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Message 1
From: "Bea Gold"
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 07:08:39 -0800
Subject: [Baren 27036] Re: Exchange #22 is here ! so it's David's Hanga Chest
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Julio, I just put my 2004 Baren calendars away and realized how much I loved them. I want to thank you for your incredible effort to put together a beautiful project. I wish I could put a 2005 calendar together with those wonderful prints. I have the post card and the Page print calendars. Thank you again everyone for beautiful prints and Julio for your ideas and work to put it together. Bea Gold

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Message 2
From: "Gillyin Gatto"
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 12:19:13 -0500
Subject: [Baren 27037] hanging methods
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thank you both Carol and Barbara for those helpful suggestions

we actually DID consider magnets using the method you mention,Barbara
and for an exhibit that has just one line of work going around the room
it would be great
-last year prints made from the rock Petroglyphs in Machias Bay
were hung that way
but i was loathed to do the finicky work involved for
these big collages of prints
figure at least four magnets and nailers per print and
arranged in a huge collage
it was just too mind boggling for me to attempt
some of these prints are 2-3 ,even eight feet long !

push pins sound good,Carol, but again
prints too big for plastic bags

we DID use push pins for the monkey and rooster postcard exchanges
arranged so they dont puncture the paper
but simply hold it in place

the music and endangered species are hung with one clothes pin per print
to stringed lines and end up looking like a huge print quilt !

putting holes on the edges of my prints does not bother me
since i am the artist, i will simply trim them off later

gillyin

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Message 3
From: "Gillyin Gatto"
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 13:30:39 -0500
Subject: [Baren 27038] inquiry for Barbara Mason
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sorry for 2nd posting--

i have tried two different email addresses for you Barbara Mason
but both have come back,
so I resort to advising you on list that :

i have a person interested in your "Canyon Song" print
is it for sale? ,and if so,
how would you like to be contacted?
gillyin

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Message 4
From: "M.J. Cole"
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 11:31:36 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 27039] A papermaker delurks
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>From: "Steve"
>I'm also interested in making paper from plant material. Are there
>any paper makers out there?


Hello Steve and Everyone,

I am delurking to let Steve know that there is a thriving hand papermaking list located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PaperMaking/ . There are many helpful members there as well as links to resources about papermaking from plants.



So as not to be too off topic from printmaking, I wanted to introduce myself. I'm also known as "Maria's Papermaker" and I must say, it is a great privilege - and wonderful fun - to work with her. I am honored that she asked me to make the paper for the Nevada Arts Commission prints. The prints are gorgeous! Maria always makes my paper look so good!



About the process I used for that paper: I've termed it "pulp marbling" although it is not really like traditional marbling at all, but it’s not exactly pulp painting either. I use thin colored pulps and pour them on the mold screen in a random pattern. Then I dip the mold and deckle in the main vat to form the backing sheet. The pulp pattern stays in place and becomes an integral part of the paper. The pattern only shows on one side of the sheet. It's always a surprise to couch the sheet and see the pattern that resulted.



I do enjoy lurking on this list - lots of printmaking knowledge here. And thanks for the nice compliments on the paper. I appreciate it.



All the Best,

M.J. Cole

Beech Grove Paperworks





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Message 5
From: "Dan Dew"
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 14:45:40 -0500
Subject: [Baren 27040] Why Paste
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O.K., this may sound like a dumb question, but why the paste?

Won't the color adhere to the paper anyhow?



I have finally decided to try hanga, scared to death though.



d. dew

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Message 6
From: eli griggs
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 12:20:35 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 27041] Re: Why Paste
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Hi there:

Dan I don't do hanga yet either but the short answer
is that your pigment needs a binder to hold it
together and to your ground.

In oil paint the binder is oil... walnut, linseed,
poppy, etc.

In watercolour, gum or honey.

Acrylics use a polymer medium.

Take away the binder and other additives from any of
these and all you have left is the pigment.

Try printing a block with pigment and water only and
test the results with a little rubbing action.

So in hanga, you mix your pigment with a binder,
(paste or gum) directly on the block, though you could
use watercolour which has the binder built in.

By the way, the binder in sumi is bone glue.
See http://www.boku-undo.co.jp/HP/eprodu.htm

Lastly, duct tape is considered THE universal binder,
but we seldom use it in woodcuts.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Eli

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Message 7
From: Wanda Robertson
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 12:33:02 -0800
Subject: [Baren 27042] Re: Why Paste
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Don't be scared, Dan! You will love it. Besides rice paste, you can
also use methyl cellulose for the binder. I like it better than rice
paste because it doesn't attract bugs or mice, and is easy to mix & use.

