[Baren]: The mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking. Baren Digest Sunday, 12 September 1999 Volume 08 : Number 702 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Cucamongie@aol.com Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 09:41:50 EDT Subject: [Baren 5766] sizing etc Jean, thank you for the lesson on sizing. Mostly the reason I don't like to do this myself is that there is really so much process involved in hanga printing as it is, plus it's hard to get sizing to be very even, that I would rather not have one more thing to deal with - I saved your advice for future reference though, in case I need to do it sometime - thanks a lot- Sarah ------------------------------ From: baren_member@woodblock.com (Daryl DePry ) Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 10:00:10 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Baren 5767] Introduction Message posted by: Daryl DePry Hi My name is Daryl DePry and I am currently an artist in Las Vegas, Nevada. I actually just started going back to graduate school at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. I wish to continue a body of work, drawing and printmaking, and felt I might as well recieve a M.F.A. while doing it. I work figuratively and tend to have a graphic and 'in your face' images. Some are sexually charged, while others are narrative. I am interested in how people relate to one another and the dynamics of their body language. I tend to try and skew the perspective at which a composition is rendered and play on this perspective with the narrative nature. I use an etching press, Griffin, and will be experimenting with a lithographic press at the end of this year. I also use oil based inks and am in the habit of using Baltic Birch plywood for my blocks. Once in a while I use linoleum cuts to work out ideas quicker. Glad to be apart of the Baren and am excited to see what unfolds. Thank you, Daryl ------------------------------ From: David Bull Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 22:40:30 +0900 Subject: [Baren 5768] Re: wet or dry Wanda wrote: > Now, as for telling the amount of sizing - I haven't figured > that out yet. But I'll bet you a US$ that Dave knows! Well ... yes and no (so you can keep the buck, Wanda). Because I don't have such a wide experience with different papers, and different sizing, I'm not the best person to ask this. I can though, look at something that has _been_ printed, and tell you something about how the paper was sized. A print made on paper that is too weakly sized may have: - - threads of the fibre pulling up from the front surface - - visible abrasions on the back where the baren has damaged the soft wet surface - - blotchy and textured application of colour The print made on 'hard' sized paper may have: - - a pattern of small 'kernels' of pigment scattered through the coloured areas (most visible from the back) - - weak and uneven application of colour Jean wrote: > I can't imagine what the big deal is about sizing. It is one of > the EASIEST things to do in hanga printmaking. Jean, if you've found a good combination of size, paper and sizing technique that works for you, then I most heartily congratulate you. (I say this without sarcasm ...). For myself, I find this an extremely difficult topic, and I wrestle with it every time I get a new batch of paper. I have my paper sized by a professional (he does nothing but size paper all day, every day), but still have to adjust my moistening and printing procedures each and every time I make a batch of prints. There are just so many variables that affect the 'feel' of the sized paper: - - the humidity and temperature on the day that the paper was sized - - the particulars of the size mixture (gelatine and alum) - - the speed that he moves the brush across the paper (starting quickly and gradually slowing as the brush discharges the size) - - the temperature of the size as it is being applied - - how far he 'cracks' open the windows (affecting the speed at which the sized paper dries as it hangs from the ceiling of his workshop - - how much moisture I apply to the paper before printing - - what thickness of pigment I use - - how much paste I mix with it - - what strength baren I use - - how hard I press that baren Have I forgotten anything? *** Re: critiquing - public or private? Jean wrote: >So I am glad to have the criticism be public. It seems we have people on both sides of this thing - some would like the critiques to be personal and private, and some would rather it was out in the open. So when it comes time for the web pages for Exchange #3 to go up, I'll canvass the participants and let each one of you choose which way you want to go. For those who want private critiques of their print, I'll put only _your_ email address on the form on the web page. For those who would like the process to be open, I'll put _both_ your email address and mine on the form, and will then update the page with whatever comments are received. In this case, I think we can have our cake and eat it too ... *** Maria wrote: > MY print, yes I said MY print, arrived today and it is one of the most > beautiful precious things I have ever seen. Thank you Dave, it is truly > incredible work, Actually, the incredible thing about it was the price I paid. It cost me 2,000 yen, which as of this morning, works out to about $18 US. Now if that isn't the best value purchase that I ever made in my life, then I don't know what is! *** Gary wrote: > ... textured cotton > look in your print. I know there's a Japanese term for that style of > printing, but the name of it does not come to mind. It's 'nuno me zuri' (cloth pattern printing), and no I haven't used it yet, although I did an imitation of it on my New Year card the year before last. It's done by gluing a piece of fabric to the carved block, stiffening the fabric with some kind of special paste mixture, and then printing from the resulting surface (either with or without pigment). > Pressed his laundry and editioned a print at the same time. But one suspects that the underwear wouldn't be much use after the edition was finished ... Dave (Hard at it on surimono printing ... Probably 19 impressions on this one - 10 of which are gradations. Might have bitten off a bit more than I can chew, we'll see ...) ------------------------------ From: Graham Scholes Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 08:48:53 -0700 Subject: [Baren 5769] Re: Baren Digest V8 #699 It won't take long to do the sizing, it really is not as hard as you might think. Mind you it's easy for me to say......I ain't ever done it. Regards, Graham ------------------------------ From: James G Mundie Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 11:52:28 -0400 Subject: [Baren 5770] a language lesson and reversed signatures Greg wrote: >James, I've been meaning to ask you this for eight months: Whence, >wherefore and what means "Mise le meas"? A ha, a little affectation of mine comes to the fore! You see, for several years now I have been a student of the Irish language. As native speakers of this beautiful language are dropping like the proverbial flies (and at a slightly greater rate), I take it upon myself to interject "cu/pla foca/l" [literally, 'couple of words'] whenever I can in a slight nod to keeping the language alive and myself in the practice of using it. Irish is a complex language in which _everything_ conjugates, so I'll spare you the particulars; however, the phrase in question breaks down thusly: MISE (the emphatic form of the personal pronoun ME/, which when combined with the suffix means "myself") + LE ("with") + MEAS ("respect", "regard" and like meanings) =3D 'myself with respect' or 'respectfully yours'. More information than you needed? Well here is some more: the phrase is pronounced "mish-uh leh mass", should you find the occasion to use it in your everyday travels. Greg also wrote: >John wrote: "the eg is reversed as you said so it must have been Mr >Gill's mistake. Funny you'd think some one >who spent so much of his time designing letterpress would get this >right." >Actually, I'm sure this is on purpose. I've seen Pablo Picasso prints >with a reversed signature and read someplace that certain artists used to do >that regularly, but I can't remember the reference. Yes, I had read somewhere that many printmakers did this purposely to remind the viewer of the process involved in the creation of the print. I generally make the effort to make my little cipher read correctly when printed; but in one large print hanging in the livingroom I was in a bit of a hurry to finish the block and get it printed so I accidentally cut my initials forward rather than backwards. Kate often walks by this print and calls me "LM". Had she known that I was subconsciously making the viewer aware of the process, she might be less inclined to tease. Sla/n go tamall (another lesson, another time, Greg), James Mundie, Philadelphia USA ------------------------------ From: Wanda Robertson Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 09:16:27 -0700 Subject: [Baren 5772] Printing with cars? John & Gary, Printing with cars? Can't we just lay it in the driveway and run over it? Print 4 at a time? Or stack the blocks & print the whole series at once, with a ramp? Heeheehee! Let's see, what kind of wood for those blocks would you recommend. Wanda ------------------------------ From: BHearn2001@aol.com Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 12:30:51 EDT Subject: [Baren 5773] Re: Baren Digest V8 #701 I am working with Stonehenge Cover and am having trouble determining the front side from the back side. Can anyone help me out on this? Or is there no difference between sides? Barbara Hearn ------------------------------ From: Gary Luedtke Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 12:30:44 -0400 Subject: [Baren 5774] Printing with cars? Wanda teased, >John & Gary, Printing with cars? Can't we just lay it in the driveway and > run over it? I don't think you'd need wood, Wanda, just some old baldy tires. Paste on a sen-gaki, do some _very_ shallow carving, ink the tire, roll up, roll back,, and viola! you've got it. I'm not sure I'd want to try _reduction_ printing this way or you might blow yourself over into the neighbor's. :) Actually, Wanda, I think Graham already tried the method you suggested. Seems to me someone mentioned that technique quite a while back. Since Graham goes way back, I figured it must have been him. Maybe not. :) Gary ------------------------------ From: Bea Gold Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 10:21:25 -0700 Subject: [Baren 5775] Re: sizing etc Thanks Maria for your statement about tall people and knee problems - now that I'm short and fat do you think I have knee problems because I used to be tall and thin? Also do you remember Sylvia who was working on the wood block printed quilt? Your idea for a large collaboration sounds a bit similar - she used white linen and black ink and carried out a birthing theme. Greg - Since I figure I have about ten more years of active work ahead of me I'll just keep practicing using the To until I get it perfect and then????? - This morning I got up and had to decide what to do first - garden (my old knee has been so bad I haven't gardened in a while) - paint ( I have a commission for a Heaven painting) - work on a wood cut (I need to work on my self portrait for the exchange) - work on the computer (I have to remove and reinstall Win98) I chose talking to you the Baren instead. Jean - you were the one who taught me to size paper right here on the Baren - and My biggest problems besides all you mention is where to put the papers to dry after I have sized them - What do you do Jean? Dave - you are absolutely right about all the things you said about sizing - that's what makes the Hanga Mystique so interesting! Will you put my description of April's workshop up? I have no photos - maybe April or Barbara do. Can't we add them later anyway? ------------------------------ From: Barbara Mason Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 10:25:54 -0700 Subject: [Baren 5776] Re: Baren Digest V8 #701 Barbara, If you get the paper in really good light and use a magnifying glass if you need to you will see the laid lines of the screen on one side of the paper. Sometimes it is very hard to tell, I usually mark the back of the paper with a pencil when I cut or tear it to size, this saves so much time later. The other thing I do is always stack it right side up. Both of these things help but are of course not foolproof, as we forget and miss steps in our "ritual". I was taught to print on the felt side of the paper, but sometimes think it makes no difference as it looks the same on some papers. Barbara ------------------------------ From: Barbara Mason Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 10:19:15 -0700 Subject: [Baren 5777] wet paper Greg, Wanda tried a piece of rives lightweight paper at Graham's class and it was not too successful. One of Graham's friends (teachers?) said you could use rives BFK if you dampened it, ran it through the press let it dry and dampened it again. I guess this would be to take some of the sizing out or to smash the fibers or something. I am going to try it as I have a large supply of Rives BFK. When I cleaned my studio and got all the paper in one place found about 300 sheets, so should be in good shape for awhile. (This was why I bought so little of Graham's paper, although I was tempted to send in a second order!) Barbara ------------------------------ From: Graham Scholes Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 12:10:20 -0700 Subject: [Baren 5780] Re: wet paper >Greg, >Wanda tried a piece of rives lightweight paper at Graham's class and it >was not too successful. One of Graham's friends (teachers?) said you >could use rives BFK if you dampened it, ran it through the press let it >dry and dampened it again. That person is Noboru Sawai. He use the buff or natural colour BFK Rives for his etching woodblock prints. It will not remove the sizing but it will flatten the surface and make it smooth enough to do Hanga printmaking. You may think that BFK is smooth until you try to print with a Baren. Do not soak the paper ..... just dampen it slightly ...let it sit for a few hours all bunched to gether in your damp box....Plastic Bag.... and them run it through the press with medium pressure. Dry the paper and do it again. OR buy some hosho paper which has been in use for 300 year and has no equal.... Graham ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V8 #702 ***************************