Baren Digest               Thursday, 8 March 2001       Volume 14 : Number 1346


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

From: GWohlken <blueman@pantek.com>
Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 08:45:24 +0000
Subject: [Baren 13731] Re: Baren Digest v14 #1345 

Deb Steytler, welcome my teacher!  I want everyone to know Deb's
woodcuts are amazingly intuitive pieces.  She works from the right side
of her brain, I'm certain of it.  She's a great, enthusiastic teacher
who inspired me to love woodcuts the way I do.  She also asked us do
reports on artists and I chose Edvard Munch, and to this day I can't
look at his work without feeling I know him.  

Also, Graham, nice to "hear" your voice again and to know your work is
coming along well.

Gayle

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

From: Daniel Dew <ddew@tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 09:39:09 -0500
Subject: [Baren 13732] Re: About me, new member 

Welcome to the group Deborah!
I went to the Art Academy Of Cincinnati from 1979-1982.  Many of my friends
and buddies went to Miami U.!
Looking forward to seeing your work, find a friend or someone with a scanner
and one of our computer experts will walk you through an FTP upload to the
Baren page.

dan dew


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

From: "April Vollmer" <april@aprilvollmer.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 09:47:23 -0500
Subject: [Baren 13733] Hirasuka charset="iso-8859-1" 

Okay, who is this guy? Where can I see his work? His daughter Keiko Hirasuka
Moore wrote a book there was some discussion on, but I haven't seen the
father's work.

I understand he will be having a show in Chicago.

April
www.aprilvollmer.com


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

From: "Jeanne Norman Chase" <studiojnc@prodigy.net>
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 10:02:29 -0500
Subject: [Baren 13734] Welcome back charset="iso-8859-1" 

Sure is good to hear your virtual voice again, Graham. Sounds like you had a
good winter. You have plugged up that hole that was so evident in the Baren
mail. Welcome back.

Deb
Glad you could join us. All the pertinent information on woodblock
printmaking is always welcome, even if we have heard it before , it
reenforces our art. Yes, Gayle, is a real vital person in the Baren. She
must have had a wonderful teacher!!!

Jeanne N.



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

From: Lawrence <vurt1@optushome.com.au>
Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 02:53:41 +1100
Subject: [Baren 13735] Re: About me, new member 

Wow that's so cool, a cv introduction... I've made little noises from time 
to time but have never really explained who I am or any of the sort of 
factual stuff that takes a person from being a fiction to a sort of 
reality. My apologies in advance for the inappropriateness of my post but I 
feel compelled to finally declare myself in the medieval tradition of such 
declarations.

I left school at 15 (school was insufferable, I chose art school over 
rapid, fatal demise) and went into a fine arts course, 4 years later I 
escaped having been mentored by an absolutely brilliant teacher who had a 
purity about the discipline that could only be explained by esoteric 
notions of hagakure. His devotion to the mediums that make up the broader 
principle of printmaking was inspirational. He mentored me and finally 
introduced me to another  teacher who in truth shaped the resulting paths 
that the rest of my life has taken so far.

Both of them encouraged me to cut lino and wood, they liked the results and 
empowered by their enthusiasm I started to show my work. I started to sell 
and bolstered by others managed to wangle into a show or two. The first big 
show I was in paid for my first printing press, an 18 x 36 Hilldav etching 
press (a nice machine, gorgeous to the touch). I produced more work and at 
19 I sold work to the national gallery of Australia (sold more to them 
later but they rejected a book that I think outshone the others and so I 
stopped sending them work, sulked basically) concurrently I started being 
published overseas (mostly America, Germany and England) in leftish >@< 
circles. I did work for the art director of the Dead Kennedys for instance.

I did a post graduate diploma in fine arts printmaking (impressive only in 
that I never did under grad studies) and during that year printed some 
furious works as well as a job for Qantas (an airline), for which they gave 
me a round the world ticket (I guess it was a tax write off). I went to San 
Francisco and met Doug Minkler (still one of my most admired living 
artists), went to England and met the people who produced Cactus network 
(mail art network comprising a lot of designers and students, whose work 
was 90% inspired). Makes you realize what a good exchange really is made up 
of. They had an interesting model, though expensive for them, they set the 
subject, invited the participants who sent the work to them in London, they 
then mailed the finished work in packs to all the participants and financed 
this themselves through associated projects. I miss mail art.

