[Baren] the mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking Baren Digest Tuesday, 1 August 2000 Volume 12 : Number1099 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Graham Scholes Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 07:41:15 -0700 Subject: [Baren 10756] Re: paper >I did love Graham's paper for printing, it truly was wonderful. But as I >am just learning, it is pretty hard to use such expensive paper without >crying a lot as you toss it into the trash. Gawd can I relate to this. The 'Brown Baggin It' which I just finished caused many problems. I lost 10 sheets of paper. That figures out at about 150. bucks ..... toast. Ah what the heck..... sell one at 150.00 and I be even steven. Graham ------------------------------ From: Vollmer/Yamaguchi Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 11:04:02 -0400 Subject: [Baren 10757] Kozo, Mitsumata, Gampi Barbara: I always print the first few prints of an edition on cheaper paper to reduce the crying. I was glad to find the hanga-shi because it is cheap and similar in printing quality to real washi. That way, you can use it to adjust the quantity of color and paste, the baren pressure, etc, before moving to the real stuff. And Graham, I didn't see you offering the kizuki hanga (aka kizuki hosho) I'd have bought some, my supply is running low! I do use the $40 barens you sold for teaching, great to have, much stronger than the plastic ones. Do you have any more? Kizuki hanga is not as fine as your Yamaguchi, but it is stiffer and thicker, so makes it easier to print large images. Easier to handle large sheets, and retains moisture because it is double thick. Yamaguchi is better for fine detail. You should see this gampi, though, really interesting, so delicate and strong! April Vollmer 174 Eldridge St, NYC 10002, 212-677-5691 http://www.aprilvollmer.com ------------------------------ From: Graham Scholes Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 08:55:54 -0700 Subject: [Baren 10758] Barens April wrote..... >I do use the $40 barens you >sold for teaching, great to have, much stronger than the plastic ones. Do >you have any more? The barens that you got last year were a round wooden disc and a white plastic beaded disc. Over this was tied the bamboo husk. Yes they are available but have gone up in price to 55.00 You should wait until John Root comes up with a price for his baren. They are wonderful and going to be well worth another 25 odd bucks (approximate) I have two more barens that John dropped off yesterday and will be trying these. These are bolder for large areas and prints. I don't know how he could improve on the first one that I just finished using to burnish 576 impressions. It was so like the real thing that one wonders about the need for the Japanese expensive $600 US unit. The other thing we..... he is working on is an embossing baren. Between the two of us we have some ideas about taking an existing baren with an addition making is a neat embosser. ... or is that debosser. Any rate between us we will find and solution. John is on the list server so he will be following up with the price soon..... won't you?? Graham A SPECIALIST IS someone who knows more and more about less and less, until he gets to the point where he knows absolutely everything about next to nothing. ------------------------------ From: Wanda Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 09:19:39 -0700 Subject: [Baren 10759] Re: the swastica Murilo wrote: > those artists. He himself was an "amateur" and spent much of the nation > money buying works of art of third category. It's this all that in this > picture abou the third reich and the German art of those days. It seems that > the "FŸhrer" loved neoclassic figures. To the expressionists was atributed > "madness". If Hitler was schizophrenic, it is very possible that expressionist art would agitate him & make his symptoms worse. Schizophrenia affects the vision in many of its victims - anything higher than (or lower than) the viewer's straight-ahead sight line is distorted. If only he had been medicated! Wanda ------------------------------ From: "TSHACK" Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 15:01:01 -0700 Subject: [Baren 10760] Re: Akua Kolor > I know the > base of this ink is honey, how does that affect the hanga final look? I Perhaps what you smell is the gum arabic. I've used straight g.a. for another process, and it has this sort of honeyish, molasses-y smell to it. ------------------------------ From: "TSHACK" Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 15:06:38 -0700 Subject: [Baren 10761] Re: idle hands > easy-to-remember cliches, etc. "Give them the government they deserve," in > the lyrics in "Evita" by Andrew Lloyd Weber. "Coke--it's the Real Thing," > etc. It worked! And to tell you the truth, it still works. Most of the population, in the US and elsewhere's, is being lead around by a nose ring, firmly in the hands of the media and politicians and religious extremists. Complex issues are reduced to sound bites and black and white answers. And people eat it up left and right. And I do mean left and right. OK, so much for that rant. dwight ------------------------------ From: Studio Dalwood Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 08:22:30 +1000 Subject: [Baren 10762] Paper & Chickens & Swastikas For Graham Q. Why did the computer cross the road? (answer below) *************** Barbara said "But as I am just learning, it is pretty hard to use such expensive paper without crying a lot as you toss it into the trash." Dont do it! Dont throw it in the trash. Recycle it! Tear it into pieces and reform it into brand new sheets of paper. When Maria gave her enlightening description of the true Hanga person she neglected to mention that rather than purchase paper from a living treasure, the true artist makes their own. I'm serious here. If you cant recycle it yourself, mail it to me. ************ Jack said "My only really direct impressions of the swastika is it's continued use as a rallying sign for groups of intolerant and hateful people. As long as it's use as a symbol of threat and hate is kept alive by these people, it is difficult to use it in any other context" I've been biting my tongue over this thread. Symbols get switched from culture to culture as a matter of course. The original meaning is always re-interpreted in the process. I did a lot of research on this a few years ago and can't sumarise my findings here unfortunately. May I suggest some readings in semiotics? Misunderstanding