Baren Digest               Tuesday, 5 August 2003       Volume 24 : Number 2329


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From: "George Jarvis" <gjarvis#k8.dion.ne.jp>
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 23:17:46 +0900
Subject: [Baren 22438] early influences 

Important early influences:
As early as elementary school I remember
being enthralled by the vital line and dramatic
black-white interplay in the works of Wanda Ga'g.
At that time she seemed to me to find life and 
fascination in the simplest things and her work 
implied a passion and curiosity that formed my
image of what an artist should be.

 -------------------------------------------
 G Jarvis
Jarvis KOBO -studio workshop
26-22 Omaki Matuzaki Shimokitate
Akita JAPAN 010-0051
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From: Jan Telfer <jtelfer#iinet.net.au>
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 23:27:53 +0800
Subject: [Baren 22439] Re: My Woodblock influence 

Woodblock Influences
I grew up with a wood engraving of a Peacock by Lionel Lindsay 
...technically beautifully executed.  We were surrounded by original 
art my mother had collected before I was born....etchings, brilliant 
watercolours of native Australian Albert Namajira and his teacher Rex 
Batterbee half of which I now have on my walls.... but I also enjoyed 
the thick black lines of Australian Margaret Preston's work and the 
variation she got in her hand coloured relief prints.

My Mother gave me a set of cheap Chinese made wood carving tools at the 
Christmas Party in my last year of primary school, along with a drawing 
pad of good paper and colouring pencils when everyone else in the 
school was enjoying playing with their toys that night!!   I used to 
have the best carved handles on my changais (sling shots) made out of 
the forks of willow trees just using a pocket knife,  that my Mother 
thought a proper set of carving tools would put some positive influence 
on my carving techniques .. which it did in the form of lino printing 
for many years until I met Hiroshi Tomihari from Oyama Japan in the 
late 80s who refined my cutting skills and my love of design as my 
mentor to this day... and now  I have expanded into Hanga printing. (I 
cut the sling from old bicycle tyres!).  I still have that set of 
carving tools and I still love to carve.

I still have my Felix the Cat Broach, Gayle (Ohio) that I was also 
given in primary school! But I didn't associate my love of the comics 
to woodblock printing until you mentioned it, but I still love to draw 
and colour in stain glass window designs like the patterns of the Art 
Nouveau era... and of course there are the colour combinations in 
paintings to which we each relate, so we all must have interlocking 
influences from other areas within the arts of which we are not always 
conscious.

I hope someone is making a list of all these fantastic influences....if 
possible!

Jan
Western Australia


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From: "marilynn smih" <marilynnsmih#hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2003 10:05:19 -0700
Subject: [Baren 22440] Re: Baren Digest V24 #2328 

Colleen, my playing cards will be in the mail today.  I am not
pleased, because they are not up to my standards, but than it is
my first solo attempt at hanga.  I think they are messy, but if I
start over you will never get anything from me.  Oh well I guess
one has to start some where. Julio, my nude calendar prints will
also be in the mail today. Next on the list is to start my mini
print.

Everyone is talking about inspiration for their art. 
Interestingly I never was enthralled with printmaking, did not
know much about it.  For 10 years I took a firgure
drawing/watercolor class.  In this group we had many
professionals: a retired architect, a retired graphic designer,
many working artists and one watercolor teacher from the college.
 That was Leslie, she drew beautifully.  One day she said I
should take the printmaking class and I said no, I had enough to
keep me busy as a painter.  The very next week Leslie and the
other prof, Steve, went to the printmaking room to pull monotypes
and I was the last straggler to leave the drawing room.  Well
Oops I walked out, shut the door and locked my portfolio in the
room and had to go to the printmaking room to get the key.  When
I walked in they were just pulling paper off of one of Leslies
beautiful monotype prints.  My eyes must have grown huge with
amazement and the next term i was in printmaking.  The first day
of class the instructor handed everyone a linoleum block and a
cutting knfe and said this is where we start.  I said, "I do not
carve but i will put one of my watercolors on the linoleum and do
my best."  To my amazement I had a beautiful plate and a lovely
group of prints and I was hooked on carving and printmaking in
general. So I guess my inspiration came from Leslie, Steve and
Howard Neufeld, who taught the class. For woodblock inspiration I
look to the Baren. And I belong to Baren because of Georga,
thanks to all of you for your sharing.
Marilynn


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From: Julio.Rodriguez#walgreens.com
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 13:21:40 -0500
Subject: [Baren 22441] Re: Calendar update - IMPORTANT STUFF 

I will be out of town on vacation from 8/9 thru 8/24. If you have sent 
your prints already they hopefully will get here by then. If not, please 
hold sending any calendar prints until 8/23 or abouts...US post office 
mailings are okay as they will hold my mail, but not sure what happens 
with Fedex or UPS....

As always, is best to follow your mailing with an off-list email to let me 
know a package is on it's way... 

Prints are due 9/15/03........so far prints received from:

Ruth Leaf, Dina Cody, Jan Telfer, Tony Redman, David Bull , Myron 
Turner........

thanks...Julio Rodriguez


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From: Sharri LaPierre <Barebonesart#comcast.net>
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 11:26:35 -0700
Subject: [Baren 22442] Re: Baren Digest V24 #2328 

  " Some of the best wood engravers working today learned their
craft in eastern European design schools where they were trained to
perpetuate a soviet ideal.  Most have moved beyond the politics, but the
principals of form and color remain."