I was then invited to Germany by a company that published my work "come 
work with us, lets do some books together!" That suffered under financial 
constraint, so they took me under their wings and taught me tattooing. I 
worked with them for 6 months tattooing, then helped them move the studio 
up to Berlin and bailed for Glasgow (and a girl) and the Glasgow Print 
Studio. The people in Glasgow are simply the most excellent group of 
artists I've ever met (outside of Groupe Irwin from NSK in Slyvania, former 
Yugolslavia), though I think I messed that all up being a little girl 
orientated and homesick, also I had the most appalling flat mate in the 
world, I didn't know how to deal with him.

I bailed for Paris and back to Australia, to cut a tedious story short and 
take it on a very tangential path, was run over by an off duty police man 
(I think he was a little drunk),  reported the incident not knowing he was 
a police man (unfortunately reporting it to the police station he worked 
at, my reports disappeared). Trip to hospital. I was embroiled in legal 
actions for 5 years and flittered everywhere trying to re center. It was 
complex and the other side denied he was who he was for 4 years. I tripped 
an internal investigation (which was really badly shammed) and the police 
were forced to reexamine, the result was 2 counts of making and using an 
instrument, Criminal fraud; (the police man was charged!). The DPP no 
billed it in the end for reasons which were perfectly reasonable to my 
mind. And I was free again to get on with my life having lived up to my 
moral belief that societal structures if they must be imposed ought to be 
imposed equally to the powerful as to the weak. Brings to mind that quote 
"the law in its majesty forbids a rich man as well as a poor man from 
sleeping under a bridge". Oh well.

Since then I have pursued the art of printing whilst trying to navigate the 
tricky position of paying the rent and feeding the cat. I now teach design 
(Quark, Illustrator and Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash and Internet 
security, as well as drawing amongst other subjects) at a design school in 
Sydney. Computers are a scourge and they precipitate a lack of respect for 
the less virtual forms, oh well, let them eat digital cake.

I apologies for the conceited tone but really have wanted to introduce 
myself properly, having stumbled onto the Baren forum, I barged in without 
having a clear idea of what it was and only realized later that  I had been 
impolite. This is my amendment to the other introduction that I gave. I 
hope that no one will chastise me for the off topic post but I was a little 
taken by the post that I have responded to. So unashamedly straight up that 
I can't help admire it for what it is.

Life is full of ups and downs, success and failures, art just makes all 
those worries disappear.


Regards


Lawrence

PS I for one would be interested to hear from other people, their stories, 
I know that this isn't quite the place but can see no harm in the slight 
bandwidth that they might take. I find it inspiring those little hints into 
who a person might really be. Its a virtual community but that doesn't mean 
that we should be virtual prisoners in virtual straight jackets.




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

From: Daniel Dew <ddew@tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 11:22:34 -0500
Subject: [Baren 13738] Re: About me, new member 

Hey, this is a good idea!
Since we do have a place in Baren for posting some of our artwork, how about
a small section that might allow for Bio's of the members.  It might add a
little more of a personal touch and would surely help to understand some of
the art and artist that make up this interesting group.
Any comments?

dan dew

> From: Lawrence <vurt1@optushome.com.au>

> Lawrence
> 
> PS I for one would be interested to hear from other people, their stories,
> I know that this isn't quite the place but can see no harm in the slight
> bandwidth that they might take. I find it inspiring those little hints into
> who a person might really be. Its a virtual community but that doesn't mean
> that we should be virtual prisoners in virtual straight jackets.


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

From: "Jean Eger" <jeaneger@LanMinds.Com>
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 08:26:20 -0800
Subject: [Baren 13739] Re:   Baren Digest v14 #1345 charset="iso-8859-1" 

Hi Graham,
Where are you posting?  Can we join that discussion group?
Jean Eger-Womack
http://www.jeaneger.com

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

From: Wanda <robertson@canby.com>
Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 09:53:22 -0700
Subject: [Baren 13740] Re: Hirasuka 

Do you think this might be Yuji Hiratsuka?  If it is Yuji - I have met & taken a
week long intensive hanga class from him here in Portland, Oregon. He lives in
Eugene, Oregon and works in color etchings with chine colle. Beautiful work -
patterns, colors etc. You can definitley see the relationship to hanga - but
taken several steps further into other processes. He's a great guy, very intense
and enthusiastic about art. And very sweet and ambitious. What a combination! 
You can see several sites with his work by going here: 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=yuji+hiratsuka

