Baren Digest Wednesday, 10 April 2002 Volume 19 : Number 1793 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: b.patera@att.net Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 14:29:45 +0000 Subject: [Baren 17827] Re: Blotchy wallpaper ... Hi Michael, How blotchy or raised is the outline? Have you compared your paper to actual pieces of the old wallpaper? The reason I ask, is that I have lived in houses that have had old handprinted paper and one of the its characteristics was a kind of ink ridge at the edge of the design that you could actually feel. Barbara P. ------------------------------ From: "Michael Deman" Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 17:03:39 +0200 Subject: [Baren 17828] RE: Baren Digest V18 #1792 Gosh, thank you those that responded so quickly to my plea for help with the wallpaper project [:-)] To answer Dave, I have seen Adelphi paper hangings website: our printing table is exactly like theirs, and we are printing with the block face down. We have tried printing directly onto a hard surface, as well as onto a slightly more spongy surface, inserting a hard rubber printer's pad under the paper. As for moistening the paper, we did try that - but it didn't seem to help, and also we are printing repeating patterns onto reeled paper, so the logistics of keeping the paper damp would be difficult. Myron, thank you so much for your suggestions, and I will reply to you separately.... Michael ------------------------------ From: Mike Lyon Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 10:40:57 -0500 Subject: [Baren 17829] Re: Baren Digest V18 #1792 Dear Michael, I agree with previous suggestions that the ink squeezing out around edges of your wallpaper block means there is too much ink. Well, pressure could be part of the problem, too, but I'm imagining it is primarily caused by too much ink. I'm imagining that you are rolling up too much ink in an attempt to achieve greater color density than you are able with the proper amount of ink (and pressure). Less ink makes the color too 'light' and less pressure produces areas which are supposed to print but don't (and you have already checked to be sure the bed is flat, the blocks are of even thickness and flat, and that the pressure is applied evenly over the entire block?). If you are manufacturing your own inks, try mixing more pigment with less vehicle, then roll it up very thin. If you are purchasing inks ready-made, try to obtain higher quality (more pigment!) inks. If too much transparency is the problem, then mix your pigments with white to increase the opacity. Seems to me there are some genuine pigment mixing experts on this forum who will be able to offer assistance if transparency is the underlying problem. I'll be interested to learn what actually worked for you! - -- Mike Lyon At 05:03 PM 4/9/2002 +0200, you wrote: >Gosh, thank you those that responded so quickly to my plea for help with >the wallpaper project [:-)] > >To answer Dave, I have seen Adelphi paper hangings website: our printing >table is exactly like theirs, and we are printing with the block face >down. We have tried printing directly onto a hard surface, as well as >onto a slightly more spongy surface, inserting a hard rubber printer's >pad under the paper. > >As for moistening the paper, we did try that - but it didn't seem to >help, and also we are printing repeating patterns onto reeled paper, so >the logistics of keeping the paper damp would be difficult. > >Myron, thank you so much for your suggestions, and I will reply to you >separately.... > >Michael Mike Lyon mailto:mikelyon@mlyon.com http://www.mlyon.com ------------------------------ From: "Maria Arango" Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 09:37:35 -0700 Subject: [Baren 17830] FW: press inquiry Hey all, Below is an inquiry from a nice guy. Please respond to him directly. Roscoe, you might also want to search on EBay, sometimes there are excellent deals on printshops closing their doors. Maria >- -----Original Message----- >From: Rscoejacks@aol.com [mailto:Rscoejacks@aol.com] >Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 3:06 AM >To: maria@mariarango.com >Subject: Re: enjoyed it > > >Hello Maria, I just thought of something as I read your email...do you know >of any colleges or universties or artist with a used press (gathering dust >somewhere )that they'd be willing to donate to a high school? I'm on a >limited budget and presses are very expensive. We've been using a baren and >spoons but I feel a press would helps is make better prints. Please drop me >a line if you find out something. > >Thank you, Roscoe. ------------------------------ From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 13:33:48 -0500 Subject: [Baren 17831] Re: life drawing tool....no printmaking info 04/09/2002 01:33:55 PM Not a plug per say, but came across this product and it's good enough I thought I share it here for those interested in life drawing. On the subject of life-drawing, I came across a book at my library called "Virtual Pose 2", it is a book about drawing the male and female body. The book has many photographs of models and poses but it also comes with a CD Rom that you can use on both your Mac or PC. There are nine different