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

Baren Digest              Saturday, 29 August 1998      Volume 04 : Number 258

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From: April Vollmer/John Yamaguchi <aprilvollmer@altavista.net>
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 10:54:17 -0400
Subject: [Baren 1452] Extras 

I recently participated in Richard Steiner's Kyoto International Woodprint
Association exhibition. In his newsletter he states that the new
organization is trying to establish a woodblock archive. I was just
wondering if it might be appropriate for our print exchange to include a
set to be donated to his organization. How do other people feel about this?

It would be nice to have a set of the prints saved in a public archive so
other people interested in woodblock could see them. I was also thinking
that as long as we are editioning, we might consider making a few extra
sets in case an opportunity comes up to show them.

Glad to hear the Gasball Festival was a gas...must get to Danbury sometime!

April Vollmer

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 13:18:06 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 1453] Your Move 

Hi Ray.

Hey.....does this mean you are coming back to the Baren???
         Does this mean I have to put up with your humour and nonsense ???
         Does this mean you are submitting to the Folio???
         Does this mean you are going to have to shovel snow???

Ok, so exactly where is this Snow Hill???

<snip>

Regards,

Graham

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From: Ray Esposito <brassring@brassring.org>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 01:03:52 -0400
Subject: [Baren 1454] Re: Your Move 

Graham wrote:
>Hey.....does this mean you are coming back to the Baren???

I suppose I have to if I want to be in the exchange - but VERY quietly!!!!!

>         Does this mean I have to put up with your humour and nonsense ???

I doubt I will participate much because I have seen no indication that
humor is acceptible yet.  I will watch what happens to you.  You get away
with more because you are such a great printmaker and artist everyone wants
to pick your brain.  Since mine is empty about art, they are less tolerant
about my humor.  Besides, only you are weird enough to understand it.

>         Does this mean you are submitting to the Folio???

Yes but the renegade in me says to do a very weird print.  Since most
woodcuts are relief prints I am going to do a relief woodcut printed over
an intaglio woodcut with college and collagraph elements.  That should keep
them guessing but it will meet any guidelines Jim puts on the prints about
how much should be woodcut.  I think he is doing a wonderful job taking
this on.

>         Does this mean you are going to have to shovel snow???

Alas, yes but not often.  We only get about 10"-12" a year.  Mostly mild
year round.

>Ok, so exactly where is this Snow Hill???
>I dug out a map and find the following place in Maryland.

I can't believe you typed this whole list.  Gad....and you try to give
everyone the impression you are soooooo busy.  Look for Salisbury on
Maryland's Eastern Shore.  Look southeast about 20 miles and you will find
the county seat of Worcester County - Snow Hill.

<snip>

>So what is this a snow job..........

Only if the financing falls through.  Buying an office building and a house
was a little more than I had anticipated.

Cheers

Ray Esposito

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From: mkrieger@mb.sympatico.ca
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 16:55:13 -0500
Subject: [Baren 1455] Mary Krieger - new member 

Hello

I am a printmaker and painter living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I
have been working in woodblock since 1980. I principally work with oil
based inks on a press in a more traditionally European technique. I am
interested in joining and contributing to the lively community of the
[Baren] forum.

Mary Krieger
Winnipeg Manitoba
mkrieger@mb.sympatico.ca
www.mts.net/~mkrieger

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From: Ramsey Household <cjramsey@pacbell.net>
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 15:06:59 -0700
Subject: [Baren 1456] Re: Baren Digest V4 #256 (exchange update) 

I guess I'm going to have to stop lurking.  I think this print exchange is a
great idea.  Who knew there were so many of us in baren.  The dialogue that
has been going on is so exciting.   So many interesting people in this
group!  Two months ago, who knew it?

Unfortunately, we are in the midst of selling our house, buying property in
Oregon, and building a new house, so my time is uncertain and certainly
disorganized.  I hope we will have another exchangeand that I can
participate in it!

