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Message 1
From: Myron Turner
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 14:06:54 -0600
Subject: [Baren 30280] Re: breaking knives
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I know that there's a great mystique about tools. And I agree good
gouges are important. But when it comes to the staright knife, it's
worth trying the no. 25 X-Acto blade, which fits into the large red
handle. It can be repeatedly honed and retains a sharp edge. And if it
breaks, then you can replace it and little is lost.

While for the past four or five years, I've rarely used the straight
knife, for some years I used it almost exclusively. See, for instance:
http://www.room535.org/woodblocks/images/large/StoutWoman3Lg.jpg

Myron

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Message 2
From: "hanna_platt # excite.com"
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 17:36:43 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [Baren 30281] X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it with any abuse report
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Annie,
I don't use the computer mostly because I'm no good at it and can do things faster by hand.
I usually make a sketch and then trace it on the block as a line drawing. Sometimes I draw on the block with charcoal and white conte crayon to further develope the image before or during the carving process. Lately I have been carving the "keyblock" then printing it in a very light grey. I use this as a guild to glue areas of colored paper, paint or what ever then print the block in black over the top. When I feel like I need to loosen up I print some monotypes without sketches just from life or out of my imagination.
Viza

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Message 3
From: baren_member # barenforum.org
Date: 12 Mar 2006 00:16:46 -0000
Subject: [Baren 30282] Process

Message posted from: Dale Phelps

I like Maria's process of drawing directly on the block and almost always use it. I will do a preliminary sketch to work out ideas. I did a large reduction print of a portrait of Einstein and for that did use the computer to find an image and projected it onto a piece of plywood. I then drew it in from the projection. I am now doing another large print of Confucius and drew apon internet images to get an idea. For that one I drew freehand in pencil and then outlined in ink.
Dale Phelps
Waterloo, IA

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Message 4
From: Robin Morris
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 16:18:49 -0800
Subject: [Baren 30283] Re: How Do You Do It?
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Hello, Shireen,
I just visited your website and am inspired and instructed by your
work- the obvious love of the book, the very prominent use of prints
and of the real world of your life;
your late father, your daughters...and the nice work in your prints
themselves.
I also very much appreciate the links on book arts as Carol Wagner
and I have begun a handmade book project here and I am trying to find
more and more ideas
its success and completion into each day. Your site is a real asset
to the baren group. Thanks!
Robin Morris

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Message 5
From: FurryPressII # aol.com
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 20:23:46 EST
Subject: [Baren 30284] Re: Kensol hot stamp machine
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Look up how they print with a Washington press.. Uneven pressure is dealt
with by using more make ready in the weaker areas.

There are people who love their hand presses and i guess there would be
plenty of info on the web on how to use them.

john c.

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Message 6
From: Charles Morgan
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 17:51:22 -0800
Subject: [Baren 30285] Re: Quality Content
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> > My 2 cents on the direction of Baren Forum and
> > blogs. I think it is counter-productive to complain
> > about other people's contributions. If the list is
> > not to your liking do something to move it ahead.
> > Raise topics for discussion, pose a question, remark
> > on some inspirational art. Those people who go to
> > the effort of running a blog should not be pilloried
> > for doing so. I receive my most instructive lessons
> > by looking at prints online. I am happy to be
> > notified of blog updates and receive useful links.

Hmm ... one could hardly claim that Maria's recent complaint was
counter-productive. It certainly touched off more discussion on a wide
range of topics than we have seen here lately.

And no one was pillorying those with blogs ... I certainly did not intend
to do so, and I did not read Maria in that way. And I fully agree that we
all benefit from looking at images on line ... not only prints, but step by
step images of various processes, images of tools, etc. And Dave is
certainly right that blogs are here to stay and somehow need to be
incorporated into the general framework. And the Baren blog feed is a great
idea.

But the "complaints" served to remind everyone that this is a community. If
you want to communicate with others in the community, you must do a bit
more than just post your comments to your own blog and think that is
sufficient. Sharing ideas and information requires more effort than simply
posting stuff on your own blog and expecting everyone to come to you.

