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Message 1
From: "MPereira"
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 12:32:01 -0300
Subject: [Baren 24255] to Barbara Patera.
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Bárbara,
did my prints arrived?
I remember that I forgot - hahahaha! -
to send you the back postage.
Please tell me how much that
I will send it to you.
Once more sorry.
Murilo

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Message 2
From: James G Mundie
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 10:20:03 -0500
Subject: [Baren 24256] Re: oily question
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John Furr wrote:

> How much cobalt drier do you add to your oil based ink?... say how
> many millilitres of drier per tablespoon of ink? How much is too much
> and will degrade
> the ink....

I use exactly none. I've found that in 99.9% of cases that cobalt drier
is absolutely unnecessary. It can be handy if you are doing a print with
multiple overprints, where the under layer must be dry before printing
the next color on top - but use it sparingly. A little cobalt drier goes
a long way (too far, in fact), and if you're not careful it will start
the ink setting up while it's still on the slab. To my way of thinking,
it's better to plan ahead, take your time and let the ink do its thing
naturally; but if you absolutely must use a drier, use no more than a
drop or two.

Another thing I've noticed is that driers often impart other effects to
the ink layer being printed: a tendency towards glossiness and
brittleness. This may cause subsequent layers to react to this layer in
unexpected ways. Oh, and driers make your prints smelly, too! Also
remember that cobalt is a rather toxic heavy metal, so be cautious with
it.

As you may have gathered, I'm not a fan of driers. :-D

Jim

________________________________________
James Mundie
Philadelphia PA, U.S.A.
Prodigies: Anomalous Humans by James G. Mundie
http://www.missioncreep.com/mundie/images/

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Message 3
From: Darrell Madis
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 08:09:44 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 24257] Re: Oily question...
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Driers are probably not necessary. Another way is to add a bid of a quick drying ink like raw umber which speeds up the drying of other pigments. The older oil based ink gets the faster the drying times seems to be.

Darrell

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Message 4
From: "Maria Arango"
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 08:28:16 -0800
Subject: [Baren 24258] Re: oily question
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I concur!
Except...
If you absolutely positively want your prints to dry overnight or even
faster. Sometimes I sell a print online that I don't have "in stock" and
have to make a quick run to ship the next day.
I also agree with Jim that cobalt is one of the nastiest stuff to have
around the studio; all heavy metals are to be avoided when possible. I
keep my bottle tightly capped inside a glass jar. Somehow at some point
the plastic cap of the cobalt bottle broke making me think the cobalt
eats through plastic?

To add to your ink, just dip a stick (I use a thin palette knife) in the
bottle JUST until it touches the stuff; drip ONE or TWO drops maximum
and mix your ink well. You have about 2 to 3 working hours before the
stuff begins to harden your ink on the slab, your roller, block, ink
knife, so work fast.

I also found that cobalt drier tends to react mysteriously with other
additives such as miracle gel and plate oils, so experiment. Literature
says that if you add too much drier the ink will never dry. Agh. As far
as driers never being necessary...at times I get color inks that have
the words: NO DRIER pasted all over the label and sure dang 'nuff, those
babies took about a month to dry in single digit humidity of the SW
desert.

Maria


Maria Arango
www.1000woodcuts.com
Las Vegas Nevada USA

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Message 5
From: Sharri LaPierre
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 09:29:25 -0800
Subject: [Baren 24259] Re: Oily question...
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John,
I never use cobalt drier, though I have a bottle of it on the shelf. I
know of a time when a batch of ink was sent to a school and the ink,
unbeknownst to the instructor, contained cobalt dryier. The bottom
line is that several large rollers were ruined and had to be sent back
to the manufacturer to be reground. It was a very expensive mistake!
The ink was allowed to dry on the rollers - whoever was in charge of
clean up skipped their duties. If it had been regular ink, no harm
would have been done. I find that my inks, when modified with a little
gel reducer, dry very quickly with no ill effects. Are you sure you
want to use this stuff? LOL

BTW - there was an article in the paper this morning about a new game
the children (and some adults) are playing where they draw a deck of
30 monster cards on kraft paper with marker. The idea is to come up
with the funniest card - the sillier the better. Each player shows a
card and the players vote on the funniest one. That's all I know about
it, but it sounded like a Baren Exchange to me! :-)

Cheers,
Sharri

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Message 6
From: Jsf73 # aol.com
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 12:49:06 EST
Subject: [Baren 24260] Re: Oily question...
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Thanks everyone for your information on cobalt drier. I knew it was a toxic
metal, and acts as a catalyst to accellerate oxidation, but I didnt know people
didnt like it....

I had no choice, since Barb Patera is waiting on these prints and I was
delayed printing them being sick and all. I would have waited the 4 days until dry
if I had the time and space for 33 oban prints... If I leave them out the Cat
will shred them.... as it is I have no space left in my solarium where I
print.

I have another question too, since JC recommended arches 88 to me I have used
it to print an engraving with fine detail. It is awesome, since the other
paper I have used lose the fine lines details.... I have tried BFK Rives,
somerset satin, and stonehenge all lost the detail.

I have finally fairly consistant prints and decent blacks, but I have to
apply the thinnest layer of ink or the details fill in on the block... can you
print arches 88 damp with it being unsized? Will that help the paper take more of
the ink from the block?

Thanks again for the cobalt answers...

