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Message 1
From: "Bonnie Primbsch"
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 09:35:43 -0700
Subject: [Baren 33039] Re: greetings!
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Great. The woman I talked to said she cut mat board for the puzzle block,
with a dexter matcutter, then protected it with shelf paper (and brushed
acrylic medium on the bevels so they wouldn't suck up the oil-based ink.)

I imagine since it sounds like you're doing yours moku honga-style, you'd
want a wooden surface that could interact well with the watercolor based
inks, yes? So how do you manage? A lot of router work?

I'll look up your prints.
Bonnie

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Message 2
From: Sharri LaPierre
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 09:58:39 -0700
Subject: [Baren 33040] Re: greetings!
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Bonnie,
Welcome to this fabulous forum. Funny you should ask about puzzle
prints. Baren is in the midst of it's second such print which is led
by our Puzzle Print Princess, Her Highness, Maria. Maria is,
coincidentally, our resident expert on puzzles. The details are at:
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/cairn/index.html

Last week I had reason to be in Florida and had taken my Cairn Block
with me to work on in my spare (HA!) time. Long story short, the
airlines lost my luggage for 5 days. I was frantic that all my tools
and my precious block were gone forever and how was I ever going to
explain my carelessness to Maria? Oh, the agony - I was a mess.
Fortunately, it was finally found and everything is right with the
world, though I am sure Homeland Security is still puzzling over the
strange things some folks pack. On one of the tags on the bag
containing tools was a note " to make art??" I don't know why they
cared since they were in the checked (and lost) luggage. But, in the
words of the bard, all's well that end's well.

Great dragon, Harry, it looks like he enjoyed his meal and is licking
his little lizard lips. (try saying that three times, fast :-)

Cheers ~
Sharri

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Message 3
From: "Maria Arango"
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:19:27 -0700
Subject: [Baren 33041] Re: greetings!
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Sharri Happy to hear the Cairn block didn't get lost!
licking his little lizard lips
licking his little lizard lips
licking his little lizard lips

Here are more examples of puzzle cuts and other such fun things:
The first puzzle project:
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/puzzle/photos2jun03.html
Scroll saw use: http://1000woodcuts.com/Studionotes/scrollsaw.html
And various simple puzzle cuts:
http://www.1000woodcuts.com/fullsize/flowerwizard.html
http://www.1000woodcuts.com/fullsize/morningstar.html
And the puzzle cut featured on HGTV:
http://www.1000woodcuts.com/fullsize/bluemoon.html
I have a DVD of that last one, you can send me a post-paid CD friendly
mailer and a blank DVD-R and I will make you a copy.

Maria


Maria Arango
www.1000woodcuts.com
www.artfestivalguide.info

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Message 4
From: Charles Morgan
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:50:00 -0700
Subject: [Baren 33042] Re: greetings!
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Hello Bonnie,

My puzzle block prints are all oily, western style. I carve my design
on MDF (medium density fiber board). I find scrap MDF pieces at
construction sites, or just stuff thrown out at the side of the
street. I use a palm sander to sand the surface lightly before I
start. I use 3/4 inch thick material, so it is not so fragile.

My designs all use an outer border, so I have to cut out the interior
without going through the border. After the design is carved, I drill
a couple of holes at strategic places that will not print. Then I
insert a very thin, circular jig saw blade through a hole and
carefully cut our the various pieces in the design. I could use a
fret saw and do it by hand, but I am lazy. After cutting out the
pieces, I use a knife to slightly bevel the edge of each piece to
make re-assembly easier. Next I coat each piece with thinned shellac
to keep the MDF from absorbing oil. After all is dry, I re-assemble
the block on a flat surface and hit it lightly again with the sander
and very fine grit sandpaper (600).

To print, I just apply inks to the pieces with rollers and reassemble
the puzzle ... cover with paper and put it through the press. I have
printed on a nipping press with good results, but for several years I
have been using my bottle jack press. The straight in-line style of
press does not cause the pieces to shift while printing, which is
something I would worry about if printing by hand. When finished with
the edition, I remove most of the ink by printing on several pieces
of paper towel. Then I use vegetable oil and paper towel to remove the rest.

If I were going to use matboard, I think I would apply acrylic medium
or shellac to seal it after cutting out the pieces. But
experimentation is the key ... do whatever works for you.

If you have more questions, do not hesitate to ask.

Cheers ..... Charles

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