Today's postings
- [Baren 28934] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V33 #3219 (Oct 8, 2005) ("robert")
- [Baren 28935] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V33 #3219 (Oct 8, 2005) (Mike Lyon)
- [Baren 28936] exchange 26 (FurryPressII # aol.com)
- [Baren 28937] Surimono ("April Vollmer")
- [Baren 28938] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V33 #3217 (Oct 6 (Clive Lewis)
- [Baren 28939] Re: exchange 26 (Jrlarimer # aol.com)
- [Baren 28940] pigments and application (Erin Timothy Needham)
Message 1
From: "robert"
Date: Sat, 08 Oct 2005 14:05:07 +0000
Subject: [Baren 28934] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V33 #3219 (Oct 8, 2005)
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Hello,
I Just purchased some paper recommended by Mr. Lyon and my order fell just short of the 100 mark. Of course I had to have one of those woodcut cards, so I bought one and I can't wait to get it! Thanks.
To Mr. Lyon:
Awsome work! I love your stuff. I am in the market for some Cherry wood to do exhibition #27 (if I got on the list in time) Do most lumber yards stock the plywood style cherry? I have been using inferior materials up until now, and I would like to switch over. If not, where should I look?
Thanks, Robert
http://www.robertviana.com
I Just purchased some paper recommended by Mr. Lyon and my order fell just short of the 100 mark. Of course I had to have one of those woodcut cards, so I bought one and I can't wait to get it! Thanks.
To Mr. Lyon:
Awsome work! I love your stuff. I am in the market for some Cherry wood to do exhibition #27 (if I got on the list in time) Do most lumber yards stock the plywood style cherry? I have been using inferior materials up until now, and I would like to switch over. If not, where should I look?
Thanks, Robert
http://www.robertviana.com
Message 2
From: Mike Lyon
Date: Sat, 08 Oct 2005 10:03:30 -0500
Subject: [Baren 28935] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V33 #3219 (Oct 8, 2005)
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Robert Viana wrote:
>To Mr. Lyon: I am in the market for some Cherry wood to do exhibition #27
>(if I got on the list in time) Do most lumber yards stock the plywood
>style cherry? If not, where should I look? Thanks, Robert
>http://www.robertviana.com
Dear Robert,
You'll have an easier time of it carving cherry planks (usually available
at large lumber yards in big cities) than plywood, I think -- it's
relatively expensive, though, and you should select a plank without knots
or sapwood (looks 'white' next to the darker heartwood) and wide enough for
your image plus kento. Cherry has a tight and closed grain which carves
smoothly, is very strong (thin sections tend to hold together well), and
prints well with little or no grain visible in the print. Other woods,
though, are easier to carve -- basswood, for example, is less expensive and
readily available in wider planks -- extremely easy to carve, but often
prints somewhat mottled-looking flat areas of color.
Perhaps the easiest plywood to carve is shina -- McClains
http://imcclains.com sells an all-shina plywood which is very easy to
carve, holds a thin clear line, and prints better than basswood, with a
somewhat pronounced grain in large flat areas of color. I suggest you
experiment with carving and printing that very popular material first, then
when you experiment with other woods, you'll have a good basis for comparison.
Cherry (and many other hardwood species) plywood is readily available from
most large lumber yards in the US, and I suggest you look for 1/2 inch
"A-1" cabinet grade stock. In the US, two alphanumeric characters
designate the grade of the panel. The first character indicates the quality
of the face of the panel (normally a letter A-D, but in special productions
it could be a number). The second character indicates the quality of the
back of the panel (normally a number 1-4, but in special productions it
could be a letter). The material used for the core also varies -- you
probably want 'veneer core' plywood but MDF core plywood may be available
and it's easier to carve. There is a health hazard with inhaled MDF (and
may woods as well) during machining, but I don't believe this is a
consideration when hand-carving, as there is virtually no fine dust
produced. Here's what the grade designations mean:
A-Grade Face -- the best face grade on plywood normally stocked -- plys are
book-matched and shouldn't contain knots or other imperfections.
B-Grade Face -- generally similar to "A" faces, but contain some sound or
repaired knots and some slight rough cut veneer.
C-Grade Face -- Unlimited pin knots and small burls. A "C" face can also
contain repaired knots and sound knots.
D-Grade Face -- similar to the "C" face, but will allow some rough cut
veneer and a few more repaired and sound knots.
1 Back -- can contain up to 16 sound tight knots not exceeding 3/8" in
diameter, but no repaired knots.
