Baren Digest              Friday, 22 December 2000      Volume 13 : Number 1254


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From: "Kinzua" <Kinzua@email.msn.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 10:10:02 -0500
Subject: [Baren 12580] Re:   Baren Digest V13 #1253 charset="Windows-1252" 

Hello,
I have the Dick Blick 906 too and it has served me well for 8 or 9 years.
Of course I generally print on textiles and as I've always said fabric is
more forgiving.  I was never sure how it would measure up for, dare I say
it, "real printmakers".  I also bought a used Dick Blick Econo-Etch about a
year ago and it's good for a spare and for teaching.  It's no feather weight
but I can put it in the car or push it around on a wheely.  The 906 has a
bench and a phenolic bed plate and the small one has a steel plate.  I
really like the phenolic.  I was advised to get that when I bought the press
because it doesn't warp.  I try not to use it as a table but the occasional
coffee cup does find it's way there.  Anyone else have an opinion on steel
vs. phenolic?
Thanks for the Praga info Claude.  I've been thinking of getting a bigger
press for awhile if I can justify it, so I can do larger collagraphs.  The
Standard 24" looks nice.
Karen
http://homepages.msn.com/timessquare/kfberkenfeld/

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From: heather nichols <pinefeather@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 10:02:31 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 12581] archival paper 

dan dew- when you are searching for paper to run
through a laser printer that is archival and acid
free... don't forget to check out your craft store for
the scrapbooking and stamping papers. All the
scrapbooking is pretty much acid free (check the
package labels!) so that it won't deteriorate photos
and the such. Plus you can find it in many colors,
patterns, and weights.

heather


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From: Brian Lockyear <brianl@synopsys.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 10:18:25 -0800
Subject: [Baren 12582] Pics in the gallery.. 

Hi Gang-

Well, it took me about a year but I finally came up with three hanga prints
that I liked well enough to put into the member's gallery.  From these you
will correctly learn that I am into: color, impressionism, and leaves :-)
Enjoy!

http://www.barenforum.org/members/lockyear/lockyear.html

    - Brian -


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From: Claude Villeneuve <klaud@sympatico.ca>
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 13:25:11 -0500
Subject: [Baren 12583] Re: Posting re printing presses 

To Dan Dew:
Thanks for the warm welcome! You can see some of my work in the Women
Artists of Canada website:
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/waic/clvill/clvill_e.htm

(sorry for the lenghty address)

and also on Brad Schwartz' website under Printmakers Mint exchange 2000.
You can see the print I made for that exchange with an explanation of
the technique and the story behind my 100-Fish bill... Hope you enjoy it

http://www.baschwar.com/pirntmakers/

- ---

On the topic of Lino tools:

I've been using Speedball tools for 10 years now on lino and plastic and
occasionally on soft wood like pine. When the blades are dull I just
throw them away and buy new ones. But they last quite a long time. I
also have a set of lino gouges that I bought about 8 years ago. I don't
know the brand name, all I know is that they come from England. They are
great on lino and particulary good on plastic/pvc type of material
because, contrary to the Speedball tools, the cutting edge is inside
instead of outside. It's hard to explain but it bites into the lino and
the plastic very well.That set can't be used on wood though...

One thing I do with linoleum is that I buy the greenish/blue battleship
that can be puchased by the yard through Graphic Chemicals in Chicago.
It's much better than the rough and tough brown variety that's slippery,
grainy and hard to control. I also keep the lino consistently warm on an
old photo dryer. (You can get them in various sizes in second-hand
stores for almost nothing). You set the temperature at the lowest
setting and it just keeps the lino warm and soft enough to gouge easily
into it. - You can also use the old food warmer trays that were in style
in the Sixties.

Two more things on etching presses:

I have a copy of M. Bannister's plans that appeared in Popular Mechanics
in the Sixties. For those mechanically-inclined or who know machine-shop
mechanics, they could always try making one. Just e-mail me and I'll
send a copy through snail mail.(I was wondering if it is something that
could be available in the Baren Encyclopedia? I could mail a copy to who
ever is in charge and they could obtain permission from Pop mechanics to
have it on the internet?)

