523423
11 Jarocin Avenue
Glebe NSW 2037
Australia.

I have a woodcut in the 1999 Darebin-La Trobe Art Prize which opens on Thursday
on the off chance that enyone from Baren will be in Melbourne over that next
month.

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@home.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 20:48:36 -0800
Subject: [Baren 5280] Re:   Baren 

John Ryrie wrote....
>I have a woodcut in the 1999 Darebin-La Trobe Art Prize 

Congrats John,
Always nice to be accepted by our peers.  eh.

Graham

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@home.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 20:53:34 -0800
Subject: [Baren 5281] Re: Too much stuff 

Dave wrote....
>I'll weigh in on the 'nothing' side of this ...  I can't speak for the
>basswood that Graham is using, but the cherry or magnolia common in
>traditional printmaking here is used 'raw'.

Yes lucky you.....

The preparation is just one thing that would be nice not to have to do.
Cherry is tougher and the nature of the wood does not require the varnish.

We have Dogwood here that does not need protection.  It is quite hard and
tight grained but not to staple.  It moves a lot when drying.

Graham

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 20:48:09 +0900
Subject: [Baren 5282] Exchange #2 web pages ... 

OK gang, the exchange pages are ready for your viewing pleasure ...

http://woodblock.com

I got the package from John this morning, and have spent I don't know
how many bug-eyed bleary hours at this machine getting all the prints
scanned and the new pages written and uploaded.

(Those of you who responded to my previous request for 'comments' on
your prints should find those comments up there.  Please check them for
accuracy.  Some of you didn't contact me directly, but just talked about
your print on the forum ... in these cases I didn't dig through the
archives trying to find the stuff.  If you have things you want added to
your exchange page, please send them to me (off-line of course).)

There is a new feature in this set of pages - a feedback form has been
appended to _every_ page in the section.  The email that is generated by
this form is sent directly to the artist involved (nobody else,
including me, will see it).  If you receive interesting feedback and
critiques from people who use this form, and you wish these comments to
be included on your page, again, send these to me and I will add them.

(If you do not wish to receive such feedback, just let me know and I
will delete the form from your page.)

Over to you ... 

Me, I'm going to turn this thing off for a while ...

Dave

P.S.  I also updated my _own_ web site, with the fifth print in this
year's Surimono Album ...  

http://woodblock.com/surimono/1999/1999album.html

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End of Baren Digest V8 #661
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