John F

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Message 7
From: "Matt Laine"
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 14:36:07 -0500
Subject: [Baren 24261] Re: Oily question...
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Except that we don't vote. Which maybe is for the best.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sharri LaPierre"

>...BTW - there was an article in the paper this morning about a new game
> the children (and some adults) are playing where they draw a deck of
> 30 monster cards on kraft paper with marker. The idea is to come up
> with the funniest card - the sillier the better. Each player shows a
> card and the players vote on the funniest one. That's all I know about
> it, but it sounded like a Baren Exchange to me! :-)
>
> Cheers,
> Sharri

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Message 8
From: "Maria Arango"
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 20:33:26 -0800
Subject: [Baren 24262] PUZZLE!
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A grueling day, just me and Dreamweaver...
The Pesky and Persistent Puzzle Project is finally complete!
Okay, almost...

Here are the updates:
http://www.1000woodcuts.com/puzzle/project.html
There are some HUGE enlargements in the Final Image page.

Also, all the individual blocks are now up for viewing. You can reach
them from the October pictures page by clicking on the block at the
bottom. If you still have not sent details for your block I will assume
you don't want to. The colophon will be finished tomorrow and I will
begin sending the prints back to all the participants.

Still coming up are enlargements of everyone's printed piece, which will
be placed under the block in your page. Just as soon as I get pics of
all of them and can spare another 6-10 hours.

I want to thank everyone for playing and being patient. I especially
want to thank the "subs" who were so quick with the chisel; Barbara
Mason for her help and her will and might; everyone who was early. Most
of all, I want to thank David Bull for launching this wonderful group
and Barenforum as a whole for being the ultimate inspiration and driving
force in my life for sure!

Maria

PS Next Puzzle Project coming soon to a forum near you! (some of us
never learn...)


Maria Arango
www.1000woodcuts.com
Las Vegas Nevada USA

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Message 9
From: Bette Norcross Wappner
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 23:58:05 -0500
Subject: [Baren 24263] Re: PUZZLE!
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Looks like I get to be the first one to say WOWZIE! Maria, Everyone,
this is great! Everyone's design is unique. I even guessed most
peoples design before I peeked at the bottom of the page. So now is the
time to kick myself for not participating. I'm signing up for the next
one. :) Seeing this come together has been exciting and to now see the
final puzzle come together is marvelous - Baren rocks! Thanks Maria for
your passion, your energy, and your talent - and thanks to all members
of Baren.

Most sincerely,
Bette Wappner

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Message 10
From: FurryPressII # aol.com
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:03:57 EST
Subject: [Baren 24264] Re: PUZZLE!
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Puzzle

wow!!!
Enjoyed the project and it was a very nice result. I want to be in "son of
puzzle"

thank you for the project.

john center

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Message 11
From: FurryPressII # aol.com
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:35:22 EST
Subject: [Baren 24265] exchange 19
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todays arivals

gilda zimmerling
amanda yopp

john center

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Message 12
From: Aqua4tis # aol.com
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:38:44 EST
Subject: [Baren 24266] Re: PUZZLE!
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maria@mariarango.com writes:
http://www.1000woodcuts.com/puzzle/project.html
maria

i love the pictures of you and barbara and your studio looks great i
wish mine was that well organized can you explain your drying rack to me i
really like that also how big is your press? cant wait to see the finished
product and ill tell you right now i want to "play" again :-)
georga

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Message 13
From: Barbara Mason
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 22:14:29 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 24267] Re: Oily question...
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Yes, you can print it damp, spray it lightly and pack it in a plastic bag overnight. Do not soak it in water, it is a waterleaf paper and very lightly sized, it cannot take being soaked. It will take more ink damp as any paper will. What kind of ink are you using?

To make room to dry prints, hang them with clothspins from lines or racks, this really works well with dry paper. Not well with damp paper as the prints need to flatten under the weight of the blotters. To have flat prints, change the blotters after 1/2 hour. I actually do it every hour or so when printing, but this is the secret to flat prints. I never have to weight them to dry them doing it this way.
Best to you,
Barbara

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Message 14
From: b.patera # att.net
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 07:09:41 +0000
Subject: [Baren 24268] Re: PUZZLE!
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Maria,

WOW, is right! Thanks for putting this together.

Thanks to Barbara Mason too. I can't imagine trying to print something that size without help.


Brabara P.

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Message 15
From: "Eva Pietzcker"
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 10:20:29 +0100
Subject: [Baren 24269] nikawa? spots?? sizing???
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Dear Bareners, I have some questions.

- In Japan I was told, that printers from Tokyo do not use liquid Nikawa to mix in the ink, but printers from Kyoto do. I sometimes did it, sometimes didn't, and could not see clear differences. Do you use nikawa and what are your experiences? Is there a western substitute? What about gummi arabicum? If using water colour instead of pure pigment, is there no need to use nikawa too?

- When I give ink with my pigment brush to the block, I sometimes can later see in the print (at the spots where I put the ink) darker areas. Apparently the ink went into the grain. How to avoid this? I mostly did this with "loading" the ink directly onto the printing brush, but this way the shade of colour is difficult to control. Had anybody the same problem?

- I just tried last week to size a Japanese paper, which is available here in Gemany, but as I guess, not produced for printing woodblock. I used a recipe with gelatin and alum (from Rebecca Salters book). The result was extremely uneven (brighter points and clouds in the print), allthough I tried to brush the size on very evenly with a good brush. Has anybody made the same experience?

Thank you and greetings!

Eva

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