I also hope that this dialogue  continues after the exchange.

A former lurker,

Carolyn

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From: jimandkatemundie@juno.com (James G Mundie)
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 19:07:02 -0400
Subject: [Baren 1457] exchange update 

As of this moment, confirmed participation for the first [Baren] exchange
folio stands at twenty-five.

Deadline for commitment is 1 September 1998.  Write to me off list to
confirm your participation.

James Mundie, Philadelphia USA

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From: Gary Luedtke <GLuedtke@compuserve.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 19:20:45 -0400
Subject: [Baren 1458] Mary Krieger - new member 

Welcome Mary,
I look forward to your participation in the group and seeing your work.

Gary Luedtke

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From: Gary Luedtke <GLuedtke@compuserve.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 19:23:17 -0400
Subject: [Baren 1459] Re: Baren Digest V4 #256 (exchange update) 

Welcome, Carolyn.

Gary Luedtke

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 09:18:36 +0900
Subject: [Baren 1460] New and 'new' members... 

April wrote:
>  as long as we are editioning, we might consider making a few extra
> sets in case an opportunity comes up to show them.

On the face of it - a good idea - and one to which I'll agree right
away.  But I do think we have to be a bit careful here ...  those of us
who are used to making a whole lot of prints at a time aren't too
concerned about the edition size, but I suspect that some of the people
who typically make only very small editions are watching the size of
this exchange edition rise up and up and up with some trepidation.  

I don't want to get into a situation where it becomes a tiresome chore 
for people to make these prints; it should be a labour of love ...

***

Mary wrote:
> I am a printmaker and painter living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada ...

Thanks for deciding to join us Mary; may we assume that Graham had
something to do with your finding out about us?  

And you _still_ decided to become a part of this group even knowing 
that he is here?!? 

(A bit off-track, but I might mention that I lived in Winnipeg when I
was younger.  We had an old house at 57 Lipton Street, between Portage
and the river  ... probably all torn down now ...)

***

Carolyn wrote:
> ... building a new house, so my time is uncertain ...

... and _that_ is more important than printmaking?  It's too bad your
priorities are so mixed up ...   :>)

> I hope we will have another exchange and that I can participate in it!

It's of course too soon to do much more than speculate about this, but
one could perhaps assume that if this one turns out to be successful, it
might become an annual event ...

Maybe some members think that this would be too much work, but as
[Baren] grows the number of participants would become too many for a
practical exchange.  Maybe people could participate in alternate years
... or some such idea.

***

Ray wrote:
> I suppose I have to if I want to be in the exchange - but VERY quietly!!!!!

Thanks for deciding to start posting again Ray.  It'll be interesting to
see what sort of design you come up with - the idea for your print
sounds quite flamboyant!

Dave

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 17:41:27 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 1461] Re: Mary Krieger - new member 

Yeeehhhhhh  another Canadian.......

Thank goodness. Now you and I, Mary, can stand back to back and ward of all
those Yanks.  You will enjoy it very much.

Regards,

Graham

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 17:41:28 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 1462] Re: Baren Digest V4 #256 (exchange update) 

Carolyn wrote....
>I also hope that this dialogue  continues after the exchange.

Welcome to the group.  I'm sure it will and be even better.
The more the more is always a good healthy happening.

Regards,
Graham

Oregon you say.....what a lovely part of the country.
Close to what city?

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From: Ray Esposito <brassring@brassring.org>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 06:16:37 -0400
Subject: [Baren 1463] larger folio 

April wrote:
>It would be nice to have a set of the prints saved in a public archive so
>other people interested in woodblock could see them. 

I am totally and unequivocally opposed to this idea.  While I understand
and appreciate April's thought and praise her for suggesting it, after
thinking it through, I believe it is a mistake for three reasons.

1.  I can think of 15 other print clubs and organizations who maintain
archives.  If you present a folio to this club, what justification do you
use to reject requests from others?  (Since Printhouse will be building an
archive, I want to hear why it can't have a folio.)