models on the CD (four female and two male) and you can choose nine different poses for each model (making a total of 54 poses). The great thing about the software is that it allows you to rotate each model/pose around it's 360 degree axis in very small step increments....."virtually" giving you almost unlimited looks at the models...just like in a real class where you could walk around an catch the different angles. An additional bonus is that you can zoom in/out on the model and drag the image around the window thus creating endless compositional options. The software on the cd rom also has a "movie" and a background "music" feature. The four movies that come along on the cd show the use of different quick-sketch drawing techniques to reproduce a selected model/pose. The authors narrative is very interesting and educational. Each movie is about 5-7 minutes long. They have a website at : http://WWW.VIRTUALPOSE.COM For those interested but can't afford or get to a life drawing class, this might be a viable alternative option. thanks....Julio Rodriguez (skokie, Illinois) ------------------------------ From: Mike Lyon Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 14:37:24 -0500 Subject: [Baren 17832] Tsuruya Kokei woodcuts on-line I don't usually forward this sort of link, but Frank Castle has just posted his April exhibition and it is just WONDERFUL -- forty-seven of Tsuruya Kokei's actor portraits. Kokei, still working, was born in 1946 and prints on extremely thin (and I mean EXTREMELY thin) gampi. http://www.castlefinearts.com/fs_catalog.asp?category_id=322 Here's what Frank has to say about him: "Tsuruya Kokei (b. 1946) Born Mitsui Gei in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, in 1946, Kokei comes from a family of artists. His grandfather was a respected oil painter and his father exhibited and founded the Bijutsu Dantai art group. Although he received no formal training, Kokei was fond of drawing as a child. Upon finishing junior college, he supported his family as a salaried worker. In 1978, at age 32, he got the idea of making woodblock prints depicting popular, present-day Kabuki actors. He started by imitating the okubi-e prints of Sharaku, the master of actor prints who only worked for eleven months during 1795-96. Encouraged by Takeomi Nagayama, president of the Kabuki-za Theater located in Tokyo, Kokei continued to produce actor prints which were primarily sold at the theater itself. Kokei designs each print, carves the woodblocks and then prints the work himself using Ganpi paper, an extremely thin, resilient paper which is considered to be the most difficult of mediums. Kokei usually spends 40 days completing one edition of 72 prints: 10 days creating the design, 10 days carving the woodblocks and 20 days printing, including a delicate mica background. When he finishes printing, he chops each print with his seal, numbers the prints and then destroys the woodblocks. Kokei has a unique niche among modern Japanese artists, providing a lasting record of contemporary Kabuki actors through his dramatic and masterful prints." I think you'll enjoy these ! Mike Mike Lyon mailto:mikelyon@mlyon.com http://www.mlyon.com ------------------------------ From: Cucamongie@aol.com Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 20:15:35 -0400 Subject: [Baren 17833] brayers, rollers, etc [:)] James, thanks so much for your brayer/roller-cleaning explanation, it sounds so much more efficient than the haphazard way I've been cleaning mine - I'll try it out - many thanks & best wishes Sarah ------------------------------ From: Myron Turner Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 20:29:50 -0500 Subject: [Baren 17834] Re: Baren Digest V18 #1792 <200204091300.WAA07032@ml.asahi-net.or.jp> I think Mike Lyon's comments about pigments and inking are very worthwhile considering, and like him, I'll be very interested to learn what works. Your press is reminiscent of letter press printing presses prior to the invention of the cylinder press--it works through a bar that applies pressure by means of levers and muscle power. You might check with people who print on nineteenth century presses like the Albion--people who print letterpress from hand-set type--this tradition is still practiced in England and the U.S. The traditional illustration for this kind of book is either the woodblock or the wood engraving. Here are some sites I found by searching for "letterpress printing albion". I am pretty sure you should be able to find books on this kind of printing. http://zephyr.unr.edu/arts/archives/art_jordan_press.html http://www.library.unr.edu/blackrock/instruction/balinks.html http://www.barbarianpress.com/ I have seen these presses at work and they print against hard surfaces--tympan paper backed by bond paper with pieces of tissue to adjust for unevenness of impression. Myron At 10:40 AM 09/04/2002 -0500, you wrote: >Dear Michael, > >I'll be interested to learn what actually worked for you! > >-- Mike Lyon > > At 05:03 PM 4/9/2002 +0200, you wrote: >>Gosh, thank you those that responded so quickly to my plea for help with >>the wallpaper project [:-)] ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V18 #1793 *****************************