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

Baren Digest              Friday, 15 January 1999      Volume 06 : Number 413

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From: "Jeanne N. Chase" <studiojnc@prodigy.net>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 09:47:38 -0500
Subject: [Baren 2682] Re: shellac, edition, etc 

Dear Roger

Vibrant has my vote. I still would not toss out ANY of the prints. They all
look good to me

Jeanne

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From: Jacob Roquet <roquet@coastalnet.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 10:09:00 -0500
Subject: [Baren 2683] Re: shellac, edition, etc 

My thoughts.. keep 'em and label them Printer's Proof. I've seen something
like this in galleries... and always admired their uniqueness. And I have
kept prints that I liked with this labeling as well.

The other way do deal with this is to call each a "state." It seems I
recall a classic series of Rembrandt etchings that showed each versionof
one of his prints. ("Christ on the Cross:" or something like that. When I
go home tonight I'll look it up and get back with more details and let you
know how they referred to the "versions" and the exact name of this
series.)Each was remarkably different in tonality and depth of blacks.

Third way to deal with this is to forego propriety and simply mat 'em and
frame'em with no signature. But before I get blasted on this, let me remind
you that the intent and distinction of  "professional printmaking" is
creating a record of activity for some reason or another... collector's
value is the only issue I see here. But then if it's good, it's good and
the collector will find a way around it. Many early prints were not
identified as to editions.

I suppose you simply imagine your place in the world of art history. Mine
is moot. So I go for the whatever I decide to do. (Still, I generally know
the rules.) The Tamarind [erson might have additional thoughts about this
since she worked for a professional press and their integrity of editioning
is definitely at stake and must follow editioning guidelines.

Pollock painted with off-the shelf (hardware) paints and panels with no eye
to archival quality. Today, museum curators are all beside themselves
repairing and maintaining works valued at $$$$$$. (I have a friend who does
this and gripes all the time about these unconcerned artists.)

(Prepare for the onslaught.)

Regards,

Jake

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 07:26:45 -0800
Subject: [Baren 2684] Hi, just arrived Brenda 

Hi Brenda Romans

A-lino Welcome aboard

I'm sure you will find this place helpful.
Have you seen the encyclopedia yet.

Take a few minutes......actually days would be required....and have a boo.

http://www.woodblock.com/encyclopedia/index.html

Cheers luv.

Graham

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From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 10:35:39 -0600
Subject: [Baren 2685] re: Baren glitch ???? 

Graham writes:
"Hi Brenda Romans; A-lino Welcome aboard...."

I think I missed getting some postings between new member vivijohn's #2665 &
JNC's #2682.
This morning I got #2682-2684. That's it !

Did anybody else have a problems ? Or is it just me ?  Any ideas ???????

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From: Jacob Roquet <roquet@coastalnet.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 13:44:50 -0500
Subject: [Baren 2686] wood you know the answer? 

Thanks for the tip about the "encyclopedia"... WOW.

I just moved light years...oops digi-talk there, Ray :-).. "many moons"
ahead on what i needed to know to move forward with my first woodcut.

Can I ask for major input on one topic that is unfilled -- the wood and the
basic block. (Unless I missed that topic on David's site.)

I am interested in a small print for first print about 8" x 12", black and
color. I am looking for the high-end solutions.. by that I mean best
solution and not beginner solutions... i believe in learning on the right
materials.
And besides my first print will be perfect... (right!?:-)  )

Some people have mentioned poplar, David talks about cherry wood. If
someone has saved other e-mails about this could you please forward
off-line to me.

Again, my apologies if I missed this info on the site, please redirect me.
I await your comments, I'm ready to go.. you folks have got the juices a
flowin' out here on the other coast.

TIA

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From: jimandkatemundie@juno.com (James G Mundie)
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 14:03:09 -0500
Subject: [Baren 2687] sandpaper grits 

Not only can one get 1500 grit sandpaper, but I have used 2500 grit in
the past. Gives just the slighest little polish to to the wood to make it
feel clean as a whistle.  

Also, I may be mistaken, but I think I've seen emory paper up to 4000
grit.  Might have been a hallucination induced by lacquer thinner,
though.  :-)

***

My my my, but we seem to have expanded or memebership quite a bit over
the last week or so.  Welcome, everyone!

Mise le meas,
James Mundie, Philadelphia USA 

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From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 16:27:08 -0600
Subject: [Baren 2688] re: Welcome  

PLEASE DISREGARD my previous message about missing postings. They came real late
and in reverse order. Don't know what happened, maybe it's my server.

Wecome to all the new members: John, Maria & Brenda..........did I miss someone?

It's been kind of quiet lately here at Baren  since most of the regulars are
probably busy putting the finishing touches on their exchange prints or
recovering from the holidays and our moderator (Dave Bull) has been "away"
working on his exhibition.
Make sure to check the "encyclopedia" and the member's web-sites. Hope to hear
more about all your printmaking endeavors.