Wanda


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

From: nilsa macaya <nilsamacaya@rcn.com>
Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 13:49:48 -0500
Subject: [Baren 13742] new member 

My name is Nilsa Macaya. I serendipitously discovered your web site when 
I was doing research on Hiroshi Yoshida. I own a collection of his 
prints and wished to know more about the Shin Hanga movement. For the 
past two days, I have been reading through the pages of Baren's web site 
and have become so fascinated with the world of woodblock printing that 
this morning I enrolled in a class at the Lower East Side Printshop in 
New York City. Since their Introduction to Printmaking class is already 
in progress, I had to settle for the Monotype class that begins tonight. 
I am a beginner and will most likely not contribute much to this forum. 
I do, however, wish to introduce myself and wish to thank you for 
sharing the art works published on your individual web sites.

If someone should know of a good instructor in the New York City area 
that teaches a beginner's woodblock printing class, please let me know. 
Thanks. Nilsa


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

From: Ray Hudson <rhudson@together.net>
Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 14:22:53 -0500
Subject: [Baren 13743] Graham greetings 

Graham,
Welcome back!   I didn't get to say goodbye, so here's a double hello.
Living in Vermont but originally from Washington State, I love that
Pacific air.
Exchange 8 is nearly ready to mail.  I'm at work on the colophon and
awaiting the final few prints.
Ray

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

From: Daniel Dew <ddew@tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 14:42:59 -0500
Subject: [Baren 13744] Re: new member 

Definitely check out April Vollmer and Sarah Hauser.  Both I think teach and
conduct workshops and both live in or near New York City.  You there Ladies?

dan dew



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

From: "JD Roehrig" <jd423@zianet.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 12:45:28 -0700
Subject: [Baren 13745] Re: I am back..... charset="iso-8859-1" 

Hi Graham and welcome back! 

Nilsa welcome to the Baren also you might try this,
www.aprilvollmer.com might be a teacher.

I used the Root Baren for my last printing adventure and
without a doubt prefer it over my Murasaki Baren.  Good
show, John Root.

While I'm handing out accolades they're due for Maria,
Barbara M and the Baren Mall.  Every item purchased
has been excellent, arrived fast and packed like a work
of art.  

Also Ray Hudson for the patience of Job.  The
reason for the last statement is I'm the reason that Ex-
change 8 is so late and I wish to apologize to everyone
and I promise not to sign up for another one until I can
deliver on TIME!!  No excuse. 

Well time to close from the wilds of Lincoln County,
New Mexico, wishing y'all a good day.
JD Roehrig 



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

From: Daniel Dew <ddew@tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 14:48:06 -0500
Subject: [Baren 13746] Re: Graham greetings 

Exactly how many prints are we still waiting for?
I don't mean to sound crass, but this exchange has been going on for a
loooooooong time.  What's up?

dan dew



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

From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 13:55:35 -0600
Subject: [Baren 13747] Re: Hiratsuka 03/07/2001 01:55:36 PM 

Welcome back Graham.....glad work is keeping you busy.... and to new
members Deb Steytler and Nilsa Macaya, great to have you onboard, please
let us see your work....

Hi April, Unichi Hiratsuka (or Hiratsuka Unichi in Japan {;-) )  was
Keiko's father. Born in 1895, he was a biggie an a leader of the new Sosaku
Hanga movement that came to be after the turn of the century. He inspired
and taught many of the masters including Munakata in Tokyo (1920's) and
possibly Onchi among others.  Her book is a little classic with great info
in easy to read format with wonderful images and in a way a tribute to all
that her father did for the art. Highly recommended for the hanga beginner.
Don't know if any relation to Yuji Hiratsuka. Please let me know about this
Chicago exhibit !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All the 20th century Japanese printmaking books carry his works...you can
see a couple of wonderful images at:

http://www.castlefinearts.com/gallery.asp  (do a search on Hiratsuka)


thanks...Julio
ps. There are also many references to Hiratsuka on Baren's archives....I took the liberty of posting this long but classic oldie from japanese
 resident Richard Steiner because of it's great description of the classical hanga technique. Well worth another reading. Check out his reference to
Hiratsuka.

"From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 07:33:38 +0900
Subject: [Baren 1302] Paste ...