2 Back -- can contain up to 16 sound tight knots not exceeding 3/4" in
diameter and can contain repaired knots, rough cut veneer, and unlimited
mineral streak.
3 Back -- even rougher (and cheaper)
4 Back -- this is generally referred to as a reject back and isn't intended
to ever be seen or used
Lighter than 3/8 inch plywood is undesirable unless you bond it to a
backing material (another piece of plywood, for example) -- and then you
can only carve one side. In most plywoods, the glues which adhere the plys
tend to be VERY hard and brittle, quickly dulling your carving tools, and
allowing small areas to chip off more easily -- sometimes glue application
is uneven in plywood, and sometimes the core has imperfections which can
cause areas of the surface veneer to come free during carving which
is... undesirable :)
In plywood and planks, different species carve differently. Oak and pine,
for example have a softer and harder part of with each growth-ring, so your
tool will tend to skip and jump during carving which can be
frustrating. Both those woods print a very pronounced grain, though, which
can be thrilling in the print compared to cherry which tends to print
evenly all over, without much if any 'grain'... You'll have to experiment
to find woods which you enjoy bpth carving and printing, I think.
Anyway, good luck and hope this is of some help!
-- Mike
PS -- I couldn't help noticing in your recent postings that you managed to
include the ENTIRE digest -- this is pretty undesirable and causes a lot of
extra work for Gayle Wohlken who manages the digests, as she has to edit
out all that stuff... Try to only include the pertinent portion(s) of any
posting to which you reply, OK?
Mike Lyon
Kansas City, Missouri
http://mlyon.com
>To Mr. Lyon: I am in the market for some Cherry wood to do exhibition #27
>(if I got on the list in time) Do most lumber yards stock the plywood
>style cherry? If not, where should I look? Thanks, Robert
>http://www.robertviana.com
Dear Robert,
You'll have an easier time of it carving cherry planks (usually available
at large lumber yards in big cities) than plywood, I think -- it's
relatively expensive, though, and you should select a plank without knots
or sapwood (looks 'white' next to the darker heartwood) and wide enough for
your image plus kento. Cherry has a tight and closed grain which carves
smoothly, is very strong (thin sections tend to hold together well), and
prints well with little or no grain visible in the print. Other woods,
though, are easier to carve -- basswood, for example, is less expensive and
readily available in wider planks -- extremely easy to carve, but often
prints somewhat mottled-looking flat areas of color.
Perhaps the easiest plywood to carve is shina -- McClains
http://imcclains.com sells an all-shina plywood which is very easy to
carve, holds a thin clear line, and prints better than basswood, with a
somewhat pronounced grain in large flat areas of color. I suggest you
experiment with carving and printing that very popular material first, then
when you experiment with other woods, you'll have a good basis for comparison.
Cherry (and many other hardwood species) plywood is readily available from
most large lumber yards in the US, and I suggest you look for 1/2 inch
"A-1" cabinet grade stock. In the US, two alphanumeric characters
designate the grade of the panel. The first character indicates the quality
of the face of the panel (normally a letter A-D, but in special productions
it could be a number). The second character indicates the quality of the
back of the panel (normally a number 1-4, but in special productions it
could be a letter). The material used for the core also varies -- you
probably want 'veneer core' plywood but MDF core plywood may be available
and it's easier to carve. There is a health hazard with inhaled MDF (and
may woods as well) during machining, but I don't believe this is a
consideration when hand-carving, as there is virtually no fine dust
produced. Here's what the grade designations mean:
A-Grade Face -- the best face grade on plywood normally stocked -- plys are
book-matched and shouldn't contain knots or other imperfections.
B-Grade Face -- generally similar to "A" faces, but contain some sound or
repaired knots and some slight rough cut veneer.
C-Grade Face -- Unlimited pin knots and small burls. A "C" face can also
contain repaired knots and sound knots.
D-Grade Face -- similar to the "C" face, but will allow some rough cut
veneer and a few more repaired and sound knots.
1 Back -- can contain up to 16 sound tight knots not exceeding 3/8" in
diameter, but no repaired knots.
2 Back -- can contain up to 16 sound tight knots not exceeding 3/4" in
diameter and can contain repaired knots, rough cut veneer, and unlimited
mineral streak.