Cheers ..... Charles

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Message 7
From: Annie Bissett
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 22:03:44 -0500
Subject: [Baren 30286] Re: "How Do You Do It" and Blogs
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Thank you everyone who has replied to my little poll questions so far. Your
insights are really helpful. Marissa's idea of testing a design on a small
piece of wood first, Myron's exercise in the "anti-self" (pretending to be a
German Expressionist), the idea of drawing on the wood with a brush, Maria's
break-the-rules attitude, Carol's suggestion of playing around on a light
box, Marilynn's comments about just sensing the wood, and the one thing that
everyone keeps repeating: don't be afraid! These are all great suggestions
and I can't wait to work with them. And how fascinating it is to hear so
many different ways of approaching a "simple" relief print!

Dave, what do you mean when you say that this topic "cuts right to the core
of what woodblock printmaking is all about"? Do you mean that that's the
challenge: to keep the initial inspiration and energy throughout the long
process? You said you could write a book about it and you probably don't
want to write a book just now, but could you say a little more?

I've had a couple of thoughts too about blogs and Baren Forum. One is that,
since the forum belongs to the members, we could take a poll or a pulse or a
vote (however it's done) and if it seems that most members don't like the
"blog alert" feature we could get rid of it. That would be easy. It might
also encourage more members to use the Baren Blog. By the way, Julio, thanks
for the statistics you posted the other day. Really interesting history.

Another thought I had is in response to the sentiment that the blogs take
something away from the Forum. I can't discern if that's true or not, but
what if those of us who blog were to "double-post" - that is, to remember to
bring topics that seem particularly juicy for discussion over here to the
Forum rather than just keep them on the blogs? That also would be easy.
Would it be helpful? Let's talk this out a bit. As others have said, the
Forum is whatever we make it. I'd like to see us find some agreement about
what we want to do with this new wrinkle in the internet.

Best to all,

Annie

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Message 8
From: edmund # michaelfraley.com
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 22:25:08 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [Baren 30287] Re: How Do You Do It?
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I've been reading the "How Do You Do It?" responses with much interest,
since I am so new to the art of printmaking. I didn't really know if I had
much at all to contribute to this discussion. However, in thinking through
my own processes and *why* I do what I do, I think I might have a somewhat
unique perspective, even if the technique is thoroughly commonplace.

My background is steeped in comic art, and as most of you know, comic
books have traditionally been done in an assembly line sort of system. One
person might write the story, another person might make the pencil
drawings, while another person finishes the drawing in ink. And before
Adobe Illustrator came along, the letterer/calligrapher was an amazing
part of the process as well. Still is, thank God, in some places.

In the Japanese tradition of printmaking, of course, we have an analogous
sort of situation going on, with the division of labor being designer,
woodcut artist, and printer.

In the British/American tradition of wood engraving, there was also a
similar division of labor, with a Rossetti or a Sandys creating the
drawing on the block while someone at Dalziel engraved it for the
commercial press.

When there is that sort of a division of labor, then it's vital that
whoever is making the initial drawing (on cherry, on boxwood, on 2-ply
Strathmore bristol) is creating something that is in most ways a finished
piece. You don't want the person cutting, engraving or inking your work to
have to guess what's going on. What's being carried out should be
interpretation in a different medium, not guesswork.

All that being said, I have always worked by myself, but I have considered
my different skills as steps in my own one-man "assembly line." As a
result, the designer in me may allow some leeway, but "he" knows that in
order to get the best result out of "carver" or "inker," he needs to put
in all of the pertinent data. Yes, there is room for experimentation or
outright failure, but the pertinent data should be there to work with.

