Baren Digest Saturday, 14 December 2002 Volume 21 : Number 2059 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "April Vollmer" Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 10:12:16 -0500 Subject: [Baren 20100] RE: Baren Digest V21 #2058 Janet, the Lower East Side Printshop sale day was a lot of fun, I am no longer a keyholder, but am in the holiday portfolio. It is always a great time to catch up with other printmakers at LESP. "The Benefit Print Portfolio 2002 features new prints by nine exciting New York City artistsÐAnn Aspinwall, Mildred BeltrŽ, Jane Kent, Felix Plaza, Miriam Schaer, Annie Leah Sommers, Mark Dean Veca, April Vollmer, Lynne Yamamoto. The artists donated their latest works to benefit the Printshop's programs for artists and the community." http://www.printshop.org/home.html best, April www.aprilvollmer.com ------------------------------ From: Bette Wappner Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 10:19:59 -0500 Subject: [Baren 20101] Re: soft block IMHO, the best soft block material equally popular are: "Mars Stadtler" (found at arts and craft stores or online) or "PZ-Kut" (only found at http://www.investorsnet.com/stampeaz ) Both are the most preferred among soft block carvers and will give you fine crisp edges/lines/details. I know of a soft block carver who has kept her blocks since the 1970's stored in air-tight containers, wrapped seperately in paper, not touching any other blocks that still print - even though they've turned a little hard - but hey- that's not bad given the fact that the rubber is over 30 years old and not even the quality that soft block is today! In addition to a good carving tool, an X-acto blade or even a "Testors" brand blade (the kind sold in the plastic craft models section) is preferred over the X-acto blade because its blade is longer. Hope this helps. Bette. ------------------------------ From: "PHARE-CAMP,PATTI (HP-USA,ex1)" Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 07:35:03 -0800 Subject: [Baren 20102] RE: Baren Digest V21 #2057 "Has anyone else used this product?? Louise Cass" I have used similar products. They are OK. I like to use them for teaching children. I also like to use them to make greeting cards. I've done several multi-color Christmas cards and notecards using these and it was fun. I don't want to spend a great deal of time carving an item people often throw away so I don't use them for large woodcuts (actually I've discovered that some of my friends and relatives have been saving and framing them, but I'm sure a lot more get tossed). When I do larger pieces I often have a lot of detail and the rubber material is too soft to carve thin lines. I also do not use my good knives on these products. I use the cheap $5 student set of 6 knives on this stuff only. There seems to be a lot of moisture or something corrosive in these blocks and it can pit good knives. It does crumble easy and the block will split in two if you bend it to much, but the easy cutting makes it a good tool for cutting something quickly that doesn't have a lot of detailed line. Patti P-C ------------------------------ From: slinders#attbi.com Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 09:36:10 -0600 Subject: [Baren 20103] Re: interesting couple of weeks Hi, Barbara, Thank you for your beautiful gift to those kids--and to yourself! When June comes around, which of the days of this whole school year will these kids remember with joy and the great "Aha!" of learning? Most likely it will be one of these eight days. You have allowed these youngsters to know that the part of them that NEEDS TO MAKE ART is an important part of them! (and you give them hope and proof that they can still make art when they 'grow up'!) (You may think that you're too old, but it's an terrific way to stay young!) Perhaps a newspaper there needs to know about this happy story. Your detailed description of the process on Printmakers should make it easier for teachers (or us!) to follow your footsteps! Congratulations to you! Sharen ------------------------------ From: "Cynthia S. Bendix" Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 07:53:53 -0800 Subject: [Baren 20104] Re: interesting couple of weeks Barbara, What a wonderful and inspiring story. Just when I feel like I'm making art in a vacuum, you send along a story that reminds me that art does matter. It made a big difference in my young life and you helped it make a difference in theirs. Bless You! Thea ------------------------------ From: Vishnovus#aol.com Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 11:04:38 EST Subject: [Baren 20105] Re: interesting couple of weeks What a terrific story! One of my clearest memories of primary school was the day the art teacher Mrs Bell brought speedball lino cutters, blocks and ink to class. She also made herself available after