[Baren] Exchanges are a delicate balancing act between the fun and creative spirit of exchanging our work and the restrictions that a structure and schedule impose on 30 participants and a coordinator.

Therefore we ask that you thoroughly read and be sure you understand the information and requirements given on the exchange sign-up page and and in these rules before you sign up to participate in an exchange. You should only sign-up if you are ready, willing, and able to conform to the requirements of the exchange including paper size, theme, media, and delivery constraints.

Deadlines:

You must plan ahead and mail your work early enough to ensure that your prints are delivered to the coordinator ON or BEFORE the delivery deadline. If you live in a different country than the coordinator then you should determine the time required for delivery. Neither [Baren] nor the exchange coordinator has any obligation to include your work if it is not delivered by the deadline.

The coordinator is strongly encouraged to complete and return your collated exchange prints within 30 days after the delivery deadline, so there really is no time to allow extensions or grace periods. The coordinator may, at their discretion, adhere strictly to the delivery deadline and reject any print sets received after the deadline.

If your work is received after the deadline, then it will be returned to you if you enclosed sufficient postage. As stated in the exchange information pages for each exchange, you may also be subject to a penalty preventing your future participation in [Baren] Exchanges.

Penalties:

At the discretion of the coordinator and/or exchange manager, participants who miss the delivery deadline will have their name excluded from the next exchange. Second time offenders will have their name automatically go to the end of the list of the next three exchanges (including waiting lists). Third time offenders will not be able to participate in any future exchange.

Return Postage and Return Address:

You must enclose a self-addressed mailing label and sufficient return postage. If you are not sure how much postage to enclose, please send too much instead of too little. If you don't enclose enough postage then your prints will not be mailed to you until you do. Coordinators are volunteers, and cannot be expected to pay your expenses.

Medium:

The Baren Exchange is a program for forum members to create, exchange and display editions of woodblock prints. Evolution of our forum through the years has resulted in the following "acceptable" prints:

Woodblock print (hand rubbed or pulled on a press, B&W or colour, any pigments, any paper). Note: The Baren Exchange is a program for forum members to create, exchange and display editions of woodblock prints. Relief prints pulled from wood substitutes and wood-like materials, including linoleum, corian, MDF, resingrave, and similar are acceptable as are collagraphs.

Coordinators are obligated to reject prints whose primary method of production is by other means. For example: monotype, intaglio, stencil, lithography, ink jet, laser, photocopy, etc are to be rejected by the coordinator.

Paper dimensions:

Each exchange has a specific paper size requirement; the exchanges are not random collections, but organized folios of prints. The prints must be the same size, both to allow proper packaging and storage, and for efficient exhibiting. Participants should read the instructions carefully and follow them exactly.

If prints vary from the published size requirement they will be returned to the sender using the enclosed return postage. If no postage was included, the prints will be held until it is received.

Drop outs:

Dropouts will be allowed only until one month before the exchange time deadline. This will give people on the waiting list time to complete and submit their prints. If withdrawal becomes necessary, it should be done at the earliest date possible. (People on the waiting list who wish to have their names removed, should also do this as early as possible).

Participants who drop out after the withdrawal deadline has passed will have their name excluded from the next exchange. Second time offenders will have their name automatically go to the end of the list of the next three exchanges (including waiting lists). Third time offenders will not be able to participate in any future exchange.

Participants who

1. drop out at (or after) the final deadline, or
2. drop out a second time after being reinstated, or
3. drop out without notifying the coordinator,

will have their name automatically eliminated from all future exchanges.

Communication:

Participants must be active [Baren] members and must have participated in discussions prior to signing up for an exchange. It is essential that the coordinator be in communication with the exchange participants. The participant must respond to e-mails sent by the coordinator and should notify the coordinator of any change in e-mail address.

Participants who become 'lost' and who do not respond to communications from the coordinator run the risk of being dropped from the exchange without further notice.

Return to the exchange sign-up page ...