Baren Digest Tuesday, 10 September 2002 Volume 20 : Number 1953 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mike Lyon Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 10:46:18 -0500 Subject: [Baren 19102] Colleen's prints in mail today Dear Colleen, Sorry to be later than anticipated in getting everyone's Exchang 12 replacement prints off to you. The following went into the mail today in a hosoban portfolio case contributed by the Baren Mall: Frank Trueba Tyrus Clutter David Mohallatee Mike Lyon Barbara Patera Darrell Madis Kate Courchaine Sharri LaPierre Horacio Soares Neto Mary Custer Jan Telfer Cyndy Wilson Julio Rodriguez Barbara Mason Bea Gold Maria Arango Akemi Ohira Bobbie Mandel These printers promised to send their print directly to you: Monica Bright Eli Griggs Patsy Giclas (Colleen Corradi) Brad Schwartz Wanda Robertson Sylvia Taylor Marilynn Smith NOTE: Monica, Eli, Patsy, Brad, Wanda, Sylvia, and Marilynn -- if you have not already done so, please get your print in the mail right away to: Colleen Corradi via trentino 69 Montesilvano (PE) 65016 Italy Colleen -- please let me know when the prints arrive! Sincerely, Mike Lyon, coordinator Exchange #12 ------------------------------ From: "Maria Arango" Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 09:21:01 -0700 Subject: [Baren 19103] salons I confess I have mixed feelings on the issue of Salon prints. We are a printmaking group who is supposed to be encouraging members to create and exchange prints. I understand why we place a limit on the exchanges proper of 30 prints, after all, some folks (and some of us some of the time) print by hand and more than 30 prints becomes a chore. Printmaking shouldn't be a chore. On the other side, keeping up with the Baren web site is a huge task, still can't understand how Dave did it all by himself for so long. Even with some of us helping out once in a while (stress the "in a while" as I have been a terribly inconsistent helper) web updates are tough to keep up with. Salons add to this burden. Another issue to contend with is an additional coordinator, more posts regarding 14 or 14a (in the current case), two different addresses to send prints to...all adding to the confusion of one single exchange. However--in my opinion a huge however--we consistently have more than 30 members wanting to sign up for exchanges. Seems to me that Salons took care of this undeniable need very well by allowing additional prints to be exchanged among members. Baren prides itself in being a participatory, non-discriminating group that encourages involvement by all. Now we are talking about limiting the involvement of our eager members? Additionally, with the creation of the "extra" mailing list every time a new exchange is launched, less conversation and group participation are fostered. To take an extreme view for a moment, we form these little elitist groups (I'm in, you're out!) and keep the conversations behind closed doors. Overall, perhaps this might encourage loss of interest in the main group and thus in the exchanges in the long run, although the fact that we continue to have overflow wanna-be-exchangers would indicate otherwise. I personally would X those annoying extra lists and happily keep the conversation about Baren activities in Baren, including ongoing exchanges. An example of a hugely successful "extra exchange" might be the 911 prints, continually being exhibited far and wide. Now we are saying, take your unofficial exchanges elsewhere? Well, on that note again, there are other printmaking lists that exchange prints not quite as regularly as Baren; they could use a boost in active membership (Brad's Printmakerslist comes to mind). And our own Baren Swap Shop remains very quiet. Perhaps all additional sign ups for an exchange could just send prints to the Swap Shop, under Swap Shop rules (smaller formats, loose deadlines), instead of organizing an additional exchange? This would give the Swap Shop a boost and keep things under some kind of control in terms of organization while allowing everyone that wants to participate a chance to do so. What to do? The above being my humble opinions, I think the quiet membership needs to speak on this a bit more so we get a feel for what's being thought out there. Health to all, Maria <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Maria Arango Las Vegas, Nevada, USA http://www.1000woodcuts.com maria#mariarango.com <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ------------------------------ From: Mike Lyon Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 11:26:52 -0500 Subject: [Baren 19104] Re: salons I like Maria's (and Julio's Swap Shop idea)... How about this for a slightly skewed approach: When you sign up for any exchange, you are committing to make 31 