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

Baren Digest             Sunday, 19 September 1999     Volume 08 : Number 712

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Gayle Wohlken <blueman@nacs.net>
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 09:23:48 -0400
Subject: [Baren 5912] Re: Baren Digest V8 #711 

I have a question for anyone who has ever tried to paste 
a woodcut label onto a bookcover.  Does the paper stretch
or get weird in anyway?  I am producing a book this week
for my Mother-in-Law's 90th birthday.  It will have in it
stories from her past (in her own words that were tape 
recorded by my husband four years ago).  Included in the 
book are scanned in images of artwork she did in school as
a girl.  I'm printing it on Mohawk Superfine paper and 
using  a speckled beige Japanese paper for the endpapers.
The cover is Mexican Bark Paper in a rich brown.  I think
it will be a handsome little book.  I'm afraid of the label,
though.  Before this I had made my woodcut labels by
scanning in the image and printing it out on my laser printer.
Now I have made a real woodcut label and I don't know how
to affix it to the cover without trouble.  The label is printed
on kitakata paper with brown oil-based ink.  

* * *
Congratulations, Maria, for the acceptance in the show.

* * *
I have the fine grade natural toishi from McClains. 
Does that need soaking, then? 

Gayle

------------------------------

From: Gary Luedtke <GLuedtke@compuserve.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 09:34:39 -0400
Subject: [Baren 5913] slow in jp? 

Maria wrote,
>I am curious to find out how many of you use reference photos in addition
>to real models for developing images.

I'll have to put my hand up on this one, Maria.   I find it very helpful
for a number of reasons.  I enjoy hiking, scouting for subject matter and
in many cases its much easier to carry a camera than a sketchbook, and
often times you can stand on a rock for a quick photo, but it'd be a little
tougher to balance yourself for the duration of a good sketch.   Or you
have a lot of ground to cover in a limited time and can't afford the luxury
of stopping for twenty minutes each time you spot something interesting.

I also like drawing on a flat surface instead of a floppy sketchpad, seem
to do much better at it.

It also acts as somewhat of an intermedia filter.   By that I mean it has
taken a three dimensional scene and made it a two dimensional scene.   As I
work in two dimensions, it helps me to visualize the composition a little
better, and while I can look over a photograph of the area as many times as
I like, I seem to be a little more creative with it than I could be
standing on the site, for some reason.

However, sketching on site does train your eye some to begin seeing the
sketch before you start drawing it, and trains you to weed out some places
that look pretty but don't lend themselves to good compositions.   Some of
the more interesting scenes I've done from my perspective were not what
would be considered scenic shots, yet had more interesting compositional
qualities.    

So both ways, in my own personal mixture and preference, seem like a good
way to go for me.

P.S.  Regarding mosquito larvae.   Around here the _guppies_  would be
eaten by the mosquitos.

Gary

------------------------------

From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 23:19:54 +0900
Subject: [Baren 5914] Re: still stoned ... 

Gayle wrote:
> I have the fine grade natural toishi from McClains.
> Does that need soaking, then?

Just for safety - to emphasize what I mentioned earlier ... this stone
needs to be wet to use properly, but don't leave a _natural_ stone
'living' underwater for extended periods.  That treatment is only
suitable for _artificial_ stones.

Dave

------------------------------

From: Jack Reisland <reislandj001@hawaii.rr.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 09:27:05 +0000
Subject: [Baren 5916] Re: Baren Digest V8 #711 

Gayle Wohlken wrote:

> I have a question for anyone who has ever tried to paste
> a woodcut label onto a bookcover.   The label is printed
> on kitakata paper with brown oil-based ink.

The official way to do it would be with cooked wheat paste etc., but I
would recommend that you could do just as well, and a lot easier with
"YES" paste.

Jack

------------------------------

From: Cucamongie@aol.com
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 16:12:16 EDT
Subject: [Baren 5917] Re: Baren Digest V8 #711 

I know some people hate to admit this but I do use photos as reference - not 
directly & literally, though, I must take thousands of photos a year, sort of 
like taking notes -- 

Sarah

------------------------------

From: judy mensch <mensch@interport.net>
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 16:54:40 -0400
Subject: [Baren 5918] Re: Baren Digest V8 #711 

Gayle, methel celulose is another choice. Judy

------------------------------

From: John Ryrie <j.ryrie@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au>
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 09:57:24 +1000
Subject: [Baren 5919] Re: books etc..... 

Gayle
        Paper always stretches when you use past, the amount of stretch and
direction will be different with each type of paper.  The best thing to do is
to make lots of tests with your off-cuts before sticking the real thing down. 
Paper stretch is covered in Arthur W. Johnson's book Bookbinding (Thames and
Hudson). on Pages 30 & 31. As well as most other books on binding.