There is also someone who sells plans on the internet. You can check his
website at:
http://www.dougforsythegallery.com/Merchant/graphics/EtchingPress/P_Press.htm

(sorry, another long address...:-)

I hope this info is useful! 

Claude Aimée

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From: barebonesart <barebonesart@home.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 11:22:00 -0800
Subject: [Baren 12584] Re: Baren Digest V13 #1249 

Dan, If you're still looking for a press, call Tom Conrad at Conrad Press -
I know they take in used ones when new ones are purchased, so they might
have something you would be interested in. If you call them would you tell
them you were referred by the Northwest Print Council? Thanks,
Sharri

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From: GraphChem@aol.com
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 15:01:14 EST
Subject: [Baren 12585] Re: archival paper 

Check Graphic's catalog or website for digital papers.  Also, we can order 
any of the Legion digital papers in full packages if we don't carry it as 
stock.  We have some packages with three different digital papers (I think 
there are 15 to the pack).  Normal price is $30.00 but these aren't in the 
catalog or online - just mention that you want the special trial package and 
the price is $22.50 while quantities last.

Legion lists the following as neutral pH:  Arches W/C, Concorde Rag, Somerset 
Photo Enhanced, Somerset Rough, Somerset Satin, Somerset Textured, Somerset 
Velvet and Waterford DI.  Available in assorted weights, sizes and shades of 
white (radiant, white, standard, natural...)
Susan

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From: GraphChem@aol.com
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 15:10:32 EST
Subject: [Baren 12586] linoleum 

With the cold, snowy weather that we're having here in Chicago, I just wanted 
to remind anyone receiving linoleum to take special care.  Let it come to 
room temperature before unrolling - and, hope that it hasn't been dropped 
enroute!
Susan

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From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 17:44:21 -0600
Subject: [Baren 12587] Re: Hanga Question 12/21/2000 05:44:09 PM 

That's a great idea Carol, I mean about clipping the paper to the
wood.....somewhat similar to the chinese style
where they clamp all the papers together........see down the page at....

http://www.woodblock.com/encyclopedia/entries/012_04/012_04_frame.html


gotta try it one of  these days......the japanese kento has been working
good for me so far......so I am afraid to try new things...

Happy Holidays everyone...happy printing!!!!

Julio


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From: "Charles and Gail Sheffield" <gsheffield@i-55.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 19:52:39 -0600
Subject: [Baren 12588] Newbie with questions 

I am a newcomer to this list and to printmaking, and have enjoyed =
accessing the information on the baren website and David Bull's website. =
 I have started fooling around with linocuts, which seem to me to have =
plenty in common with woodcuts.  What do you woodcut people have to say =
about linocut?  Why isn't your website devoted to both wood and lino?  =
Except where one wants the woodgrain to show, is woodcut somehow =
"superior" to linocut in aesthetics or technique?  Be honest here.  Am I =
wasting my time with linocut when I should be trying to do woodcut =
(self-taught)?=20

I might suggest that posters to the list include their city under their =
name.  I made a good friend on another list (Clayart--are any of you =
also Clayarters?) because she did that and she lived only 20 miles from =
me.

Gail Sheffield
Covington, Louisiana

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From: "kate courchaine" <katecourchaine@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 02:15:48 
Subject: [Baren 12589] San Francisco Chop Store Address 

Hello Printers,

Recently someone mentioned a store in San Francisco's China Town that made 
chops for 25 dollars, and gave the address.  Some how I managed to loose 
that notice.  Would who-ever that was please send it to me?  Thank you!

Beautiful snakes are arriving, Jerelee's nifty studio snake is the latest.

Happy Holidays All,
Kate Courchaine


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From: Gerald Soworka <chockings@dingoblue.net.au>
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 13:18:57 +1100
Subject: [Baren 12590] Re: linoleum 

Hi all,

When silkcut linoleum is stacked in warm climates it often ends up with
a dimpled emboss from the string mesh on the back of the piece on top.
This often happens in the store or in transport and the embossing prints
when you are trying to print fine cutting.