prints which fall into the exchange guidelines even if you fall into the waitlisted category... At the close of the exchange, you send your prints to the Swap Shop and take 'pot luck'... What do you think? (Archivist's note: paragraph deleted as was unintentionally posted to list) Mike At 09:21 AM 9/9/2002 -0700, you wrote: >Perhaps all >additional sign ups for an exchange could just send prints to the Swap Shop, >under Swap Shop rules (smaller formats, loose deadlines), instead of >organizing an additional exchange? This would give the Swap Shop a boost and >keep things under some kind of control in terms of organization while >allowing everyone that wants to participate a chance to do so. Mike Lyon mailto:mikelyon#mlyon.com http://www.mlyon.com ------------------------------ From: Cucamongie#aol.com Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 12:32:52 EDT Subject: [Baren 19105] sending package to Japan Hi, I got this email on another list (the woman's name is Sara (without the h!) Klar, if someone on this list has any helpful info, you can contact her directly at sara.klar#verizon.net >Hi >I've just completed an Art Book/Proposal that I'm sending to Japan. I've >just called fedex who have quoted me $102.00 for sending this package which >has a weight of 7 lbs to my destination. Has anyone experience sending >packages to Japan and knows of a secure less costly route? Also, I might >need someone who is fluent in Japanese to make a call for me to the >recipient telling them it is on the way. Anyone in our group Japanese or >fluent in Japanese? >All information would be helpful. >Thanks muchly Sara ------------------------------ From: Mike Lyon Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 11:30:35 -0500 Subject: [Baren 19106] Oh No Maria -- I read your nice mail as a COUNCIL posting and replied (to the forum, of course)... So sorry! My face is SO red !! Mike Mike Lyon mailto:mikelyon#mlyon.com http://www.mlyon.com ------------------------------ From: "Jeanne N. Chase" Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 13:58:53 -0400 Subject: [Baren 19107] Re: salons Mike Since so many of us do not make the active exchange list and are on the "Wait " list, that would make a great contribution to the swap shop. Then if you are called to be active due to a drop out, you will have your prints at the ready. Or they will end up in the Swap shop. Good idea, I am fur it! Jeanne N. ------------------------------ From: =?iso-8859-1?q?dimitris=20grammatikopulos?= Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 20:42:40 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Baren 19108] coming out... Dear Baren, I may have rediscovered America, but still... Lately I've been working on techniques combining the advantages of relief print and engraving. The main purpose for that is the absolut lack of even the simplest materials in our (my) classroom. It is a habit I got back in my student years in the USSR and the crisis they went through. For example we'd mix runny typo ink with toothpaste (!) so that it would obtain body enough to print. Anyway, the fact is I've printed a simple image (portrait) very closely imitating the "mezzotinto" ("dark manner") technique, without the use of any metal or acid. And the interesting thing is that had I done (...oh! But I will...) the same thing on wood I'd have gotten better or perfect results. I scratched plexiglass with a..."brush with metal hair" (you know what I mean, don't you?) and then sanded down the scratches even to perfect white. On wood I will be sandblasting it and sanding it down. To avoid deep traces (non-printable) I can fill in some parts with glue, stucco, or any other material wood-compatible. The part I love is the one when I realise that I may have a woodcut, without the use of any pointy, sharp tool whatsoever... How do you like it? My best regards, Dimitris P.S. Just so you know...Coming out of the void I have been in and around the past year and a half, has been based on the existence and activity of Baren as well. Thank you all. ------------------------------ From: "Lee and Barbara Mason" Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 12:49:19 -0700 Subject: [Baren 19109] Re: coming out... Dimitris, This is really interesting...I will be very interested to see the prints from this technique. As always I am interested in processes, I just collect them I think! Glad to have you posting again. Best to you, Barbara ------------------------------ From: FurryPressII#aol.com Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 16:30:26 EDT Subject: [Baren 19110] Re: salons I will add my 2 cents. To me 30 is not a bad size ESP if you have people who print by hand. If you print by press it is a small number. I like the idea of having a salon if enough people