Today's postings

  1. [Baren 27280] Re: New Baren Digest (Text) V30 #2979 (Mar 3, 2005) (FurryPressII # aol.com)
  2. [Baren 27281] Re: New Baren Digest (Text) V30 #2979 (Mar 3, 2005) (Robin Morris)
  3. [Baren 27282] Re: Date: Wed (Sharri LaPierre)
  4. [Baren 27283] Re: First time hanga boy (FurryPressII # aol.com)
  5. [Baren 27284] Re: Exchange #22 Gallery on-line (Bette Norcross Wappner)
  6. [Baren 27285] Re: First time hanga boy (Robin Morris)
  7. [Baren 27286] Re: Dave's 2005 hanga treasures ... (David Bull)
  8. [Baren 27287] Re: First time hanga boy ("Bea Gold")
  9. [Baren 27288] Re: First time hanga boy (Robin Morris)
  10. [Baren 27289] Printmaking with five year olds ("Harry French")
  11. [Baren 27290] kento kontroversy ("Love Me")
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Message 1
From: FurryPressII # aol.com
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 21:18:47 EST
Subject: [Baren 27280] Re: New Baren Digest (Text) V30 #2979 (Mar 3, 2005)
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I for one am happy to hear from Dean at Graphic Chemical. They have been
very supportive of Baren. Esp. Dean came through when we did the Fireman print
project.

John Center
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Message 2
From: Robin Morris
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 18:25:37 -0800
Subject: [Baren 27281] Re: New Baren Digest (Text) V30 #2979 (Mar 3, 2005)
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Whatever, sorry again. never said I was unhappy to hear from him. John,
it looks like u win. I mistakenly thought that is this a joke letter
came from u personally. I hit reply, not reply-all. but I think u sent
it thru Baren, even tho u had mailed me privately to say u were done
arguing and didn't want to do it at baren. Now I got lured in to
continue and I never wanted to flame you or anyone .
Next you're gonna say I have something against firemen.
Sorry everyone. I'm embarrassed. John, please don't contact me
privately or on this list. Thanks. Bye.

Robin
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Message 3
From: Sharri LaPierre
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 16:41:52 -0800
Subject: [Baren 27282] Re: Date: Wed
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Mike,
Thanks for getting the slide shows up - #22 was just mind boggling.
Such lovely, beautiful work from everyone. Isn't it about time to sign
up for another round? I don't want to miss out!

Sharri
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Message 4
From: FurryPressII # aol.com
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 22:15:20 EST
Subject: [Baren 27283] Re: First time hanga boy
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At least with oil based printing you don't have to worry about the wood
expanding.

Dean I will have to come out to your shop - one of the nicest places in the
print making world.

john c.
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Message 5
From: Bette Norcross Wappner
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 22:46:47 -0500
Subject: [Baren 27284] Re: Exchange #22 Gallery on-line
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Mike,

Thanks so much for putting a photo up of the Exchange 21 portfolio _and_
for working hard to scan the prints for me since my scanner isn't as
nice as yours :) I appreciate all the time you gave to do that and
everything else you do too. Now, I'm off to watch the other new movie -
Exchange 22!

Best regards to everyone,
Bette
Kentucky

http://barenforum.org/exchange/exchange_21/exchange_frame.html
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Message 6
From: Robin Morris
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 19:52:49 -0800
Subject: [Baren 27285] Re: First time hanga boy
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Graphic Chemical was quite helpful to me recently when buying some
engraving ink. I wasn't trying to dis them at all. The product is
excellent for all this newbie can tell.
The reason I said that was that I have a limited supply of special
woodcarving tools that I would just market directly to the Baren list
if it were permitted, but I thought it was against the rules.
Again my apologies if I hurt feelings.

Robin
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Message 7
From: David Bull
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 13:00:10 +0900
Subject: [Baren 27286] Re: Dave's 2005 hanga treasures ...
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Robin wrote:

> I got the first three David Bull prints of 2005 here delivered .I
> subscribed only a few days ago. he's efficient methinks.
> They are so lovely, and the stand/box he has devised is a work of art
> itself. Any schmoe can look like some truly with-it art collector with
> one of these units on the coffee table.

Thanks for the nice comments Robin ... 'we' try to please! :-)

> Dave, is it ok to like, publicize your work over here in the states?
> Are you making some extras?

For the past seven years, ever since the end of my long poets' series,
I've made 200 copies of each of my prints. I've never reached 200
subscribers in any particular year, so the prints are sent out two
ways: they go 'hot off the baren' out to subscribers of the current
series, and they go 'off the shelf' to people subscribing to a 'back
issue' series.