JULIO ( In the midwest and tired of all this snow !)

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From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 17:03:17 -0600
Subject: [Baren 2689] re: More on Roger's prints 

Roger writes:

"Then I printed 50 more and now I have about 50 reasonable or better prints.
Under the conditions of the exchange, the first 29 are the exchange.  Well, I
wanted to test reaction to the prints to see if anyone would say that the
patchy ones were in some way unacceptable or less desirable.  To a degree I
heard that the
vibrant ones were better,......."

I also like the vibrant ones better.....but they all are acceptable (at least to
me). There is nothing written that says you have to label your first 29 for the
exchange. Since you and I (and many others) are new at this traditional style
and are kind of learning as we go along....I don't see why I can't label the
"unacceptable" (unacceptable to me!) prints as AP and number only the ones I
like.

What I mean is........Dave, James & Graham have all mentioned in the past how
they don't remove mishaps or flawed prints form the stack until all the printing
is done in order to keep moisture levels and registration in order.  I am sure
these prints are later pull out AND ARE NOT part of the edition numbering
sequence.  Right ?

If you like prints 50-100 better that 1-50, why not just consider holding on to
1-50 as AP, or gifts or whatever and start numbering at print #50. Or do like
Dave does....stickem in a drawer.....

Just a thought.......

JULIO

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From: April Vollmer/John Yamaguchi <jy6@columbia.edu>
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 00:36:50 -0400
Subject: [Baren 2690] Falling Behind! 

I'm falling behind! Got new windows in my apartment this week! It will be
great, better insulation, easy to clean....but it has taken two weeks out
of my life, when I should be printing!

Blocks and paper are cut, though, I'll catch up!

I printed oil base woodcuts for years on a Brand press. Don't use the
(nicely described) three blanket system, though. That is designed to pull
ink up from the low areas in an etched plate. For woodcut, I used one thin
blanket, since the ink is right up there on the surface of the block.

April Vollmer

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 18:00:38 -0800
Subject: [Baren 2691] Re: More on Roger's prints 

Roger wrote....
>I don't see why I can't label the "unacceptable"
>(unacceptable to me!) prints as AP and number only the ones I like.

The norm for AP.   They are 10% of the edition and usually pristine condition.
So if you have an edition of 50 the only 5 are artist proofs.
It might be better to define them as a second state or publishers proofs.

I throw them away. The paper you are using is not that expensive compare to
the hosho stuff.
It costs me about $30.00 sheet these days. The Dollar is in bad shape.

Your choice.

The way I call this is I asked myself the question.
Am I proud of the results. Can I hold my head up and say this is the very
best I can do.
If the answer is no.........then you know what to do with them.
They can warm you on a cold winters night.

Graham

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From: Jean Eger <jeaneger@LanMinds.Com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 18:47:21 -0800
Subject: [Baren 2692] Re: editioning, critiques 

Welcome Maria.  Thanks for the tip on the neoprene.  It is so dry in Las
Vegas, where it is all desert!  I feel like I'm in Vegas.  When printing,
I'm sitting in front of the heater that heats the whole house, so the rice
paste dries almost as fast as I put it on the block.  The baren was stored
in the cabinet next to the heater, so the baren met an early death.
Luckily I had more than one.

Jeanne, it would be a good idea to have an online critique!  New ideas are
helpful.  Where can one get honest feedback from qualified people once one
is out of college?  Are you willing to participate?  We would have the
prints in our hands and would not be limited to commenting on what we saw
on the computer screen.    I guess some people do have very tender feelings
and don't want their art criticized.  Other people have a professional
reputation to protect and don't wish to subject themselves to intense
public scrutiny in this kind of forum.  It is not putting food on my table
so I don't mind being being an online guineau pig.  It's all in the spirit
of art education, in which I do have a stake.

Roger, I never heard anyone say you had to number the prints consecutively
as they came off the press.  As far as I know, you can number the good ones
one through 29.  The only restriction is that the total number should be
correct.   By the way, in editioning, the "best" print--the one that you
want all the rest  to look like--is called the B.A.T.  That stands for
"bon a tirer," which means "good to print." So I guess you are saying you
didn't get your B.A.T. (which is written right on the print, in the
margin), until number 50.  I don't know if the term B.A.T. is used in Japan.  

I gave up on the children print after 16 blobby prints on unsized paper.
Instead, I made a new flying horse print for the exchange edition.  This is
definitely the largest edition I have ever actually printed, except for
postcards.  

While printing, I tried to imagine what it would be like to print an
edition of 100 perfect prints every month, as Dave Bull does, and how long
it would take me. I certainly would learn quickly if I had to print that
much!  Today was the day of Dave's viewing of the Emperor's poetry reading,
and we are all dying to know what happened!

Jean Eger

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 16:03:50 +0900
Subject: [Baren 2693] Message from a stranger ... 