is born from ignorance. IMHO to reject the swastika becasue the nazis used it is the equivalent of rejecting the cross because the KKK use it. (Fortunately we dont have the KKK here) As many have observed the Nazi use of this symbol was just one case. They also used runes for the SS symbols. The jews and the christians ripped off most of their symbols from earlier cultures, reinterpreting as they went. And, I might add, often with detrimental sociological results. Please do not confuse the sign with its signifier. To continue to use the symbol in its other contexts, especially its peaceful buddhist use is extremely important in undermining and deconstructing its nazi association. I dont mean any disrespect to the jewish members of our community. After the war my grandfather was one of the persons responsible for bring the concentration camp victims back to full health after their release. Mike I am very interested in seeing your work. ****************** Josephine Sydney, Australia A. Because it was programmed by a chicken. ------------------------------ From: Studio Dalwood Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 08:30:43 +1000 Subject: [Baren 10763] 'My Place' exibition Speaking of overcoming racial hatred. The Australian aboriginal community are actively working towards reconciliation. Working towards this, the Sydney based Manly printworkers have just closed an exhibition of collaborative works between four of their members and four aboriginal women from the Ernabella community in central Australia. The theme was 'my place our place your place' The resulting prints use mostly solarplate and monotype , sorry - - no wooodblocks, and are very beautiful. I have just spent the last week working in collaboration with one of the Manly printmkaers in putting together a feature article of this exhibition. There's about 24 images, and its in Impressions magazine at http://www.acay.com.au/~severn/myplace.htm Please enjoy. On another note, the Impressions print exchanges are still filling. You can find information at http://www.acay.com.au/~severn/exchange.htm Josephine ------------------------------ From: Mike Lyon Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 18:10:07 -0500 Subject: [Baren 10764] Re: Baren Digest V12 #1097 >Beside the issue of the swastika: >I'm very much interested in your symmetrical designs. Is there a way to >actually see some of your work? I'm trying, Arye, I'm trying! Another week or two, and I'll have something solid on the web, I think... In the meantime, you can see a few diminutive woodcuts made from little 1" square tiles with half circles cut out at: http://www.mlyon.com/gallery/ the site is VERY under construction, and is presently all mixed up with my karate site, so hope you'll pardon the mess... I have twenty hanga available for viewing on that page -- all 8"x8" grids of 64 tiles. These were printed a number of times in register with tile pattern changes between inkings. - -- Mike Lyon ------------------------------ From: "john ryrie" Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 11:39:02 +1000 Subject: [Baren 10766] swtstika I have a book hear on Shunga, the swastika appears a few times in kimono designs. Having practised Buddhism I am familiar with it from it's use in Buddhist art though out Asia. It is from India that Hitler got the symbol, the name comes from sandscript. Though it is also a Native American symbol as. Hear in Melbourne they appear all over China town and on Chinese graves in the cemetery up the road from me. I have some old Monotype and Linotype books, in them the swastika is quite common in boarders and decoration, I looked on my computer and there isn't one among the symbols in Word. John http://www.geocities.com/laddertree ------------------------------ From: "Rudolf Stalder" Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 20:20:39 -0700 Subject: [Baren 10767] Albrecht Duerer Albrecht Duerer http://members.aol.com/SKaiser251/www.htm#wwwbilder Access to about fifty works including woodcuts. Attention, about 10 images are missing or are wrongly attributed - such as Aix-en-Chapelle, Akelei, Antwerpen, Apokalypse, Burg und Stadt Arco Tirol, Eichhoernchen, Heroldsberg and others. Have fun ! Rudolf (http://www.rst-art.com) ------------------------------ From: B Mason Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 17:21:33 -0700 Subject: [Baren 10768] Akua Kolor I know the > base of this ink is honey, how does that affect the hanga final look? I Perhaps what you smell is the gum arabic. I've used straight g.a. for another process, and it has this sort of honeyish, molasses-y smell to it. Actually, it is honey based. I got the info straight from Susan Rostow who is the manufacturer. I am ashamed I have used it so little since I got it, but hope to make up for it soon. Barbara M ------------------------------ From: "Arye Saar" Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 12:36:17 +0900 Subject: [Baren 10769] Re: Baren Digest V12 #1097 From: Mike Lyon > >Arye > Hi, again, Arye -- what are Ornamentics ? I'm only 49, you know... Hello Mike, Sorry about your age - only time is the remedy. As for "Ornamentics": A teacher of mine, a 'Meister', devised a system by which to classify ancient Decorative Art. He coined the term. I only use Ornamentics to create geometrical decorative art. I used in on furniture and walls. Two examples you can see at http://www.polymetaal.nl/ Go to 'English\Artists Gallery and you will find it. More explanation if you will ask for it. Have been to your "Under construction" site. The tiles are beautiful. Arye ------------------------------ From: Graham Scholes Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 22:47:35 -0700 Subject: [Baren 10773] Brown Baggin' It The latest addition to my collection. http://members.home.net/gscholes/brownbag.html This was a greater challenge that I anticipated at the inception of the image. As I progressed with the carving it grew from 5 plates to 8 plates. and from 9 colours to 16 The light, medium, medium dark and dark biege values have a total of 14 very small bokashis ranging from 5 on the light plate to two on the dark plate. All very fiddly.... As mentioned in previous post I last 10 sheet of paper and it was as a result of the critical manipulation of the inking. Back to the lighthouses.... enjoy. Graham What is art? Nobody knows. What is an artist? A person who makes art. What does an artist do? Nobody knows. ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V12 #1099 *****************************