Today's postings

  1. [Baren 40375] Re: Subject: Re: 20th Century Woodblock and Linocut Artists (ArtfulCarol # aol.com)
  2. [Baren 40376] Woodblock vs watercolor (Marilynn Smith)
  3. [Baren 40377] 20th Century Woodblock and Linocut Artists ("Eva Pietzcker")
  4. [Baren 40378] Re: 20th Century Woodblock and Linocut Artists ("Ellen Shipley")
  5. [Baren 40379] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification (Blog Manager)
Member image

Message 1
From: ArtfulCarol # aol.com
Date: Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:54:45 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40375] Re: Subject: Re: 20th Century Woodblock and Linocut Artists
Send Message: To this poster

Clive, thank you.What you say is true. Reproducing in any form would be
cheaper than a unique watercolor.
Carol Lyons
Member image

Message 2
From: Marilynn Smith
Date: Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:04:47 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40376] Woodblock vs watercolor
Send Message: To this poster

Carol,

I was a painter long before I started doing prints. I agree that each
has a special look. I like my wood blocks to pick up the texture of
the wood as well. Although, a great number of my watercolors are
shape oriented and that could give me some great woodblocks. We are
in this century so I do like the idea of each medium having its own
look. Keeping woodblock alive as its own technique is a good thing
and giving it it's own special look seems important. Hand pulled
prints are no longer widely used in books and magazines, so the medium
needs it own identity.

I have found there are still people out there who do not consider
printmaking an art form but instead lump it into a "craft". I know of
one particular competition that does that and it truly makes me angry
that they consider painting an art but if you are doing printmaking
you are put into the craft category. So, to me it seems important to
give our woodblocks an identity all their own.

Marilynn
Member image

Message 3
From: "Eva Pietzcker"
Date: Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:27:45 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40377] 20th Century Woodblock and Linocut Artists
Send Message: To this poster

Hallo Carol,

regarding your remark,

Why create such labor intensive work and have it look like a watercolor?

I am also doing woodblock prints which do look very water-colour-like. When I started printmaking long time ago, I was working rather graphically, basing my works on drawing with an etching needle or pencil which lead then to rather graphic prints. But over the years I became more and more painterly, that resulted in designing prints with a brush, which gave me a more direct feeling during the actual design, as I didn't need to outline so much. Also the layering of overprinting areas gives impressions which are different from direct water-colouring. Besides, woodgrain can be visible very much with water-based inks.

But I think the most important is the different approach to painting a water-colour than creating a print. The one is a direct action compaired to the very indirect printmaking process. The elaborate process adds another "energy" to the art work (a student of mine once said, it has much to do with "faith", as you will see the result only after quite a while of just working).

Eva




----------------------------------------------------------

Eva Pietzcker

druckstelle - Werkstatt für Druckgraphik
Manteuffelstr. 103
D - 10997 Berlin

www.pietzcker.de
www.druckstelle.info

----------------------------------------------------------
Member image

Message 4
From: "Ellen Shipley"
Date: Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:23:47 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40378] Re: 20th Century Woodblock and Linocut Artists
Send Message: To this poster

I love this site. Particularly the works of Frank Morley Fletcher. I love the mood of his prints and the colors. I'd like to find his book, Wood Block Printing, 1916.

Ellen

>Here's another:

> http://www.b-n.nl/new_index.php?page=auction&AuctionNumber=321&GroupNumber=63&DetailItemNumber=

Digest Appendix

Postings made on [Baren] members' blogs
over the past 24 hours ...

Subject: 10 Little 9 Little Indians - Final Print
Posted by: Annie B

10Little9LittleFinal

10 LITTLE 9 LITTLE INDIANS

Japanese woodblock (moku hanga)
Paper size: 11" x 15" (28 x 38 cm)
Image size: 10" x 13" (25.5 x 33 cm)
6 shina plywood blocks
16 hand-rubbed impressions
Paper: Nishinouchi
Edition: 25 (for the Print Portfolio "10") plus 5 Artist's Proofs


In 1634, John Winthrop, Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, wrote these words to a friend in England regarding the epidemics that had wiped out nearly 90% of the native population of New England:
"But for the natives in these parts, God hath so pursued them, as for 300 miles space the greatest part of them are swept away by the small pox which still continues among them. So as God hath thereby cleared our title to this place those who remain in these parts, being in all not 50, have put themselves under our protection." (emphasis mine)

The figure in the center of my print is taken directly from the 17th century seal of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

MassBayColonySeal

The Indian holds his arrow facing downward in a gesture of peace and yes, coming out of the mouth of the Indian are the words "Come Over and Help Us." This was the Puritan vision: an American Eden, ripe for the taking and full of pagan natives eagerly awaiting the good news of the gospel. Of course it was not the gospel that most affected the natives, but diseases and the colonizing force of boatloads of newcomers staking out land claims.

One need only contemplate Vice President Dick Cheney's 2004 statement that U.S. forces would be "greeted as liberators" by the Iraqis to see that the "Come Over and Help Us" vision of our founding fathers still undergirds our actions in the world. It's worth noting too that the Indian whom the English came and helped still holds his downward facing arrow on the 2010 Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, although he no longer speaks.

MASealToday

In my re-creation of the engraved 17th century seal, I deleted the outer circle, letting the red smallpox virus take its place, and I enlarged the words to break . . .
[Long item has been trimmed at this point. The full blog entry can be viewed here]

This item is taken from the blog Woodblock Dreams.
'Reply' to Baren about this item.


Subject: Ok I Did It...
Posted by: Ellen Shipley




Carve out the wall, that is. No going back now! But I think it pops now. I'll work on the press next.

Thanx for the feedback, Viza. As you can see, I went the whole hog. ;- > But I think I like it. And there's bound to be some texture in the white anyway, with carving marks.

My husband, whose visage it is, likes it better now. I do think it leaps out more now.

This item is taken from the blog pressing-issues.
'Reply' to Baren about this item.