So that's where I am right now. Perhaps one day I'll be free from my own
factory system and toss it all to the wind, doing something as the spirit
moves me. But, for right now, "designer" knows that "carver" and "inker"
aren't quite up to snuff, and so "he" keeps a close eye on them. On the
other hand, "inker" thinks that "designer" is full of rubbish, and is
trying to get "carver" on his side ... :)

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Message 9
From: edmund # michaelfraley.com
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 22:28:02 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [Baren 30288] Re: "How Do You Do It" and Blogs
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I personally would not want to do without the "blog alert" system, because
it tells me in a very simple way that Annie, David and others have done
something recently that I would dearly love to see.

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Message 10
From: Dave Bull
Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2006 13:14:56 +0900
Subject: [Baren 30289] Re: "How Do You Do It" and Blogs
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> Dave, what do you mean when you say that this topic "cuts right to the
> core
> of what woodblock printmaking is all about"? Do you mean that that's
> the
> challenge: to keep the initial inspiration and energy throughout the
> long
> process? You said you could write a book about it and you probably
> don't
> want to write a book just now, but could you say a little more?

The main thing I was thinking about when I said that, was the idea that
- for me - the image itself is only a _part_ of what a woodblock print
is about. Your post showed us two pictures side-by-side, the
'illustration' and the 'print'. They looked very similar, especially in
that small format.

But a woodblock print is (should be!) so much more than the image. If
your main purpose in this was to let us see your conception of bees and
a honeycomb, then stick with the computer, where you can get the
concept 'down' in a few minutes or less. Nothing wrong with that at
all. That's the 'art', the 'illustration' ...

But I would much rather see you spend the 14 hours (or whatever it
takes) to make a woodblock print of your conception, because when I
then hold it in my hand, I will be able to see/feel all those other
things that go towards making up the thing that a woodblock print is.
(I'm talking in circles here, but I think you get the idea ...) The
washi ... the delicacy of the printed impression ... the crisply carved
lines ... etc. etc.

In the old days, before mechanical printing, people used woodblock
mostly for practical reasons - it was the only system they had to get
their visual conception communicated. These days, that motivation has
been totally obliterated by a flood of other image technologies.

The only possible reason left for using the woodblock medium today, is
to make use of the inherent beauties of that medium. Without that, it
really does seem like an empty exercise to spend all those hours ...

Image? Who cares! I give away my images ...
http://woodblock.com/surimono/download.html
... but that doesn't stop people from ordering the prints! :-)

***
Michael wrote:
> I have considered
> my different skills as steps in my own one-man "assembly line." As a
> result, the designer in me may allow some leeway, but "he" knows that in
> order to get the best result out of "carver" or "inker," he needs to put
> in all of the pertinent data. Yes, there is room for experimentation or
> outright failure, but the pertinent data should be there to work with.

Exactly! But you know, us 'control' types are very much in a minority here on
[Baren] ...

I'm thinking I'm a minority of one actually ... if I can 'see the wood' in
the finished print, it means I failed again! :-)

Dave

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Message 11
From: "Maria Arango"
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 21:06:10 -0800
Subject: [Baren 30290] Re: "How Do You Do It"
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Dave said: > Image? Who cares! I give away my images ...
> http://woodblock.com/surimono/download.html
> ... but that doesn't stop people from ordering the prints! :-)

Ahhh, but to the artist/creator...image is EVERYTHING! If I can't offer my
collectors a unique image that truly says "Maria's brain did this" I have no
business in the fine arts IMHO.

And Dave said:> I'm thinking I'm a minority of one actually ... if I can
'see
> the wood'
> in the finished print, it means I failed again! :-)

But I've seen what you can do with woodgrain and the result is absolutely a
delicacy for the eyes.

And Dave also said:> But a woodblock print is (should be!) so much more than
the image.

I agree wholeheartedly because the process of the woodblock/woodcut becomes
an integral part of the images. My ink drawings on a block look like ink
drawings, the careless carving and later printing change a drawing into a
woodcut print.

In my art, the clumsy hacking I call carving and the not-so-delicate
stamping I call printing (should it be "stomping" then?) is SO a part of my
woodcuts that they practically scream MARIA! That's the artist's
prespective, anyway.

