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

Baren Digest                Sunday, 12 July 1998        Volume 04 : Number 211

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From: Gayle Wohlken <blueman@pantek.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 09:34:52 -0400
Subject: [Baren 1150] Re: Baren Digest V4 #210 (Plate Oil?) 

Baren,
James Mundie mentioned not using plate oil when printing a
scratched and needled woodblock.  I have never used plate oil.
I use only Daniel Smith relief ink.  Is this a wrong ink to use
for this style of printing, James?  It sounds like  you are rolling
up something much stiffer than I'm accustomed to using on wood.
Yes?  If so, how do you get it rolled out.  It seems a very stiff
ink would be nearly impossible to roll out smoothly.  

Gayle Wohlken

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From: steiner <steiner@mbox.kyoto-inet.or.jp>
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 23:46:27 +0900
Subject: [Baren 1151] Woodblock only exhibitions 

Well, that sure drew me out.  I have been lurking in the background,
reading nightly the BAREN letters since I joined (back in the 800s) but not
feeling right enuf yet to participate.  However, Mr Mundie wrote
(Baren1147) about international woodblock exhibitions, XYLON in particular,
but failed to mentioned two others. That got me.  One is in Slovakia (I
will get more info later for everyone) and the other is here in Japan,
KIWA, the Kyoto International Woodprint Association's annual
non-competitive exhibition.  (Two BAREN members, April Vollmer and Matt
Brown, were in this year's show.)  Dave Bull, my friend and the owner of
this list, put KIWA on his web-site, so a little investigating would have
turned up that piece of information.  From 1999, KIWA will try to have
prizes, and then the big one will be in 2002.  In the meantime, the annual
exhibitions will be gathering names to make up the list of invites to that
event.  More as time passes.
Now that I am out in the open, very briefly let me introduce myself.  Tho
Dave and I both live in Japan, he is up there in Tokyo while I am down here
in Kyoto. I have been in Japan 28 years, all but the first few months as a
woodblock printmaker, first as student, now as teacher. Studied 10 years
with my first teacher, Masahiko TOKUMITSU, then, after a while, three
summers with my second, Toshi YOSHIDA.  At present, I teach woodblock
printmaking at Kyoto Seika University, in my workshop downtown, at the deaf
center and in my own studio.  For me, there is only one way to live, as a
woodblock printmaker.  Nothing comes close to the satisfaction of creating
in this medium.
Not too brief.  Sorry.  I could go on and on.  Won't.
But before I sign off, I really want to say how much of a great debt of
gratitude we all own to David Bull for this BAREN Forum.  It is one of the
best things on the Net without doubt.  Thank you, Dave.

Richard Steiner, Kyoto

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From: Phil Bivins <pbivins@mindspring.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 12:08:49 -0400
Subject: [Baren 1152] Re: Woodblock only exhibitions 

Richard, nice to hear form you . You mentioned you live and work in Kyoto?
I have several woodcut videos that were made in the US about 20 years ago
from a visiting woodcut artist by the name of Akira Kurosaki. On the back
of the video case it states he taught at the Kyoto Technical University.
Maybe you have heard of him. Anyway, he had taught several woodcut
workshops in Washington State. Bill Ritchie from Seattle Washington had put
together several videos showing his technique. Great viewing for the
novice, like me. My woodcut resources are extremely limited here in North
Carolina, USA. I was just curious if you know Akira, does he still teach
there? His thing seemed at least at the time very geometrical and
complicated shapes and patterns. A master in bokashi. Thanks.

Phil

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From: Bill Ritchie <ritchie@emeralda.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 12:21:15 -0700
Subject: [Baren 1153] Re: Can you trust your children ... 

>Attention, all you artists doing limited editions!  Can you trust your
>children? 

I got a message from Phil Bivins privately. He may be interested in a
little travel and learning experience in the Pacific Northwest. When I was
reviewing Baren-list to see if the subject of woodcut workshops came up,
the "Can you trust your children . . ." thing caught my eye.

I'm interested in woodcuts more than my children. Isn't that an awful thing
to say? I say it to get attention, of course. But I am interested in
artists' estates. In fact, I began designing a software program for
artists' estate management several years ago. It's continuing.

So I wonder if a kind of "two track" experience might be opening up.
Imagine gossiping over horror stories about estates of artists with the
smell of fresh-cut pine blocks, the perfume of sumi, and moldy paper!

Phil said the autumn and early winter would work for him. Can anyone guess
how many would like to participate, and if the old saying, "the more the
merrier" applies to life in the world of Barens?

We have three good teachers in our state, and a considerable number of
printmakers with a passion for sosaku-hanga.

- - Bill

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From: Gary Luedtke <GLuedtke@compuserve.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 16:27:35 -0400
Subject: [Baren 1154] Woodblock only exhibitions 

Richard,
Welcome out of the woodwork, nice to hear from you at last.  Could you tell
us a little more about yourself?   Do you design as well?    Is there
somewhere we can see some of your work on the web?   I'd sure like to hear
more on what it was like in the studios of these two printmakers you
studied with, and the type of classes you instruct yourself now.  It sounds
like you have a wealth of information in your experience and maybe we'll
get a chance to hear some of it if you will now stay out in the light.  

Gary Luedtke
Kansas City

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From: Elisa Flynn
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 07:02:42 +0900
Subject: [Baren 1155] Antonio Frasconi 

I was just searching the web for something on Antonio Frasconi, a
wonderful woodcut artist whom I had the priviledge of studying with for
several years, and I was saddened to find almost nothing about the man
on the net!  This is all I came up with:
http://www.123main.com/ElPueblo/Bios/usla0017.shtml
which is just an article, with no illustrations.  Has anyone come across
anything else?  He is featured in so many general books about
printmaking, but alas, ignored by the internet!

Elisa Flynn

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End of Baren Digest V4 #211
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