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

Baren Digest               Thursday, 15 July 1999       Volume 08 : Number 629

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From: Gayle Wohlken <blueman@nacs.net>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 09:49:58 -0400
Subject: [Baren 4959] Re: Baren Digest V8 #627 

Julio, Richard Steiner told us on Baren he would enter
the Exchange #1 prints in the KIWA show and that any
others of us could send him something too.  I sent him 
"The Hat" (which I sent to all of you in Exchange #1).  I 
don't understand why you haven't received your packet 
from KIWA.  My print mention on the list was not with all of you
who were listed together.  I'm further down the list, but 
according to the information I received, everyone was in
the show.  

Did anyone else receive any info from KIWA?

Gayle

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From: Jack Reisland <reislandj001@hawaii.rr.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 03:51:21 +0000
Subject: [Baren 4960] Re: Size matters ... 

Thanks David, for more useful information on barens. Clever, the way you
worked both the paper sizing and baren size answers under the one
heading (Size matters...). I hope to soon let you know how my
experiments on recreating a baren work out. Either that, or I'll be in
touch to find out how to order one from Japan  ; >).

Jack

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From: flint <flint.hahn@ucop.edu>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 07:21:50 -0700
Subject: [Baren 4961]  Re: 

>I recognized Tomoko Murakami, 

Small world, I just took a class taught by Tomoko this past weekend.

Flint Hahn

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From: <DARICH@prodigy.net>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 08:51:17 -0700
Subject: [Baren 4962] wood 

Dear Flint,
I am interested in the source you mentioned for cherry.  I'm having trouble
with my old lumber yard who have changed the stock the;y carry. Please let
me know where you are finding it.  

Andrea

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From: April Vollmer/John Yamaguchi <jy6@columbia.edu>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 20:52:44 -0400
Subject: [Baren 4964] Gently Twice 

Thank you all for the applause for the Kyoto show. I am thrilled myself, it
means very much to me to win a prize in Japan! I wanted to thank Richard
Steiner for encouraging me (and all of us) to participate...was his copy of
the first baren exchange included in the show?

And David, if that's not a one-point lesson that deserves to be
immortalized in the encyclopedia, I don't know what is! Your entry is great
because it is about the way different aspects interconnect...on lightly
sized paper, using the gentle baren twice instead of the tsubushi (big
area) baren once. Very interesting. I wonder if this might be a good way to
work in general, it might be easier on my arm! And not crush the paper as
much when doing lots of layers. Maybe then I could use thinner papers?

Also, I learned to size with sticks of animal glue, warmed in a double
boiler. How is that different from gelatin and alum? I tried that once,
too, but used too little.

You are so lucky to have experts to consult about these fine points! And we
are so lucky to have you pass it along!

I do find if I have a LOT of detail on a block, I have trouble lining it up
again...maybe the paper changes shape a little? My kento isn't clean enough?

Jean: I envy your lunch with Marco! How much longer will the show be up?
I'm hoping to be in San Francisco for a short while the week after Labor
Day. Guess it's a way off, but it would be great to meet!

Glad to hear Bea's knees are back in line! I look forward to meeting in MA.

And Flint, it's the same story with the barens as it is with the tools, you
get what you pay for! Worth it if you know how to use it...but not
$1300...I paid closer to $500 for mine! Has a wooden back, though, not
washi.

April Vollmer

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 10:34:29 +0900
Subject: [Baren 4965] Re: Gently Twice 

April wrote: 
> Also, I learned to size with sticks of animal glue, warmed in a double
> boiler. How is that different from gelatin and alum? 

As far as I understand it, we're talking about the same stuff.  The
'sanzenbon' that Misawa-san uses to make his size, is simply gelatine
(from animal sources, I believe).

As far as the alum goes, I have been told that this is the element in
the size that is responsible for stopping the sideways bleeding of
pigments within the paper.  I do not know if this is true.


> I do find if I have a LOT of detail on a block, I have trouble lining it up
> again...maybe the paper changes shape a little? My kento isn't clean enough?

Paper can change a great deal in dimension with the addition/deletion of
moisture, but this is extremely variable between paper types.  If you're
using torinoko, I think you'll generally find that it expands a great
deal with the moisture, and maintaining proper registration in prints
with fine detail can be very difficult.

A _high-quality_ hosho paper gives very low expansion when wet.  A lot
of this comes down to two factors: (1) how well the fibres were beaten
before the actual paper dipping process started, and (2) the way that
the papermaker moves his hands and arms during the process.  If the
fibres are not very well spread out 'randomly' inside the paper - if
they tend to line up in one direction, such paper will expand much more
than paper made 'properly'.  The difference between two sheets from
different makers - paper that looks pretty much the same from the
'outside' - can be extraordinary.  I could never have done the
double-printing on the key block of that surimono print on a paper of
lesser quality.

You pay for such quality of course ... just ask Graham!

Dave

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End of Baren Digest V8 #629
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