Baren Digest            Saturday, 16 September 2000    Volume 12 : Number 1146


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From: Gerald Soworka <chockings@dingoblue.net.au>
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 00:29:58 +1100
Subject: [Baren 11314] Re: serious business 

Greg Carter wrote:

> I was teachingto silkscreen collographs(somtimes called silscreen
> mezotintst) and came up with a new way to erase the image right in front of
> the class.

I know it's not relief printing, but I would love to hear more about this
technique greg. What is silkscreen mezzotint? any examples of this you can point
me to?

Thanks
Gerald

- --
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gerald Soworka - On-line Gallery and Portfolio
http://www.crosswinds.net/~geralds/art.html


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From: Salsbury <salsbury@forbin.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 10:45:17 -0700
Subject: [Baren 11316] exchange 6 

WOW!!!

What wonderful images.  I am green with envy for those who are receiving
those wonderful packages.  

It's interesting to hear the reasons for returning to a class.  I can
always use more instruction, but my main reason to take a class is to have
contact with other artist to see what they are working on, and what they
are dealing with both in their art and their lives.   

Sue

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@home.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 09:16:10 -0700
Subject: [Baren 11317] Re: Graham's watercolor book 

>Hi all, I know this veers off the subject of printmaking, but I just 
>have to tell you all that I just managed to get a hold of fellow 
>Barener Graham Scholes' book "Watercolor and How!" (out of print, 
>but you can get it if you look on abebooks.com or bibliofind.com). 
>It's a treasure trove of information about painting in water color, 
>thanks a lot Graham!  Recently I've been doing some paintings using 
>sumi ink and/or watercolor, and this gives me a lot of new tools to 
>work with and experiments to try-
>very inspiring-
>best wishes
>Sarah

Thanks Sarah.

My it is hard to be humble and yet express the happenings re the book.
It was quite an achievement to get published by Watson Guptill, NY. 
There was only one other Canadian published by them..... Zoltan Szabo.
The Book was 10 years in the collecting of material and ideas and 2 
years of write and rewrite to get it just so.  It was a best seller 
for a short time and had a life span of 11 years.  I mentioned my no 
secrets approach in a recent post. Well this is an example of 
detailing techniques that explained all in clear straight forward 
language.

Yesterday I talked about schooling....
Take from the best.... Zoltan Szabo was my teacher/mentor.

It is interesting that there are still residuals from the book  I got 
three requests for the Easel I designed 15 years ago.  I put on my 
carpenters hat and spent this last week making a few. It was a 
pleasant change

Now it time to CREATE Cut and Print
(I notice Dave still uses only the last two words on his site).

Graham

Editing is a rewording activity

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@home.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 09:25:49 -0700
Subject: [Baren 11318] Re: exchange 6 

>It's interesting to hear the reasons for returning to a class.  I can
>always use more instruction, but my main reason to take a class is to have
>contact with other artist to see what they are working on, and what they
>are dealing with both in their art and their lives.
>
Sue,

That is in part why one should attend schooling.
The teaching assignments I have done for 20 odd years does exactly that.

Graham

If you want to learn it .... teach it.

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From: barbara patera <b.patera@worldnet.att.net>
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 100 09:49:10 Pacific Daylight Time
Subject: [Baren 11319] Re: serious schooling 

Graham,

You sound to be an excellent teacher, and I know  that there are many of you (good teachers) out in the art 
world, but it is surprising how often students end up with a "Guru".Having worked in various art stores over 
the years I found it was the rule rather than the exception that students  were not only taking classes, they were 
to become one with the master.... These classes were very rigid situations.

The students would have a supply list where no variations were allowed. A number 3 Winsor fan brush had to 
be just that.... colors, paper, canvas ,even brands all had to be exact .When I saw their finished work (worked 
as a framer too) it was a clone of  the teachers.

For the most part the only students  I saw who were encouraged to experiment were those who were taking 
University/College classes. Don't know if this is still true... Really hope not.... but for myself have stopped 
taking  workshops/classes as the last ones were unpleasant .... I'm too old to be told that there is only one way 
to do things ... that my brushes and charcoal are the wrong size.