want to participate it is a cool idea. To me having enough people to fill up both exchanges show how active we are to me that is a good thing. I think allowing everyone who wants to take part is wonderful. In open exchanges having a salon seems to fill a need. One of the reasons I do prints is because I like to exchange prints with fellow print makers. We could have a problem not enough people sending in prints glad we don't so to me we don't have a problem. John c. ------------------------------ From: Daniel Dew Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 16:54:13 -0400 Subject: [Baren 19111] Salons and postings Maria - Once again, bravo young lady! But, Did I miss something? Who's complaining? Is it about the amount of posts to the forum or the quality? Maybe I am doing something wrong, but otherwise I just look at the Subject line and delete what I don't care to read. Daniel L. Dew Suncoast Equipment Funding Corporation http://www.dandew.com/ ddew#tampabay.rr.com ------------------------------ From: Minna Sora Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2002 00:13:04 +0300 (EEST) Subject: [Baren 19112] Re: Oh Bleeding Mike Lyon kirjoitti 09.09.2002 kello 19:30: > Well, why don't I just go out and shoot myself in the head? > publicly? My face is SO red !! I'm finishing my prints with bleeding edges, and the list seems to bleed to. IThis let's bleed together tendency must be some kind of support, I think Though I hope Mike is not going to suggest an exhange with bloody theme, only bleeding edge woodprints and splatter-style.? Btw, what is the salon? Minna ------------------------------ From: Mike Lyon Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 17:00:18 -0500 Subject: [Baren 19113] Re: Salons and postings Dear Dan, It was I... and I wasn't 'complaining'... Maria's note was in response to an administrative question I had about "Salon de Refuse" exchanges (refus-e with a ' over the final E ) -- In my question I noted that we had been experiencing a number of relatively late 'drop-outs' from exchanges and I suggested that the salons seemed to me to have the effect of spreading active exchange participants pretty thinly, since most participants in each salon have also been participants in the exchange proper... I wondered whether in the future we might want to 'discourage' salons and try to focus on the exchanges proper... Maria's was one of several responses (so far) to my question... and (as usual) I pretty much agreed with what she offered. - -- Mike At 04:54 PM 9/9/2002 -0400, Dan Dew wrote: >Maria - Once again, bravo young lady! >But, >Did I miss something? Who's complaining? >Is it about the amount of posts to the forum or the quality? Mike Lyon mailto:mikelyon#mlyon.com http://www.mlyon.com ------------------------------ From: Pgiclas#aol.com Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 23:12:47 EDT Subject: [Baren 19114] Re: Colleen's prints in mail today dear Colleen: please respond to me offline: pgiclas#aol.com Thanks, Patsy Giclas ------------------------------ From: Julio.Rodriguez#walgreens.com Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 23:13:44 -0500 Subject: [Baren 19115] Re: Real danger in Printmaking.. 09/09/2002 11:17:16 PM As you all know the country is under a very serious West Niles virus attack. Most states have reported the disease which is propagated via mosquitoes. Illinois (my state) has reported large number of fatalities, mostly among the elderly. In my own backyard I have found and disposed of several dead birds (crows & smaller birds) just this past month. Is getting so bad that the village is no longer interested in coming out to pick up the birds. What does this has to do with printmaking ? Well, as some of you may know, I have my Vandercook printing press out in my detached garage. Here is where I do most of my printmaking wether by baren or by press. During this time of the year the temperature in there (even at night) can get pretty hot which means I have to open the windows & turn some fans on to circulate some air. The weather here in Illinois has been a bit on the hot side and I been trying to save my printing for cooler days....but then again..we have deadlines. I been out these past few nights printing away....and somewhat exposed to those darn killer mosquitoes....a bit scary...enough to keep one eye on the printing and one eye on what comes in thru the open window... so far...no bites......but If any of you that get my next print smell something a bit funny on the package or folio.....No...it's not the latest & greatest pigment concoction...is probably just a bit of insect repellent {;-) thanks...Julio Rodriguez (Illinois...but thinking about moving ! ) ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V20 #1953 *****************************