This year, with the prints coming off the blocks one every two weeks,
subscribers really are getting them 'hot'. I'm still printing the next
one - #4, and I expect to have it done by around Wednesday evening.
It'll dry/press overnight, then on Thursday I'll trim/cull/sign/seal
the stack and hand it off to my part-timer Ichikawa-san, along with the
story booklets from my Epson laser, and the printouts from my 'My
Collectors' software that shows her what to wrap for who. She'll finish
her collating/packaging work by Friday noon, and will then call the
Post Office to come and pick up the pile of packages.

You'll never get a 'fresher' print anywhere, anyhow!

As for your question about 'extras', the subscription list stands at
101 people as of today, so there are still lots left. As for
'publicizing', you are of course welcome to tell friends/etc. about my
stuff, but I don't want to do anything that would seem like
'advertising' ...

Although speaking of 'advertising' ... I don't know if I should
blab/blab about this, but maybe it's OK ... NHK TV has been calling
me recently with plans about this and that, and it was confirmed about
a week ago that I'm to be a guest on their noontime 'talk show' -
'O-hiru desuyo!' ('It's lunchtime!'), next Monday. I'll have around
6~8~10 minutes, and will chat with the hosts about the work, and then
give a (very quick!) printing demonstration. It's a very high rated -
nationally broadcast - program, and it goes out .... live ....

Better make sure my baren is well wrapped! :-)

Dave
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Message 8
From: "Bea Gold"
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 22:00:39 -0800
Subject: [Baren 27287] Re: First time hanga boy
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Hi Robin, The LA Baren group would like to invite you to come along with us
on our get together on March 26, if the time and place work for you. People
will be meeting at my house between 10 and 11am, we'll have a little food
and then be off to visit with Ruth in Venice. I don't know if your filming
will fit into the day but please let us know if you need anything to make it
work. We are all bringing work to talk about so you might consider it also
if you do come. Please let us know what you are planning. I'm going to
send you directions to my house on a separate off list e-mail. Looking
forward to hearing from you. Bea Gold
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Message 9
From: Robin Morris
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 22:38:11 -0800
Subject: [Baren 27288] Re: First time hanga boy
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Thank you! I can make it. I'm glad to know when its happening, as I
mostly ignored Baren while trying to get #23 done, so i missed any
banter and planning and haven't caught up. I will be there expressly to
film if possible whatever u deem tapeworthy.
I don't need anything I know of , I am a videographer between projects.
Works very well for me. look forward to meeting everyone there.

RM
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Message 10
From: "Harry French"
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 08:35:34 -0000
Subject: [Baren 27289] Printmaking with five year olds
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Gilda
I have never tried working with five year olds only eight year olds and opted out of the carving area because of safety : they were a lively bunch. The more print experiences they had the more they enjoyed it. Why not take your own ready made blocks to print with also.. thumb prints, hand prints, feet prints, vegetable prints, polystyrene prints, collage prints, glue prints (squeezing glue onto card making shapes, faces etc. let it dry and use rollers to ink) string prints ( roll up ink on bits of string place them on a board and burnish print them), object prints..edges of rulers, tops of jars, keys, cups, saucers.. ad infinitum? The inks I used were mainly the classroom paints.The one thing that threw me with the eight year old class was they wanted to tell me all about their world which was not in my schedule and my presentation at the start took four times longer than expected. It's a brave printmaker venturing into the realm of five year olds. Good luck!
Harry
Lincoln
England
UK
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Message 11
From: "Love Me"
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 21:57:57 +1100
Subject: [Baren 27290] kento kontroversy
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Dan asks where to carve the kento.

As with everything to do with prints, it is necessary to think like a mirror. It can be a problem if you mix talk of the print with talk of the block. Like a youngster learning to do up shoes, left and right are easy to confuse.

I think the keto should be carved on the block to suit the left hand. The position of the kento will depend on how you intend to place the block when printing. The right hand will be reaching for the paper, the left hand docks the paper into the kento, holding it in place, while the right hand reaches for the baren. I am a right-hander, but the kento are for my left hand.

I orient the long axis of the print away from me. This way the brushing of the ink is more controlled, I find it easier to draw the brush towards me, than side to side. Especially for bokashi. For images using landscape format the corner kento (kagi) is carved on the bottom right-hand side of the block image, the long side kento (hikitsuke) is a handspan along on the bottom. However, for portrait format, I would carve the kagi on the bottom left corner of the block image and the hikitsuke a handspan up the left-hand side.

I arrived at this way of doing things by looking at Unsodo Shin Hanga prints, where there is often a deckle edge, the pronounced kagi keto is cut into the bottom right-hand side of the print and the hikitsuke appears up the right hand side. Interestingly, if you look at the keto marks on prints you may have collected, it is not always easy to work out which way the block was oriented and which side the keto were on. I have some Sosaku Hanga where I could swear the Keto were carved on the top edge of the image. Anything is possible and if it works, it is hard to argue against.

Tom K