Oh, if only we *could* use duct tape! :-)

Wanda

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Message 8
From: "Dan Dew"
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 17:46:33 -0500
Subject: [Baren 27043] Re: Why Paste
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So, if I use watercolor, I do not need paste?

d. dew

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Message 9
From: Bette Norcross Wappner
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 18:37:42 -0500
Subject: [Baren 27044] Re: Why Paste
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> So, if I use watercolor, I do not need paste?
>
> d. dew
>

Yes, you need a binder with watercolor. There are 3 choices (that I
know of):

1. Nori Rice Paste - premade, sold in tubes or jars:
http://imcclains.com/catalog/ink/nori.html

2. Pure Rice Starch - dry form that includes a simple recipe to make on
your stove. also at: http://imcclains.com/catalog/ink/nori.html

3. Methyl Cellulose - this is the exact brand I use (I bought mine at
an art supply store): http://store.artcity.com/lin-7931001.html
(archival and acid free). I mix 1/4 teaspoon to 2 Tablespoons of water
in a small tupperware container with a lid. Stir it up and let is set a
couple of hours and its ready to use. If you don't use it all, put the
lid on it and store it in the fridge. Lasts forever without molding.

I use to use Sweet Rice Flour - Blue Star Brand by Koda Farms, Inc.
(stirred into boiling water) - can be found in an oriental food store
perhaps. But premade Nori Rice Paste and Methyl Cellulose is the
easiest, for me at least.

Bette

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Message 10
From: Charles Morgan
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 15:48:33 -0800
Subject: [Baren 27045] Re: Why Paste
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Hello, Wanda (and others who use methyl cellulose),

I got some methyl cellulose at the art store and mixed it according to
directions ... that was not an easy job ... finally poured the proportions
into a glass jar and shook the bejabbers out of it. The powder seemed to
disappear, the liquid got sort of thick, but I was still left with a clear
slug looking glob in the bottom. The slug stayed there for about a month
before disappearing. And the stuff still does not seem to me to be thick
enough for hanga. I am afraid that if I try to mix more of the powder in, I
will really get a mess. Any suggestions ... hints ... critiques ????

Cheers ..... Charles

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Message 11
From: Barbara Mason
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 16:29:11 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 27046] Re: Why Paste
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Charles,
It only needs to be as thick as karo syrup.....just so it drops off the end of a stick while you count to two. I think you need to add the powder to the water and stir as you put it in, then put the lid on and shake it like crazy....I think the glob sounds cool, did it move????

Dan,
If you do not use the rice paste, it is harder to get a smooth surface to print, it will be lighter and darker and have some voids....the rice paste really smooths things out, even with watercolor. Using watercolor is pretty expensive as there is not much in those little tubes. But it does work. Walt Padgett, http://www.padgettart.com/Category.asp?Category=Prints
uses watercolor from the tube and mixes it with the paste right on the block, he just squeezes out the tube on the wood. He liked the powder I gave him from some I had from the mall, so think he will order it. He says the watercolor it just too expensive. He is retired now but taught in Medford OR, about 300 miles south of Portland. He was a great friend of Robert McClain who started McClains Printmaking many years ago and he has wonderful stories about his bicycle trip down the Tokaido...it is still there but sometimes hard to find.
Best to all,
Barbara

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Message 12
From: Bette Norcross Wappner
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 20:00:40 -0500
Subject: [Baren 27047] Re: Why Paste
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Barbara Mason has given good suggestions too.

Dan and Charles,
All the methyl cellulose powder you need for, say a typical exchange run
is: 1/4 teaspoon methyl cellulose to 2 Tablespoons distilled water.
Stir it together in a separate container and let it set for a couple of
hours to congeal before using. I'm not the only one using it, so others
will have suggestions too.

Dan,
If you even have some gouache, that works too. (but still use a
binder). and Robert Canaga's friend, Art Graham sells some high quality
gouache by "M. Graham & Co." - really good stuff. You can get gouache
at even Michaels Arts & Crafts, but it'll be more expensive than even
Speedball water-based ink. Since you've used Speedball brand, the
water-based is fine to use until you find what you like. I say that,
because as you know, Speedball brand is easier to find offline.

Excerpt from "Japanese Woodblock Printing" by Rebecca Salter - page 33.
"A simple alternative is to use rice or wheat flour. Use approx. 1
portion flour to 8 portions water. First add a tiny bit of water to the
cornstarch to form a smooth paste. Boil the remaining water in a
heavy-bottomed pan and slowly add the paste - mix and stir constantly.
After about five minutes it should start to thicken and turn
translucent, though there may still be a few white specks. At this
stage, the starch is at its strongest. Take the pan from the heat
before it is allowed to boil and continue stirring as it cools.
Plunging the pan in cold water will speed the process up a little."

Bette Wappner
northern Kentucky

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Message 13
From: "Dan Dew"
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 21:46:23 -0500
Subject: [Baren 27048] Re: Why Paste
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Ah, thank you. That makes sense.



d. dew



_____

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