school for those of us who loved this activity. You are making a huge impact on the lives of these children. Thank You! Ld ------------------------------ From: b.patera#att.net Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 17:23:44 +0000 Subject: [Baren 20106] Re: interesting couple of weeks Barbara, What a wonderful story. And what a wonderful experience for those children. I'm sure that those few hours spent "making art" will be the one of the highlights of their lives for quite a while. Maybe of yours too.... I was the "art lady" at a local headstart for several years and a few weeks ago a teenaged boy approached me to tell me that he was Anthony (last seen when 5 years old) and how much he had enjoyed doing those art projects. I'll tell you that that made my day. Barbara P. ------------------------------ From: "marilynn smih" Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 10:23:39 -0800 Subject: [Baren 20107] Re: Baren Digest V21 #2058 Barbara what a wonderful story about working with the children. My daughter is teaching a second grade class much like you describe in north Las Vegas. She has asked me to teach an art lesson to her class when we drive down next October. I am a bit uncertain and at that time I will pick your brain and a few others online who work with the children. Some of these kids are in homeless shelters and some do not even have books at home. So art is not something they really get to do much of. Unfortunately in Oregon, especially, they have cut the teachers and programs so badly that our children do not get exposure to extras. Many talented new teachers with educations (masters from Lewis and Clark) that are excellent are leaving Oregon and south is much more supportive. My hat is off to you and others like you Barbara for giving your talent to our children. Our children truly are the future and you just might open a talented young mind who will become a fabulous future artist. Marilynn ------------------------------ From: Julio.Rodriguez#walgreens.com Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 18:14:57 -0600 Subject: [Baren 20108] Re: F. Morley Fletcher on printmaking..... 12/13/2002 06:20:40 PM Those of you that have been around on Baren for a while may recognize the name F. Morley Fletcher. I picked up a little beauty of a book by Mr. Fletcher and since it arrived this afternoon I have not been able to put it down. Besides the fact that the book comes with an original hand-made print by the author, the simple but yet to the point descriptions are full of the high level stuff hardly touched on by other books. Every page seems to have little gems of information on the traditional moku hanga. I find the following paragraph(s) in the introduction particularly fitting to our modern day struggle to give hand-made printmaking it's rightful place among the arts. You can easily substitute the word "computer" for Mr. Fletcher's "machine". "In these days the need for reference to primitive handicrafts has not ceased with the advent of the machine. The best achievements of hand-work will always be the standards for reference; and on their study must machine craft be based. The machine can only increase the power and scale of the crafts that have already been perfected by hand-work. Their principles, and the art of their design, do not alter under the machine. If the machine disregards these it's work becomes base. And it is under the simple conditions of handicraft that the principles of an art can be most clearly experienced." "The best of all the wonderful and excellent work that is produced to-day by machinery is that which bears evidence in itself of it's derivation from arts under the pure conditions of classic craftsmanship, and shows the influence of their work." Words that apply as well today (I think) as when Mr. Fletcher wrote this manual in 1916 !!!!! For those of you first tackling moku hanga and/or in need of aid for exchange #15....or just in case you are in the mood for some reading...I highly recommend this book....thanks to Barenforum.org... the book is available for download or to read at your leisure at the barenforum.org library: http://woodblock.com/encyclopedia/entries/011_03/011_03_frame.html thanks...Julio Rodriguez (Skokie, Illinois) ------------------------------ From: Jack Reisland Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 16:51:26 -1000 Subject: [Baren 20109] Thanks Graphic Chemical! I just wanted to say thanks to Dean and the rest of the staff at Graphic Chemical and Ink. I called in an order to them last week, and Dean and Susan flew with it here to Hawaii the next day! Now that's service! Well, OK, maybe they had planned to come anyway, but thanks for bringing my ink. Nice people to do business with. Jack Reisland ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V21 #2059 *****************************