Although the header says this is from 'Dave', it is actually from
Richard Steiner in Kyoto.  He did a temporary UNSUBSCRIBE so that too
much mail won't build up while he is away during August, but _then_ sent
this submission in.  The server, as it always will, bounced the
'non-member' submission ...

*** begin Richard's post ***

Jeanne wants to know something about paste.  Basically, it is a rice or
flour derived paste, a starch in other words, that has been mixed with
just enough water to sorta drip hesitantly from the tip of a chopstick or
bamboo butterknife, when it is to be used in the usual consistency.  Thicker
mixes might exist, I haven't heard of any, but thinner ones most definitely
do. More about that another time.  Why use paste? In a word, to render the
pigment flat-looking on the paper.

By now you probably realize that if you use a watery pigment, the
printed color has "light" and "dark" blotches all over.  The paste evens out the
pigment to render it into that great flat appearance we all love in the
Ukiyo-e prints, to name one instance everyone knows.  In a way, yes,
paste is a "binder", but as for the "tacky"ness, you want to avoid that for
sure;  too much paste on the block or too thick a mix.

The usual order is to first dab some paste onto the block, more if you
are going to print large areas, much less if there are only lines or very
small areas.  If the flat, uncarved area (or perhaps there are some narrow
lines carved thru it)  to print is about the size in square centimeters as
your hand when it is held flat on the table, the amount of paste can be equal
to the size of your little finger's last digit.

Next, with one of those large size watercolor burshes (#18 or #20),
dab on the pigment here and there, again not all that much.  Then with
the larger printing brush, you mix the two evenly all over the area to be
printed. Be careful of getting a build up of paste/pigment at the edges of the
printing areas; if you see it happening, lightly brush it away.  After spreading
evenly the mix all over the place, lightly move your brush against the
block's grain, from one side of the printing areas to the other.  This will
really make the pigment even, and you'll be sure you haven't missed any spots.

Finally, if there are any very narrowly carved ("white") lines, or narrow
valleys where pigment will collect, (like in the hair of Dave's great Nakagawa
block shown us last week), lightly clean then out with the edge of the brush.
If the results appear spotty, reink the block and double print using only a
touch of paste, or none at all.  Double printing a color results in a
richer color;  don't use paste when you triple print a color.  (Hiratsuka
Un'ichi printed his blacks 6 times, in which case no paste is really
needed.)

The first prints pulled from a new block will not be very nice, because
you, the pigment, the paste, the block, the paper, the temperature, the
humidity, the season and much more have not yet gotten into sync.  It
will take two, three, four prints for everything to get used to each other,
after which, you will (should be able to) produce the kind of work you
want.  Also, as the printing moves along, begin cutting back on the
amount of paste and pigment you lay on the block.  Remember, the brush doesn't
release all its load;  some paste/pigment remains in the bristles. Add
to that the paste and pigment lying on the unprinted areas which the brush
will pick up during the next inking.  If you continue to add the same
amounts of p/p every time, the build up will be overwhelming, and you
will get a batch of really lousy prints.

Paper, that is, washi, the (not always) handmade Japanese stuff, will
not stick together ever, unless: it has been over-sized or has been over
moistened.  Thin paper, by definition, needs to be handled with care
anyway;  but you needn't worry yourself about it sticking together
unless one or both of the above occur.  After printing every sheet, Jeanne, you
do insert them back into the moistening pile, don't you?  You stack them
one on another, right?  You keep the to-be-printed pile separate from the
just-printed pile, but one on top of the other, correct?  Then, there
isn't much left to be concerned about (oh, not really true).

By the way, do you use a buffer sheet laid on the back of your thin
paper when rubbing with the baren?  If not, and if you are printing an
image with more than one or two colors, it is highly advisable to use
either Freezer paper (plastic on one side, paper on the other; plastic
side touches the back of the washi) or that baking paper (brown or white)
with silicone in it.  Also keep your baren oiled, with Johnson and Johnson's
baby oil (blue cap bottle) or olive oil or magnolia oil, which the Ukiyo-e
printers used.

In any event, Jeanne, keep your eyes open all the time and stay on top
of your printing experence; when you see something you don't like, such as
streaking colors, colorless sections to the print, build up of p/p, the
paper showing thru the color, or whatever, stop then and solve the
problem before continuing. As often as not, the answer will be found in the
water content, of the paste, the pigment, the board or the paper.  Not always,
but often.