Does anyone (maybe the graphic chemicals people) know of a means of
flattening the lino out again?

Thanks
Gerald


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From: Greg Carter <artfool@bulloch.net>
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 22:03:31 -0500
Subject: [Baren 12591] wood vs lino 

Dear Gail,

I am sure that your message will get many responses so I will give you my
honest opinion.  I do not believe there is any intrinsically better relief
medium but that each has its own special qualities that should match up to
the artists goals in the print. I am saying it is about matching up the
artist, the art, and the medium.  Every medium has its strengths and
weaknesses.  Lino cuts easy and is great for certain mark making but on the
other hand it cuts too easy.  It bunches up in sharp turns and can never
match some of the details that wood can.(I still remember the discussion we
had on Baren about cutting rain effects)  I love the grain of wood and the
organic process of cutting it but have trouble when I want to cut certain
things that I just can't  cut in wood. (I know there are many people out
there that can cut things in wood that I just cant).  Some times I just can
not deal with the wood grain and I use Sintra.  I use this instead of lino
because it is harder than Lino and cuts details more like wood.
The important thing is you need to give both lino and wood a chance to see
what is best for your ideas and  art.

On the other point.  I think it is time we consider making Baren officially
dedicated to all relief processes. I think our recent changes make it an
ideal time and I hope the council would consider it.   We discuss lino and
wood engraving all the time because they are naturally connected to
woodcuts.   I think it would be great to open up the exchanges to other
relief processes

I will shut up now and I am looking forward to what everybody else has to say.

Greg Carter




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From: "Daniel L. Dew" <ddew0001@tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 22:29:51 -0500
Subject: [Baren 12592] Re: wood vs lino 

Boy, the old adage about you say potato and I say potato is true.  I can get
finer lines and more detail out of lino than wood.  Wood can be very tricky
(grain and knots and stuff) whereas I am almost always sure how the lino
will react.
I think it has more to do with the finished look than anything (IMHO).  If
you want the grain to "enhance" your image, work on wood.  If you do not
want the grain to "enhance", just go do it in lino.
Regarding opening up Baren to the other relief processes, Dave did that
almost a year ago when he let me participate in exchange #5.  He said that
since lino and wood were so very similar, it was O.K. ( I did mine in wood
anyhow, my first)  I'm almost positive that some of ya'll do engraving and
don't even acknowledge the difference.  :-)
P.S.  To carve curves in lino just requires practice and multiple passes.
Don't carve too deep on the first cut, then come back once the edge is cut
and cut out deeper.

dan dew


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From: "Daniel L. Dew" <ddew0001@tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 22:37:11 -0500
Subject: [Baren 12593] wood vs lino 

Oh yeah, for those that recieved my 2001 card.  That was done as a reduction
on a lino block.  Printed with Speedball inks: background was aquamarine and
gold, snake was just gold.  Start at the head of the snake and pretend its a
maze.

dan dew


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From: "pwalls1234" <pwalls1234@i-55.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 21:59:49 -0600
Subject: [Baren 12594] Re: Newbie with questions
            I might suggest that posters to the list include their city =
under their name.  I made a good friend on another list (Clayart--are =
any of you also Clayarters?) because she did that and she lived only 20 =
miles from me.
    =20
    Gail Sheffield
    Covington, Louisiana
   =20
    This is true Gail.  I am a whole 60 or so miles away from you.  Nice =
to see you on the list!!  As for linocut I think it gets a bad rap =
sometimes because it is taught frequently in high schools and such.  =
Some don't consider it "serious".   The wood though does have its own =
allure though  I think you should give it a try and you will find which =
speaks to your needs.
   =20
    cheers,
   =20
    pete walls
    baton rouge
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From: Carolyn Pflederer <pfledere@northnet.net>
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 22:13:52 -0600
Subject: [Baren 12595] Sintra 