I have to agree with the above statement.  You may not approve of the 
message, but the delivery in many cases is astounding.  While in St. 
Petersburg a few years ago I visited their Museum and School of the 
Decorative Arts, which is where all the printmaking takes place.  Their 
idea of "decorative" arts and mine are two different things :-).  
Nevertheless, they were doing some unbelievable work.  I came home with 
the idea that I wanted to do a show of these Russian artists work, have 
the work for sale, and send them the proceeds.  Alas, the venue I had 
lined up closed for lack of City support and the whole project fell 
into the "maybe someday" bin.  The basic training and innate talents of 
these artists is every bit as good or better than we have here in the 
good ole US of A, and it is very shortsighted to dismiss it as 
irrelevant just because one disagrees with the governing body. As far 
as that goes, I find it amazing how some of them chose to portray some 
of those "evils" in service to the State.  Every bit as good as our WW 
I posters of the Huns eating children - now THAT is scary!

While in Moscow, a fellow printmaker took me to visit her studio, the 
Moscow Studio (silk-screen) and Senej (not sure of the spelling) - a 
wonderful retreat area around a beautiful lake several miles out of 
Moscow.  It was where the Union of Artists worked under Communist rule. 
  They would apply to the Ministry of Culture for what we would call a 
grant and, if chosen, would go to this area and work for, I think it 
was 3 months, but it may have been less.  All that time they were fed 
and housed and had that time to work in the studios.  When their time 
was up, they presented the work they had done to the Ministry and some 
work would be chosen for purchase and installed in various public 
buildings.  She said the State was very supportive of the arts, and no 
censorship unless you really got into social commentary. When I was 
there they were just trying to get started under a capitalist economy 
and she was doing very well producing work for the nouveau riche and 
had her work shown in the equivalent of our Architectural Digest.  I 
brought lots of wonderful prints back with me!  Unfortunately, without 
the State support the facility had been closed and already the 
silk-screen building was being renovated into a yacht club for the very 
rich.  The only person there was the woman who was a care taker, who 
was also a printmaker and working in the etching/intaglio building.

Happy printing,
Sharri



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From: FurryPressII#aol.com
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 20:23:00 EDT
Subject: [Baren 22443] Re: Baren Digest V24 #2326 


Hitler had a film maker who did very well done films   but they were done in 
the service of evil and just like work done for Joe Stalin also done in the 
handy work of evil.       I was not talking about current Russian artists.

It is not possible for me to get past the use of this work.  The mass murder 
done in the name of Nazism and Stalin are historical facts.  I can't treat 
this work like it was some irrelivant art such as work done by Thomas Kincade.

john center


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From: Aqua4tis#aol.com
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 20:39:33 EDT
Subject: [Baren 22444] another 911 show 


hi everyone
   i just wanted to let you all know that ive arranged for another showing of 
the 911 prints at the west covina public library   it looks like we will have 
the whole month of september there   i will take pictures once its all up   
and i will put out some baren brochures
   julio   ive been meaning to tell you that along with the other shows youd 
mentioned i also had these prints in the whittier city hall  last year     it 
was only for one day  but there was a lovely turnout    ill try to round up 
those pictures as well    sorry im not very computer literate yet   and ive been 
extremeoly busy!!!
georga



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I like German art. Even some of
the stuff done during WWII.

Philip
Hammond, OR 97121

(Message edited as portions not related to printmaking)
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From: Aquafortisetch#aol.com
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 22:22:29 EDT
Subject: [Baren 22446] Re: Baren Digest V24 #2327 



> 
> Yasu Shibata, eh?  Wonderful prints!  I'll have one or two woodcuts in "Ink 
> from Blocks" too, and since I am to lead a week of classes there beginning 
> the 15th of September, I just may make the Sept 12th opening...  Maybe we 
> can go up there together somehow?  I may drive, though, depending on how 
> much of my own tools I have to lug...  Plus one of my first and most 
> inspirational teachers, Fred Osborne, is now president of the Lyme Academy 
> of Art which isn't too far away and I'd like to have a lunch or dinner or 
> something with him that week...
> 
> - -- Mike


Dear Mike, If you can make it to the opening of Ink from Wood you will surely 
meet Yasu Shibata, Helen Frankenthaler, Antonio Frasconi, Takuji Hamanaka, 
April Vollmer and many other artists who are celebrating our new artist in 
residence program with this small survey of the two traditions of woodcut 
printmaking. I will also be inviting Fred Osborne to the opening. I met him a few 
months ago at the annual arts day at the State Capitol in Hartford. Our invitation 
to Paul Furneaux to inaugurate our residency program spurred us on to complete 
the renovation of our annexe. I hope that the Baren Forum members will not 
mind this long posting, especially the news article from the Edinburgh Evening 
News. I know that some of you visited him at his former studio in Edinburgh. It 
is an ageless story of the strength of the human spirit overcoming adversity.
                Ink from Wood opens on September 12 and runs through November 
8 and I invite all Forum members to visit the Center for Contemporary 
Printmaking in Norwalk, CT during this time. Paul will be holding an open house on 
the evening of the exhibition,s opening in the studio/residency annexe.
                
                 regards to all, Tony Kirk (my first posting and until now a 
dedicated lurker)



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End of Baren Digest V24 #2329
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