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

Baren Digest              Sunday, 31 October 1999      Volume 09 : Number 763

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From: Vollmer/Yamaguchi <jy6@columbia.edu>
Date: Sat, 30 Oct 1999 10:06:17 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Baren 6438] Gold and Mica 

Dave, it is great to see your gold and mica printing photos
http://woodblock.com/encyclopedia/updates.html, I knew vaguely how the mica
worked, but your photos are great to show how it works.
Why gum arabic for the mica powder and nikawa for the gold flakes? Does it
make a big difference?

(And does anyone use shell? I thought the irridescent paints you see around
these days use mother of pearl flakes.)

Utamaro's Song of the Garden is my FAVORITE book of prints. They are just
wonderful. So delicate and poetic, with my favorite subject, bugs. The
Metropolitan  Museum published a reproduction of it. Hiroshige's fish, too,
also a great book. I would love to own Dave's copy of it! Offset litho just
doesn't look the same!

I will be sending photos of Manhattan graphics show today...sorry to be so
slow, but I've been busy! I finished the self-portrait instead of doing
anything else last weekend. And this weekend I've been wasting my time
doing monoprints at Connecticut Graphic arts. I did a hanga workshop there
two years ago, and may again. But for the moment they asked me to play
monoprint masterprinter for their Monothon benefit. Lots of work, but lots
of fun. The spontaneity is rather the opposite of the careful planning that
goes into hanga woodcut.

April Vollmer

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From: Jack Reisland <reislandj001@hawaii.rr.com>
Date: Sat, 30 Oct 1999 09:26:16 -1000
Subject: [Baren 6440] Re: Gold and Mica 

Vollmer wrote:
> (And does anyone use shell? I thought the irridescent paints you see around
> these days use mother of pearl flakes.)

Mother of pearl paint never did have any ground up shell in it, the name is in
reference t o the effect it produced. It used to be made with fish scales
(herring), but that has been almost entirely supplanted by pigments of
particles of mica coated with metal oxides. The old fashioned mother of pearl
powder would not have worked very well on a print, unless it is mixed with a
transparent carrier, it is pretty dull. The new stuff would work just fine,
though. As it is very fine, it might work best to be mixed with the paste and
printed as an ink.

Jack

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 1999 09:14:01 +0900
Subject: [Baren 6441] Exchanges, etc. 

There seems to be some confusion about the cases for the print exchanges
- - both #3 and #4.  The deadline for ordering cases for both of these
exchanges is long long past.  

When I placed the order with the maker though, I boosted the numbers a
bit, knowing that there would be some 'latecomers'.  But as there have
already been some latecomers (and I don't remember how many extra I
ordered), I cannot at this time tell you if you still have a chance to
get one.

But if you missed out, don't panic.  As soon as the _next_ exchange gets
going, I will be ordering more cases, and can easily add extra orders at
that time.

To the exchange coordinators: When I send you the box of cases, I will
of course include a list of names for you ...

***

Barbara wrote:
> re gold addition to prints.
> I must have missed you comments on this one.  
> Would you possibility run your comments again?

There was no posting on [Baren] Barbara - it was a new page in the
Encyclopedia:

http://woodblock.com/encyclopedia/updates.html

***

April asked:
> Why gum arabic for the mica powder and nikawa for the gold flakes? 
> Does it make a big difference?

Not to my knowledge.  After trying both ways this week I found that the
nikawa was somewhat easier to apply, being less 'sticky' on the brush.

And the flakes and powder are so light, that I'm sure both of these
adhesives have more than enough holding power ...

***

Speaking of the Encyclopedia, have you _seen_ all the updates that went
in this week?!?

- - two new pages on gold and mica printing.

- - an interesting page from Jeanne illustrating the production of a
'white-line' woodcut (don't miss this one!)

- - a most interesting recording (RealAudio format) of an telephone
conversation I had with an elderly gentleman (he's 87) who knew Frank
Morley-Fletcher, the author of one of the first western books on colour
woodblock printmaking.

- - (this one is still 'unofficial' and may be edited) a page showing
photos and description of Matt Brown's craft fair display.

- - there have also been other bits and pieces of update, including
additions to the business Q&A pages from Jim Mundie ...

***

After I wrote (about Horacio's prints)
> I think they could be quite successful here in Japan, given
> enough exhibitions and time for people to become familiar with 
> them ...

He replied:
> Great!!. I would like to know more about this possibility...

Well, I'm not sure what to say here ...  After more than a decade of
holding exhibitions here, and talking with attendees, and seeing what
sort of stuff is available, I think I can guess what sort of thing
_could_ be successful here.

And I know just how to do it ... how to gather together a group of
artists whose work I like, and that I think would be attractive to the
public here ... how to arrange the gallery rental, and scare up a bunch
of publicity ... how to arrange the order forms for 'David's
International Woodblock Print Collection' - a new set of ten prints
every year, a mix of interesting prints collected from artists all
across the world, sent to you month-by-month (available on a
subscription basis only) ...

Yes, I know _exactly_ how to do it!  It would take a couple of years to
build up to the point where it would be an event awaited each year by
the press and the collectors, but I have not the slightest doubt that it
could be successful, building to the point where it had a hundred or so
subscribers (and maybe many more).

As the years went by, _what a collection_ it would become!

But I shouldn't lead you on like this, because ... I simply can't do
it.  I _want_ to, but I _can't_.  This little project that I've just
described is about six or seven places down on my list of 'really nifty
projects that I _have_ to do!'  I'd love to be some kind of super
business man who could sit there at his desk, a phone in each ear,
running all these projects and directing people this way and that,
building all his castles ...

But the reality is that I just sit here every day carving carving
carving and then printing printing printing ...  It's all I can do just
to keep up with my two ongoing projects (the Surimono Album, and the
back issues of the poets' series).  

The 'Collaborations' prints (western designers and Japanese crafsmen)
... the 'International' collection ... the Encyclopedia ... the books
waiting to be published ...

So many projects ... so little time ...

But for today ... back to the printing bench - this weekend is my
printing time for the Exchange #3 print.  O-ban size is tough work! 
Maybe we can make some 'little' prints for the next exchange?

Dave


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From: John Ryrie <j.ryrie@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 1999 18:37:36 +1100
Subject: [Baren 6442] white  line 

Jeanne
         I was very interested in the white line information.  I didn't know
about its history.
I can't fined any examples of this method being used by Australian artists.
The work that I have always been impressed by in this medium is Andre Derain's
Pantagruel printed in 1943.  As this book was printed on European paper, with
dozens of woodcuts in an edition of 275 copies the printing techniques must
have differed the ones employed by earlier printers.  I imagine that if oil
based inks were employed with small rollers or dabbers then the block could be
printed in one pass through the press.
I will be trying this out in the near future.

John

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End of Baren Digest V9 #763
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