I am off to Okinawa for a month and will unsubscribe to BAREN until
September.  If you have more problems, and if you want to add my 2
cents' worth to what you learn from Dave and the others, use the address above
to ask me off list and I will reply after September.  So, now you can guess
what off list means.

Richard




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

From: Ray Hudson <rhudson@together.net>
Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 16:11:35 -0500
Subject: [Baren 13748] Re: Graham greetings 

Dear Dan and the other Exchange 8 Folks:
I guess I'm not much of a task-master, slave-driver? I'm awaiting 4 sets
of prints.  All have been mailed or shipped (or so I understand!) so they
should be here soon.   (Soon, I saw again; one is coming from overseas.)
JD Roehrig's arrived today (Ah, JD, you weren't the last!)  We had two
feet of snow yesterday & the day before here in Vermont so that may be
delaying a few prints.   I'm at work on the colophon, have sorted those
that have arrived, & am anxious to start the final packing.   We should
have a complete exchange set of 30 prints.
Ray

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

From: "Bea Gold" <bnj50@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 15:02:57 -0800
Subject: [Baren 13749] #9 and this and that charset="iso-8859-1" 

I'm sending this Baren Exchange #9 message to all Baren folk.  Time is
moving on and in an effort to be fair to everyone, I'm asking for the last
time to hear from: Christina Blank chris_lyonette@yahoo.com,   Zachary Wentz
leowentz@aol.com,  nicholas whalen@flash.net .  If I do not get a response
from you in the next three days you will be taken off the #9 list and your
places will move on to the wait list folks.  I am also sorry to say that
Arye Saar had to drop out of the exchange because of a help problem and his
place went to Wanda  Roberts so as of now we  have 6 people still on the
wait list. Let's try and get the prints moving on time so the next one is
really the next one!  I also want to let you all know that the # 10 exchange
is fast moving up on  us.   Take a look at it on
http://barenforum.org/exchange/index.html  Exchange #10 - will open for
enrollment April 1st. - Theme: none - Paper dimension: chu-ban size - 22 x
27 cm (8 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches)  - vertical or horizontal orientation.  Time
to think.

Welcome back Graham, missed you and welcome in Teacher Deborah, (I love
Gayle's work)  - I enjoyed your story, Lawrence and welcome in to Nilsa -
you have good tatste - I know someone mentioned April and Sarah for people
to learn from in NYC.  By the way April's,  workshop in LA was announced in
Interleaf, the LA Print Society News letter, so here's another plus for
hanga.  I know I forgot stuff but enough.  Bea Gold



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

From: Sunnffunn@aol.com
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 18:54:49 EST
Subject: [Baren 13750] Re: pva and etching ink 



Barbara I do enjoy many papers and do not fuss all that much.  But when an 
exchange makes a request than we do need to be cautious.  I used this 
wonderful banana mash paper for one of my last block prints.  it did not run 
well on white paper with black ink.  And was totally sensational on this 
paper with brown ink.  Since it is made of natural fibers i figured that I 
was pretty safe.  But when some one makes an art purchase they often want 
assurance that we are using quality materials.  So it can become an issue to 
them that their art will last and not yellow and such icky stuff.
Marilynn


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

From: "Gretchen Opie" <gopie@nyc.rr.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 19:18:24 -0500
Subject: [Baren 13751] Another new member, and a press question charset="iso-8859-1" 

With so many other new members joining, I think I will finally come out of
the woodwork myself, so to speak.
My name is Gretchen; I've been lurking on and off for a little while now,
learning quite a bit.

I have a question about printing presses:  When I was an art student, the
print studio at my school had several presses, including an etching press
that was sometimes used for large relief prints, but most of the time for
smaller work we used a different press, one that I have never seen anywhere
else. I wonder if anyone out there could tell me what it is called, and
better yet, where I could perhaps get one.
It was small, which is fine for me because I generally work small--maybe an
11x17 bed or so, and, like an etching press, it had a roller that went over
the block.  But instead of a wheel to turn, there was simply a handle on top
that was pulled directly across (kind of like one of those old credit card
machines).  It was so simple, just one quick yank and a perfect print came
out.  I'd love to have one because it was so small and compact, and so easy
to use. And, because it was so simple with no gears and fancy parts, I
imagine it must be relatively inexpensive.
Does anyone have any information about this?

Gretchen


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

End of Baren Digest v14 #1346
*****************************