2.  The folio is already large.  Adding 15 or so to it is not something I
think is beneficial to the folio.  An edition of 25-30?  ok.  An edition of
45?  no.  (I do concede a certain prejudice here since my editions are
almost always under 10 and many of you who I respect very much do large
runs anyway and you are use to them.  I do not get overly excited about
printing large editions.)

But, most important:

3.  This is a Baren project and should be exclusive to Baren members.  What
is the point if folios are going to be passed around to non-members?

Offered with respect.

Ray Esposito

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 14:12:15 +0900
Subject: [Baren 1464] One-point lesson 

Here is this week's 'One-point' lesson (contributed by Matt Brown)

********** ********** **********

(#20)  Controlling moisture while printing ...

It seems that having printing paper evenly moist and
keeping levels of moisture constant during a printing
session is a key part to getting the 'moku hanga' approach
to work. I like to have on hand the following tools for
this task: a board (called in Japan a yoko-ita; mine is a
piece of kitchen counter laminate board  21"x27" mounted
on a box holding it 8" off the floor: I print sitting
cross-legged on a low box on the floor), a wide
soft-haired hake brush (6" wide, sold by D. Smith,
McClain's and others), a spray bottle for water, a damp
towel, a bowl for water, and a sheet of plastic to cover
the yoko-ita.

I try to begin preparing paper at least 4 or 5 hours (or
overnight) before I plan to print. To begin I lay out on
the yoko-ita my stack of paper cut to size for printing,
the bowl of water, the hake brush. Sheet by sheet I
re-stack the paper applying the water-loaded hake brush to
every other sheet with broad even strokes (i.e. building
the stack one wet, one dry). How much water I use depends
on the type of paper, on the weather, on the size of the
sheets. On top of this stack I lay the damp towel covered
by the sheet of plastic, letting the whole thing sit.

After at least an hour I re-build the stack, sheet by
sheet, in a pile which is spread out in a pattern which
will cover an area probably three times  the size of a
single sheet, with each sheet covering approximately half
the sheet below. This new pile I let sit for three hours
or longer (overnight is best) under the towel and plastic.
Its function is to allow the water to move evenly through
all the paper. Re-stacking this pile onto a straight stack
again sets the whole business ready for printing. 

Except when we get into some really humid weather during
the summer months, I find it is usually best to keep the
damp towel covering the printing paper throughout the
printing session. When I print I keep the yoko-ita on my
left. My left hand flips back the towel and grasps a sheet
from the stack, both hands place it on the block, my right
hand picks up the baren and 'sets' the sheet. While
barening with my right hand my left flips the towel back
over the papers on the yoko-ita, returns to help the right
hand with barening if I am wanting a lot of pressure, and
then goes to flip back the other side of the towel
covering printed sheets laying on the yoko-ita while the
right hand returns the baren to its cloth. Both hands work
together to pull the paper from the block and lay the
impression face up on the yoko-ita, the left hand flips
the towel back over the prints while the right hand
reaches for the pigment jar, and on it goes. If I feel the
stack is beginning to lose moisture I will begin to
compensate by adding moisture to the damp towel with the
spray bottle, if the paper seems too wet I will run
without the towel for a while.

My approach derives primarily from a reading of 'Japanese
Printmaking' by Toshi Yoshida & Rei Yuki. Relying on the
damp towel has been key in helping me to work with a dry
indoor climate, especially during the winter months. Bear
in mind I am not printing large sheets, and were my sheets
to exceed a size of 1/2 of the yoko-ita I would need to
develop a different approach.

********** ********** **********

Next week,  thirsty blocks  ...

These 'One-point' lessons are being collected into a
section in the [Baren] Encyclopedia of Woodblock Printmaking.
http://www.woodblock.com/encyclopedia/updates.html

Contributions from experienced printmakers for future
'One-pointers'  are eagerly solicited.  

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End of Baren Digest V4 #258
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