I think what the computer does, to a point, is take away that "clumsiness"
that makes each artist different. It also gives the artist an unrealistic
starting point for a finished drawing/painting/print, etc. The vectors are
perfect, the curves even, the width of line clean and uniform
throughout...once we get our paws on a pencil, yeeeeeesh...disaster, in
comparison with the pixelated perfect model, that is. Add to that the
imperfection of our color perception and inadequate attempts to color match
the clean pure pixels on a monitor and we have a recipe for disappointment
from the start.

One of the--no, make that THE main thing that attracted me about printmaking
in general was the controlling aspects of the process itself. That is, I
found that I didn't so much want to control the process as I was totally
taken by the way the process took over control over the image. A woodcut
looks like a woodcut no matter who produces it. An etching looks like an
etching, a stone lithograph like a stone lithograph...etc. The medium is the
beauty and the process shows in every final work. To attempt to make the
woodcut look like something else (a computer drawing) is denying the process
its say.

Or something like that...

Maria


Maria Arango
www.1000woodcuts.com

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Message 12
From: Robin Morris
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 22:09:12 -0800
Subject: [Baren 30291] Re: "How Do You Do It"/u go girl!
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I was trying to figure out where to cut the below but it bore reading
several times.
Thanks Maria for this so succinct view of why do one medium vs another.
As photography learned not to try to replace painting ,
a computer can mostly only dilute the woodblock-ness of a print, when
it goes beyond being a handmaiden to it.
Multimedia itself only works when we can discern the different media
that are combined...

Maria does so much.
There is what feels to me like the sand mixed with the paper in
Maria's work...the place that inspires it and
the intellect that translates the sand and rock of the desert to the
paper.
She writes rather well too.
Robin

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Message 13
From: richard stockham
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 22:25:21 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 30292] Re: "How Do You Do It" and Blogs
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Let me unlurk to add my 2 cents to what Dave said

> because when I
> then hold it in my hand, I will be able to see/feel
> all those other
> things that go towards making up the thing that a
> woodblock print is.

The last weekend in February I went to a show in
Tuscumbia, Alabama where 21 prints of Hiroshige's
Tokaido Road series were on exhibit. I found myself in
an awkward siuation. A friend, who knew my woodblock
print interests, had invited us for sunday dinner and
used the show as an extra inducement.

I found myself explaining to my friend how the
prints were made, and how, viewing them at an angle
and in a less than direct fashion you can see some
wonderful effects of the relief printing process.
While I was talking, the museum director approached.
She and my friend were friends, and so he introduced
us. The director asked me to continue, as she had been
listening to me before she approached.

Before I was through, several docents and others
had joined and I found myself fielding many
enthusiastic questions. How could all the blocks line
up so precisely? I talked about registration, hanshita
and kento. How do they get the multiple tones of blues
and greens? I talked about gray blocks. How are the
gradations done? I talked about bokashis. How are the
ridges of texture in the whites spaces done? I talked
about karazuri and meat printing. I talked about
designers, carvers, printers, publishers and censors,
and how each had, quite literally, left his mark on
the print.

People, who had been around these prints for a
while suddenly just started looking at these prints in
a new way. They got excited. The group, which had
grown to about twenty, fanned out to the prints on the
gallery walls, and, finding a new, or different
printing effect, called and ask me how it was done.

The point is this: small town Alabamians got
excited about the print aspect and not just the image.
It grew in dimensions right before their eyes. And
they, and I, have you-- all of you -- to thank for it.
So thanks for all the posts, and all the discussions
and all the blogs and all the websites and all the
links. Keep at it. Please. Y'all are doing a great
job, from where I sit.

One final note: the raised bumps on paper may have has
some heightened significance for the people of
Tuscumbia, Alabama. The museum is right across the
street from Ivy Green, the home of Helen Keller.

Richard Stockham
Birmingham, Alabama

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