Hi gang!  Time to take a break from the cleaning up to check-in and see
what's been happening on [Baren] ...

It looks like you've been having a good time over the past couple of
weeks.  I'm not about to try to dig through all the messages just now,
but will take them bit by bit over the next few days.  It looks like
we've got some new members with interesting things to contribute. 
Welcome!  I'm sorry not to have been able to welcome you at the time,
but it seems like everybody has tried to make you feel at home.

I'll put my own news in a separate posting later this evening.  For now,
may I simply give you a bit of [Baren] update stuff ...

***

Exchange: We're getting close to the deadline now, and I have to start
preparing the colophon page for the print package.  Gayle was going to
print this on the press in her basement, but as she's off caring for her
mother, I'll do it myself here.  

I earlier directed you to a 'form' on the [Baren] web site where you
could let me know the information - title, etc.   I have updated that
page, and would now like to request all participants to fill it in and
fire it off to me so that I can get it done in time to send over to Jim
for packing with the prints.

http://www.woodblock.com/forum/exchange.html

***

Check out:

http://www.woodcut.com

I  haven't had a chance to write to her yet; maybe somebody could drop
her a line and see if she's interested in getting involved with us?

***

And for those of you who were wondering about the quietness of [Baren]
the past couple of days, I've received word via a bit of a roundabout
route that Ray is unwell.  I'm not sure when he will be able to return
to his computer to join in again.  I'll keep you updated as I learn more
(or Ray himself will pop up and fill us in ...)

***

Talk to you later this evening ...

Dave

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 20:10:21 +0900
Subject: [Baren 2694] Exhibition update ... 

I've had the most amazing couple of weeks.  The show this year was very
successful indeed, thanks in large part to wonderful help from the
media.  I've just finished putting up a short little web page on my
personal web site with a few snapshots and some capsule descriptions:
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~xs3d-bull/main_page.html
(click on the 'Exhibitions' image)

The room was jammed from day one right up to the end, with only a few
lulls, usually in the mid-afternoon.  At times it was difficult to see
the prints on the wall because of the press of people.  I talked myself
hoarse, and demonstrated the process a dozen times a day, using the
little new year card I just made.

As I show on that web page, the 'special' room (the one with only
delicate horizontal lighting) was a real hit.  I can't recommend to you
too strongly to please consider something like this for your shows. 
Seeing the prints that way, instead of in the frames up on the wall,
really gave a real boost to the orders.  I had the subscription forms
for the new Surimono Album there on the table, but with no prints
finished, and with my refusal to show them the designs for the upcoming
series, I wasn't sure what to expect.  

I needn't have worried.  The series is certainly not 'sold out', but I
received enough orders to ensure that I can make a living at this for at
least the next year.  

And for the icing on the cake, there was also tremendous interest in the
Hyakunin Isshu series.  More than a dozen people ordered the entire
series, and many more have asked me to send them just one or two sets of
ten.  After ten years of accumulating stock of these things, the pile is
about to start disappearing ...

(By the way, for those of you who are experimenting with putting prints
on your web pages, I should also report that the 'Surimono Album' pages
on my site are starting to attract attention, with about one new
subscription each week coming in.  These are particularly gratifying,
because they are of course from people whom I would have had no chance
to meet 'in person' at the exhibition.)

***

I had two visits from [Baren] members during the show: Hideshi Yoshida
and George Aar both dropped by.  I unfortunately didn't have a whole lot
of time to stand and chat, but it was nice to meet them in person.  Hi
guys!   Please think about making some kind of posting here to give your
impressions of the show!

***

Perhaps the most satisfying thing for me though, was seeing and hearing
the  reactions to the beautiful print in the dark room.  Everyone was
astonished to see it, and I spent hours and hours explaining to people
how we have all 'forgotten' how to look at prints in the century since
the development of electric lighting.  The kind of prints I make were
designed and created in rooms with no overhead lighting, and when you
turn on your room light - you kill the print.  I heard time and again
"I'm going to go straight home, take out those old prints we've got in
the cupboard, and see what they really look like."

This is going to be my theme for next year's exhibition -
_rediscovering_ the beauty of woodblock prints.  People here _think_
they know what prints are about.  Actually they don't, and it's turning
out to be a real treat showing them!

Now I can't wait until I see these next ten prints!  All in a row under
the delicate shoji light ...  I want to see it right now!

But at the moment, there's rather a bit of paperwork to be done, typing
in the names and addresses of these new subscribers, and sending out the
zillion thank you letters to the media and those who helped me with the
show.

And I made the paper wet last night for the print run for the exchange
print, so it should be ready for printing about now ...   The paperwork
can wait - it'll be a pleasant evening of work, starting the key block
on these copies for my [Baren] friends.

That's enough for now, I think.  There are a lot more stories, but they
can wait for a while ...

Dave

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End of Baren Digest V6 #413
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