What's Sintra and where do you get it?  I've been investigating many
types of surfaces and haven't come across that.  I'm doing a lot of
experimenting right now to find what works for me and the style and
effects that I'm after.  I'll try just about any surface that will cut
and print...just about.  Input, people, input!
Carolyn...in Oshkosh, WI

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From: Lawrence <vurt1@optushome.com.au>
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 16:24:30 +1100
Subject: [Baren 12596] Re: Newbie with questions 

Wood cut and linocut differ greatly in execution and in aesthetic result. 
Woodcut is done on the plank and traditionally done on woods such as pear, 
the grain has often been allowed to come through as an enhancement of the 
print (this is the western method, see Munch). The Eastern method allows 
for a finer technique and I believe is sometimes done on the endgrain. 
Endgrain engraving and wood cut are more similar to lino that plank 
cutting, as when cut on the plank you have to normally work with the grain 
to some degree. Lino on the other hand has no grain and doesn't tend to 
force your cuts to a prescribed pattern. Lino has a flexibility and 
provides a uniformity of surface (for inking) that enables strong images 
with ease.

Lino is an art in itself as are wood cutting and engraving, there are as 
many different techniques and approaches as there are stars in the sky. My 
advice is to get the feel of the different mediums and then make a decision 
about what you prefer to work with to get the result you wish to archive. 
Theres no competition, nor time limit, just the desire to play I hope.  To 
say that one method is a waste of time is to limit yourself to seeing one 
side of a mountain. Walk around the mountain you may find a desert or 
forest or castle or what ever, the thing is you don't know what you will 
find until you seek it.Techniques lend themselves to certain styles and 
results, mostly that result is unique, cannot be faked or duplicated 
artificially, this is part of the worth of the techniques and material that 
you choose. I don't use watercolor when I want vibrancy of color,  I use 
oil or gouache, likewise you cannot reproduce screenprints using linoblock 
techniques (though you can fake a lino ok with screen print).

Wasteing time, hmmm I'll leave you with two quotes,


'Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful 
objects such as
wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art'.
                                                 Tom Stoppard

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."
                                                 Michelangelo


Regards


Lawrence



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From: Lawrence <vurt1@optushome.com.au>
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 16:26:50 +1100
Subject: [Baren 12597] Re: linoleum 

Try rubbing linseed oil on it and leaving it under flat boiard with 
pressure, this sometimes works especially if done in a hot environment.

Regards


Lawrence

You wrote ---->

>Does anyone (maybe the graphic chemicals people) know of a means of
>flattening the lino out again?
>
>Thanks
>Gerald


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From: "David Stones" <stones@mb.i-chubu.ne.jp>
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 18:08:22 +0900
Subject: [Baren 12599] Re: - It's intention charset="iso-2022-jp" 

Dear All,

I can rarely contribute these days but do read the daily mails - and it's
understandable that some suggest [Baren] ought to be open to a wider
print-making world (actually it is). BUT the original purpose, and I've
been here since near the beginning, was to connect up woodblock printers,
encourage interest and discussion in that art form and set out to have a
site that gave a probably very biased but quite intentional lean toward
hand-printed, hand (wood) carved and non-computerised prints. Leaning
probably even more so to the water-based or even "Japanese" side in the
bargain. In its aims [Baren] has certainly succeeded... but, along the way,
a fair number of the original contributors have gone... (or lurked out?!)
even though [Baren] now covers a fair spectrum of print ideas.

If changed to a more unselective, even wider print field [Baren] would soon
become the same as many others sites - losing its (my opinion) focus...
of WOODblock... I've no personal objections to other mediums, by the way
and think the input/questions/answers broaden horizons, but as a printer
who tries to use only natural materials, with most printwork done by hand,
I hope [Baren] will remain selective... If that coffee, mentioned in one
post, is too overly mixed with the tea, the appeal of both will be lost...

So, why not consider [Baren] AS selective? - though not introspective, and
also not a meeting place where the number of members or mediums discussed
matters over its original idea.

Dave S (Ishita)




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End of Baren Digest V13 #1254
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