Jeanne
        I'm with you on this one I was looking at the so-called consolation
prize yesterday, it's wonderful.

Maria
        I don't use photographs at all in my work.  I have spent the last 20
years doing Life drawing on a regular basses as well as drawing every thing
around me what ever it is every day.  For me drawing from life develops my
perception of space in a way that makes photographs look very artificial.   I
don't use drawings from life in my art work ether, not directly.  They tend to
come out of my head.  If I need an object that I don't have at hand I sometimes
refer to the old wood engravings in my 1938 illustrated Webster dictionary or
similar books to that.  I don't have any moral objection to the use of
photographs I just find them lifeless. 

        John Ryrie

------------------------------

From: Vollmer/Yamaguchi <jy6@columbia.edu>
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 23:55:05 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Baren 5921] Good Fortune! 

Hey, guys! I just had a great thing happen in Brooklyn. Not as good as what
happened to Maria, I guess, but I bought a hanga print for $20! I am
uploading it to Dave. It is a copy of a Kunioshi print called Good Fortune,
with a group of nicely dressed ladies scrambling around on the floor after
soybeans. Very amusing how they get all tangled up!

The label taped to the back of the frame said Fukui Asahido, Co, Kyoto.
Does anybody know this shop? I assume it is a contemporary copy of an
Ukiyo-e print. There are probably a million of them, but I was excited. The
key block is slightly smudged, but it is great to see all the detail in
raking light. Dave, your description of the optimum lighting conditions for
viewing prints has been very helpful.

April Vollmer

------------------------------

From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 15:06:22 +0900
Subject: [Baren 5922] Re: Good Fortune! 

April wrote:
> ... but I bought a hanga print for $20! I am
> uploading it to Dave. 

It's now on the Message Board ...
http://woodblock.com

I haven't the slightest idea whether it is a print from Kuniyoshi's era,
a later re-strike, or a reproduction ...  Nice soft old paper April?

Dave

P.S.  This is a perfect example of how the Message Board can
be used.  April could have put the image up on the 'home page'
space she has on a provider, and then put a link to it on the
Message Board ... without needing to get me involved ...
(I'm not trying to 'nag' you April, just using this as an 
example!  :-)  The more that things can run without my
intervention, the smoother and quicker they will happen ...)

------------------------------

From: "Jean Eger" <jeaneger@LanMinds.Com>
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 23:17:11 -0700
Subject: [none]

It really is helpful to have your sharpening page, Graham.  You must have
been in a good mood that day!  I have been reminding myself to compliment
you on the animated gif clip showing the motion needed to sharpen a U-gouge.
I am printing out the whole page.

Jean Eger

------------------------------

From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 02:49:55 -0500
Subject: [Baren 5924] re: April's print & more 

Hi April,

Congratulations on a nice find (20$ ???? WOW!). I often visit used bookstores (
I mean stores that sell used books !) and until recently I never bothered to ask
about prints.......usually they keep that kind of stuff stashed away. There is a
place here in Evanston, practically next door to where I live (Skokie) that has
a very old store with 100,000+ books. It's called "Bookman's Alley" since the
store itself is located in several connected garages off a main street. It's a
very nostalgic place with much memorabilia all over the place and in their
art's room they even have an old giant printing press right in the middle of the
floor (along with all linds of type and assorted press equipment).....It's the
kind of place you can go in and not comeout for hours...(if not days!)

Last weel when I was there I asked the guy about prints and he was going to "DIG
around in the back rooms....", maybe I get lucky too!

My printing adventures are still very much alive. I have collected much of the
necessary equipment to build most of the working parts of a two-roller
multi-purpose press close to the specs in the plans by Mr. Bannister. My work
area is now filled with assorted bearings, springs, gears and misc. printer
parts.  The one thing missing is the big metal roller (3-7" diameter) needed to
drive such a press. I picked up a throw-away printer at work and was able to
salvage several small rubber rollers (1/2 - 1" diameter, 14" long) and many
small parts......but I don't think these rollers could generate enough pressure
to get a good print. Nevertheless I started off on a prototype putting together
a frame and bed........

I also found a guy who specializes in used printing & proofing presses....he's
located in the old printers neighborhood in downtown Chicago. Have not been able
to reach him yet, but after many calls leading to him I been assured that he has
a large stash of old and long abandoned printing equipment......will find out
Monday if this leads anywhere...

and as my son often tells me ...See ya,  Don't wanna be ya...

Julio

------------------------------

End of Baren Digest V8 #712
***************************