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

Baren Digest            Thursday, 24 September 1998    Volume 04 : Number 291

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From: Daniel Kelly <daniel@vowel.or.jp>
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 09:58:18 +0000
Subject: [Baren 1757] Re: Mold 

Daniel Kelly wrote:
> How about UV light?

In response ot my own posting.
Last night we were drying an edition. There is a typhoon in the area. I
spread the prints on the floor and reshuffle them periodically like cards so
that they dry evenly. After I posted the above I went upstairs and added UV
fish tank lights on the ceiling of the room where the prints were.
I'm going to improve on this by putting them above the shelves for the "last
printed " and the " to be printed next" . I'll do that so that as we work we
won't see the lights. But the prints will . What I envision is similar to
what a barber or dentists have their tools in.

D

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 10:36:39 +0900
Subject: [Baren 1758] May I ask ...? 

Daniel,
May I 'sidetrack' you for a minute from your postings about 'mold'?

After seeing your very interesting prints on your new web page a few
days ago ...

http://www.vowel.or.jp/~daniel/

... I have a whole bunch of questions ...  You gave us a very brief
self-introduction when you joined [Baren] a while ago, but I for one
would very much like to hear more about your printmaking process (and
I'm sure I'm not alone).

*

You have used phrases like:
> ... as we work ...
> ... I use professional studios so that I may concentrate on 
> aesthetic decisions

I know from personal correspondence that some of the [Baren] members are
very interested in having prints made by professionals in Japan. 
Information on how you do this would be very useful to them.

*

I would also like to hear about how you manage the problems of printing
such incredibly large pieces of paper.  

> the shelves for the "last printed" and the "to be printed next" ...

When the prints are two meters wide, these must be quite some shelves! 
Do you have some photos of the workshop that you can put on your web
site for us to see?  

*

You said that you are printing with a baren, but how on earth do you
control the moisture on such large blocks and sheets.  Are you mostly
using oil-base inks?  How do you get the pigments on the block - rollers?

I hope that your process isn't 'secret' and that you will be willing to
share some of your experiences with the rest of us ...

Dave B.

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From: Daniel Kelly <daniel@vowel.or.jp>
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 11:29:52 +0000
Subject: [Baren 1759] Re: May I ask ...? 

David Bull wrote:
> ... I for one
> would very much like to hear more about your printmaking process *


>  ... as we work ...

We just completed two editions of 90 x 90 prints  ed. 70 ,APs 10, BAT, 3PPs
and 7 TPs in the batch. To do this I had 3 full time assistants and myself.
It took a little more than two months. A lot of the time is spent with the '
'colles.

> ... I use professional studios so that I may concentrate on
>  aesthetic decisions

I mostly have used litho studios in Tokyo and NY. In Tokyo we did wood cut
relief prints with litho inks and a litho press some time ago .Woodblocks
have also been made here with a pro printer. The prints at that time were
more classic J. technique. But standard woodblock printers are now not
really suitable for the kind of prints we make. Basically I work too large
for a small printers bench. Also I use thick, rough Nepalese paper.So now we
do it here.

> I would also like to hear about how you manage the problems of printing
> such incredibly large pieces of paper.

More than one person helps when we put a large print on the block. Very
large prints are in editions of 20 or so.

>  the shelves for the "last printed" and the "to be printed next" ..
> When the prints are two meters wide, these must be quite some shelves!

The shelves are for the 1M. size prints. The big ones we just lay flat on
tables.

> Do you have some photos of the workshop that you can put on your web
> site for us to see?

I'll see what I can do for my update, perhaps by Oct. 1. This computer stuff
takes too much time away from work.

> You said that you are printing with a baren, but how on earth do you
> control the moisture on such large blocks and sheets.

I don't have a problem because we re- wet or store them so that they stay
damp as we work.

> Are you mostly
> using oil-base inks?  How do you get the pigments on the block - rollers?

I use standard wood block brushes and water based pigments.

> I hope that your process isn't 'secret'

How can it be a secret when you can all see it.?

D

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 20:11:21 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 1760] Re: May I ask ...? 

Daniel wrote:
>We just completed two editions of 90 x 90 prints

Is that Imperial or Metric ?


> the prints are two meters wide

What kind of wood.  ....Plywood I assume.

Graham

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From: Daniel Kelly <daniel@vowel.or.jp>
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 12:56:40 +0000
Subject: [Baren 1761] Re: May I ask ...? 

Graham Scholes wrote:
> Is that Imperial or Metric ?

Metric.

> What kind of wood.  ....Plywood I assume.

Yes. I use veneer which has as few layers as I can get, (say 5 )and is
about 10 mm. thick. I use both sides. Sometimes I surface the veneer
with a texture material such as sand and cement.D

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End of Baren Digest V4 #291
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