On another note.... we all carry our own "baggage". I have not done a decent watercolor since I found out 
"THE RULES". It is silly in the extreme but it seems that I have imposed my own restrictions.... another reason 
to not take classes.... if I learn many more rules I may not be able to create anything of my own.


Barbara P.

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From: "Maria Arango" <maria@mariarango.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 12:04:37 -0700
Subject: [Baren 11320] creativity charset="iso-8859-1" 

Some times being with your peers can be good and some times it cannot.
Everyone is different and there are many artists who do much better on their
own. Creativity is sparked by different things in different people, at
different times, by different catalysts, and so on and so on.

For those interested in creativity, nothing like good ol' psychological
treatises to spark up some interesting and provoking thoughts. One of my
favorite books on the subject, and the one that summarizes everything else I
have read on the subject is "Creating Minds" by H. Gardner (1993: Basic
Books - Harper-Collins), and studies creativity through the life and mind of
creative geniuses like Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, and Ghandhi.
One of the things that those folks had in common was the extreme isolation
in which they produced their very best works. Another was the complete
absence of a single "guru" figure in their lives, more often they sought
what the masters sought, rather than seeking masters themselves. The list
goes on, including a frustration with traditional learning methods and
structures, an eternal "childish" attitude toward learning and life in
general, the ability and habit of creating new problems rather than simply
answering the current questions, there are many other fascinating common
threads among these and other creative geniuses mentioned in the book.
Common as well was a complete apparent absence of the need for extrinsic
feedback, let alone reward. All exercised daily, most in the form of a
healthy morning walk.

Yet even they had vast differences in how they came up with their brilliant
creations. Their life-styles and situations were as diverse as any two
[Baren] members. Some stuck to a strict daily routine, some would go off for
hours or days into that ethereal space in our minds that my husband refers
to as "carvie-carvie land," forgetting and forgoing meals and hygene. Many
were caught in the horrors of the world wars, reacting again in vastly
different manners, from a horrible suicide by self-starvation to a dizzying
spurt of unmatched creativity that changed everyone's world forever
(Einstein).

Ju-nin To-iro...
Y salud para todos!
Maria

<><><><><><><><><><><><>
Maria Arango, Printmaker
Las Vegas  Nevada  USA
http://www.1000woodcuts.com
maria@mariarango.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><>


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From: Daniel Dew <ddew@tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 16:08:09 -0400
Subject: [Baren 11321] Exchange #6 

O.K., I'm going out on a limb here, but I just spent some quality time with
the exchange prints and offered some feedback.  Nothing negative, just can't
bring myself as such a "newbie" to say anything "bad".
Mamma always said, "If you can't say something nice.....".
I will say that these exchanges are continually getting better and better.
I'm actually suprised some collector is hounding us to purchase these
groups.
I'm not selling, I spend too much time studying them for techniques and
ideas to ever let mine go.  Who knows, someday we all may be famous for
this.
Thank you Dave for allowing me to be a part of such an awesome group of
artists.  You are the one that deserves an award or something for giving us
this international opportunity.

dan dew


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From: "eli griggs" <eli.griggs@worldnet.att.net>
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 18:05:06 -0000
Subject: [Baren 11322] exchange #6 charset="iso-8859-1" 

Hi there:

    I received my packet of prints this afternoon and can not express
strongly enough my pride and gratitude at being allowed to take part in this
groups' activities.

    Thank you David Bull et al.