3 Back -- even rougher (and cheaper)
4 Back -- this is generally referred to as a reject back and isn't intended
to ever be seen or used
Lighter than 3/8 inch plywood is undesirable unless you bond it to a
backing material (another piece of plywood, for example) -- and then you
can only carve one side. In most plywoods, the glues which adhere the plys
tend to be VERY hard and brittle, quickly dulling your carving tools, and
allowing small areas to chip off more easily -- sometimes glue application
is uneven in plywood, and sometimes the core has imperfections which can
cause areas of the surface veneer to come free during carving which
is... undesirable :)
In plywood and planks, different species carve differently. Oak and pine,
for example have a softer and harder part of with each growth-ring, so your
tool will tend to skip and jump during carving which can be
frustrating. Both those woods print a very pronounced grain, though, which
can be thrilling in the print compared to cherry which tends to print
evenly all over, without much if any 'grain'... You'll have to experiment
to find woods which you enjoy bpth carving and printing, I think.
Anyway, good luck and hope this is of some help!
-- Mike
PS -- I couldn't help noticing in your recent postings that you managed to
include the ENTIRE digest -- this is pretty undesirable and causes a lot of
extra work for Gayle Wohlken who manages the digests, as she has to edit
out all that stuff... Try to only include the pertinent portion(s) of any
posting to which you reply, OK?
Mike Lyon
Kansas City, Missouri
http://mlyon.com
Message 3
From: FurryPressII # aol.com
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 11:13:18 EDT
Subject: [Baren 28936] exchange 26
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Thank you Andrew Gott your prints are in house. Second to arrive.
time for the rest of you to be carving and printing.
john center
time for the rest of you to be carving and printing.
john center
Message 4
From: "April Vollmer"
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 17:01:34 -0400
Subject: [Baren 28937] Surimono
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I liked "Chinese warrior with a mirror that reveals evil spirits." I need a
mirror like that!
Of course I would like to know how "strong woman holds man by sash" too,
very useful. Are there any tickets left for a ride no the celestial pleasure
boat? It looks good to me!
April
mirror like that!
Of course I would like to know how "strong woman holds man by sash" too,
very useful. Are there any tickets left for a ride no the celestial pleasure
boat? It looks good to me!
April
Message 5
From: Clive Lewis
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 22:48:15 -0400
Subject: [Baren 28938] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V33 #3217 (Oct 6
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Or a "MYTHICAL BEASTS" print exchange for all of us 'western' style
printers? It's such a great concept it hurts to be left out.
Clive
>HI Mike and all,
>if there are so many people wanting hanga
>why don't someone do an extra Exchange like
>those "Salon de refus?s"?
printers? It's such a great concept it hurts to be left out.
Clive
>HI Mike and all,
>if there are so many people wanting hanga
>why don't someone do an extra Exchange like
>those "Salon de refus?s"?
Message 6
From: Jrlarimer # aol.com
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 23:20:48 EDT
Subject: [Baren 28939] Re: exchange 26
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John, my blocks are carved and will printed over the next three days! Jim
Larimer
Larimer
Message 7
From: Erin Timothy Needham
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 21:45:43 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 28940] pigments and application
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Hi All,
So now that I’ve signed up for the all hanga exchange, I’m sorting out
the details of the process and have a few questions about pigments and
application.
I think that what I’ve read (or, rather, what I interpret of what I've
read) on the barenforum site is that the pigment and paste are dabbed
onto the block then spread with the brush, as opposed to loading the
brush and “painting” the pigment and paste onto the block. Is this
correct? Are these spread one on top of the other as layers or just
mixed together by the brush? What is the state of the pigment? Is
it just the dry powder or has it necessarily been wetted already?
Finally, text from one of the site’s online library books mentioned
that mineral pigments should be avoided. Is this a real concern? If
so, does this refer to metal pigments like cobalt or earth pigments or
both?
Thanks,
Erin
So now that I’ve signed up for the all hanga exchange, I’m sorting out
the details of the process and have a few questions about pigments and
application.
I think that what I’ve read (or, rather, what I interpret of what I've
read) on the barenforum site is that the pigment and paste are dabbed
onto the block then spread with the brush, as opposed to loading the
brush and “painting” the pigment and paste onto the block. Is this
correct? Are these spread one on top of the other as layers or just
mixed together by the brush? What is the state of the pigment? Is
it just the dry powder or has it necessarily been wetted already?
Finally, text from one of the site’s online library books mentioned
that mineral pigments should be avoided. Is this a real concern? If
so, does this refer to metal pigments like cobalt or earth pigments or
both?
Thanks,
Erin