Eli Griggs
Charlotte N.C.
USA







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From: "Maria Arango" <maria@mariarango.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 17:58:29 -0700
Subject: [Baren 11323] knife handle length charset="iso-8859-1" 

Could someone discuss the issue of knife handle length? Advantages and
disadvantages of longer, shorter...should the knife handle always fit
against the palm of the hand?
I have learned to use the knives in most unusual ways and wondered if there
is an issue of control that I'm missing out on.
I have a set of Flexcut knives that are palm sized and very comfortable to
use, the handles are "fat" (1"+ in width) and fit perfectly against my palm.
All my Japanese knives are about 6" long but since their handles are thinner
(3/8" to 1/2"), I'm not sure if there will be an advantage to cutting them
down. Another feature I like about the longer handles in the very tiny
chisels and knives (1mm to 3mm) is that I can employ them much like a pencil
for those ever so delicate cuts and other "creative" marks, much
a-la-Jim-Mundie.
Let it rip, gang, I'm all ears...
Maria

<><><><><><><><><><><><>
Maria Arango, Printmaker
Las Vegas  Nevada  USA
http://www.1000woodcuts.com
maria@mariarango.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><>


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From: "eli griggs" <eli.griggs@worldnet.att.net>
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 22:12:57 -0000
Subject: [Baren 11324] Re: knife handle length charset="iso-8859-1" 

Hi there:

    Maria, something you might try if you like holding your blade like a
pencil is to use a naked blade, like the ones offered unhandled by The Japan
Woodworker, wrapped in surgical tape.

    Use the type of tape that adheres only to itself, and wrap that section
of the blade which you want to grip, making the taped section as thin or
thick as you like.

    The tape will hold the blade without gumming up the metal and offer you
a firm surface onto which to hold.

    Woodworking shops that cater to carvers carry this type of tape as well
as mail-order houses like Lee Valley.  You can get it from drugstores, but
it is much more expensive and tends to be sold in wide sizes.  A width of
3/4 inch is best.

    You can also make reusable thumb and finger protectors by wrapping a
suitable amount of tape 'bout the digit you want to protect.  This stuff is
great as long as you don't cut of the blood flow and remember that while it
can guard against slicing cuts, it offer little protection against stabbing
jabs.

Eli Griggs
Charlotte N.C.
USA


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From: Vollmer/Yamaguchi <jy6@columbia.edu>
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 22:27:35 -0400
Subject: [Baren 11325] A Fan of Hiroshige 

Danielle, sorry to see you go! Remember the digests just come once a
day...but there is an unsubscribe on the Subscribe page. In any case, good
luck with your printing, let us know how you are doing.

And Dave, yes, I was checking the Japan Airlines site because it's about
time I went to Japan! I hope to visit the Nagasawa Art Park for a two week
period October 2001, but will want to visit other places as well.  I am
interested information about other opportunitites for printmaking,
papermaking or just studio work space in Japan next year. Roxanne, maybe we
can meet there! Let's keep in touch.

Dave I was fascinated with your description of cutting fine lines for the
Hiroshige fan. NICE print, wonderful composition. I have been spending a
LOT of time teaching people to cut with the bevel side of the knife toward
the raised area. Of course these are larger areas, not fine lines.

Also you mention the 'release cut' I have been cutting a u-gouge groove
about 1/4" from the 'real' hangi-toh line, which would be the equivalent of
a release cut. Is it common practice to make a second toh cut to make a V?
Should this second cut be against the 'real' line or the 'release' line?

Not that I'm planning to try any hairlines soon, I just want to be clear
how the experts do it. My printmaking will always be the (relatively) crude
American version, I'm not trying those hairlines myself!

And Carol, pigment dispersions are pigment ground in water, nothing else.
They need to be mixed with a small amount of binder to make a simple
watercolor. You can't get more intense color than that. Akua color is
already mixed and has more pigment than Createx.

Sincerely,

A Hiroshige Fan


April Vollmer
174 Eldridge St, NYC 10002, 212-677-5691
http://www.aprilvollmer.com



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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 13:00:20 +0900
Subject: [Baren 11327] Re: A Fan of Hiroshige 

April wrote:
> Dave I was fascinated with your description of cutting fine lines for the
> Hiroshige fan.

> Also you mention the 'release cut' I have been cutting a u-gouge groove
> about 1/4" from the 'real' hangi-toh line, which would be the equivalent of
> a release cut. 

In the kind of work I was talking about, making a cut 1/4" away from the
line would have no effect at all. The idea of the 'throw-away' cut is to
allow the wood on one side of the line to be able to move away as it is
cut by the knife (to avoid compressing the remaining wood), but nothing
would move over a distance of 1/4". It's got to be right up close ...


> Is it common practice to make a second toh cut to make a V?

Yes and no. In general cutting,a 'release' cut is not needed. The waste
wood up against the carved lines is removed by the aisuki chisels in the
final stage of carving the block. But in areas that are visually
confusing, and where you need to be able to see the lines more clearly,
a 'V' can be cut out.  

The second and third pictures on the page at:
http://woodblock.com/surimono/process/process_2.html

... show this.  Some cuts are not 'released', some are ...


> I have been spending a LOT of time teaching people to cut with the 
> bevel side of the knife toward the raised area.

Well, I'm not going to yell at you  :-)  nor nag about this, but in the
traditional technique, where we have a lot of thin cutting, having the
flat side against the line whevever possible, is important. It's far
more accurate, and as I have mentioned, it helps avoid compressing the
wood on the 'good side' of the cutting line.

In the fifth picture on that same page I just mentioned you can actually
_see_ the waste wood being squeezed upwards on the outside of the
cutting action. We can't allow that to happen on the _inside_.

In the kind of printmaking you are doing - large scale work on plywood -
I doubt that there would be any measureable difference at all, and I doubt
that you need to lose any sleep over this!


> Sincerely,
> A Hiroshige Fan

Groan ... I didn't think you were a punner, April ...

Dave


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From: Brian Lockyear <brianl@synopsys.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 22:01:37 -0700
Subject: [Baren 11328] Speaking of books... 

"Creating Minds" sounds like a very interesting book.  I'm going to have to
check that out.

There are a couple of others that I came across recently that are interesting
and not widely available.  

The first is a new reprinting of Arthur Wesley Dow's "Composition" from the
early 1900s.  This may be of interest to the group because of his involvement
with the Japonisme movement and the woodblock printmaking he did.  I love the
print of his under the "Turn of the Century" link on the baren home page.
This book is available at http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/6946.html It is a
very high quality printing on acid free paper.  Unfortunately it is paper
bound and the first half is taken up by a pretty terrible modern
"Introduction".

Two other books that I thought looked interesting, also from the UC Press
Berkely, are "Color and Meaning: Art, Science and Symbology" and "Color and
Culture".  Both are by a Mr John Gage who is apparently at Cambridge.  I
have ordered these.  I am but a slave to my book addiction!  :-)

    - Brian -

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 15:15:02 +0900
Subject: [Baren 11330] Re: Speaking of books... 

Brian Lockyear wrote:
> The first is a new reprinting of Arthur Wesley Dow's "Composition" from the
> early 1900s.  This may be of interest to the group because of his involvement
> with the Japonisme movement and the woodblock printmaking he did.

This book was published in the US in 1899, which means it is now in the
public domain. If anybody has a copy (and a scanner), let's get it into
computer-readable form, and put it into our Library in the
Encyclopedia.  Any takers?

Dave


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From: "Jeanne Norman Chase" <studiojnc@prodigy.net>
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 08:53:46 -0400
Subject: [Baren 11331] Exchange 6 and Gordon charset="iso-8859-1" 

Golly, the Exchanges just keep getting better and better. Thank you Dave for
starting this wonderful creative avalanche!!!

Speaking of avalanches. Gotta go.
 Have to unplug my computer (last storm fried my modem).
Then take everything in that could fly around. Tape up my windows. Take
everything up from the floor in my workroom ( that is where I do my
woodblock printing), as it is low and water alway comes in.
 Then pray.

My husband is at our boat, battening up the hatches, putting away sail gear,
then we meet at home and start all over again with the hurricane shutters.
Seems that Gordon is coming our way and will be with us this evening.

I will get on board when the storm is over.

Jeanne N.

PS, Dan, unplug your computer


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End of Baren Digest V12 #1146
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