[Baren] Daily Digest

Today's postings

[Baren 36408] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V44 #4463 (Aug 6, 2008) (Sharri LaPierre)
[Baren 36409] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V44 #4463 (Aug 6, 2008) (Lynn Starun)
[Baren 36410] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V44 #4463 (Aug 6, 2008) (Lynn Starun)
[Baren 36411] Titanium White (Tom Kristensen)
[Baren 36412] Re: Speedball vs other inks (L Cass)
[Baren 36413] Re: Speedball vs other inks (david # harrisonsigala.com)
[Baren 36414] Re: Speedball vs other inks (L Cass)
[Baren 36415] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V44 #4463 (Aug 6, 2008) (Scholes Graham)
[Baren 36416] More on Titanium (Tom Kristensen)
[Baren 36417] Inks (cucamongie # aol.com)
[Baren 36418] Re: wood vs. lino (Shawn + Elizabeth Newton)
[Baren 36419] Re: wood vs. lino (Shawn + Elizabeth Newton)
[Baren 36420] Re: wood vs. lino (Shawn + Elizabeth Newton)
[Baren 36421] Re: Speedball vs other inks (Bill Joel)
[Baren 36422] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification (Blog Manager)

Message 1
From: Sharri LaPierre
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:16:20 -0700
Subject: [Baren 36408] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V44 #4463 (Aug 6, 2008)
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Thanks to all the other ink snobs out there! I would add that I only
use the water based inks for working with children/young people or a
quick demo for a group. And that is often in an outdoor setting,
though sometimes it is in schools & indoor venues. I keep a water
bottle handy and spritz the palette whenever it needs it. For my own
work, when I am printing Western style woodblocks, I am still an oily
kinda gal. The water based inks just don't have the richness that the
oil based ones do. And, my clean-up is with baby oil or veggie oil
and rubbing alcohol.

And now I'm off to pack my bags and head out for a Grandma Fix.

Cheers ~
Sharri

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Message 2
From: Lynn Starun
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 16:30:39 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 36409] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V44 #4463 (Aug 6, 2008)
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Hi Graham,
Somewhere in the corner of my studio I have my attempt at the drywall corner thingie. I loved the idea but got sort of bogged down in the process of filing it. I'd love to know more. Could you put it on you tube? I've lost the original instructions which may be part of why I never finalized the project.
I want to thank you for your information for making a slanted tabletop carving desk. Those directions helped me alter a piece of mysterious tabletop furniture that was already similar to what you described. I love it for carving!

Lynn

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Message 3
From: Lynn Starun
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 16:31:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 36410] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V44 #4463 (Aug 6, 2008)
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Message 4
From: Tom Kristensen
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 09:33:59 +1000
Subject: [Baren 36411] Titanium White
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Wow, a whole lot of talk about inks. I think I agree with everyone
about everything.

I recognise some of the reported problems of Speedball inks as being
a product of titanium white - fast-drying and chalky looking. I have
also noticed that the titanium will react with gum arabic over time
and form globules, while other pigments don't seem to have this
problem. In answer to Graham's question, I think of gum arabic as a
fixative that holds pigment onto the paper when dry. It also
increases the viscosity of the ink helping to suspend the pigment
particles. Alcohol seems more like a dispersant to me, but chemistry
is not my forte. I really appreciate Lee's technical comments.

The properties of titanium white are actually very handy if you
control the amount of the titanium in your inks. When overprinting
with titanium based inks you can soften the texture of the
underlying impression. So, if you do two identical impressions the
two layers will meld together giving an extremely smooth creamy
appearance. This is great for bokashi and pale tones. When you
overprint an impression made with titanium the white underneath will
tend to mute the top ink layer. This can create some interesting
effects that can't be achieved any other way. For instance if you
print a woodgrain texture in titanium and then overprint with a dark
pigment there will be soft tones produced in the grain with a halo
effect. This effect is also very nice when used with an underlying
goma-zuri.

At the end of the day there are no "bad" pigments, but there are
definitely bad additives you could include in an ink formulation,
which is why I mix my own.

Tom

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Message 5
From: L Cass
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:36:32 -0400
Subject: [Baren 36412] Re: Speedball vs other inks
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The Speedball Co should see all this!! I just want to add one more
remark -actually, I've never used Speedball coloured inks - only the
black and the pewter
for printing line work speedily - certainly nothing nasty has
happened to prints that are at least 10 yrs old........ I'm now
addicted to moku hanga (often combined with
western technique for the line work) - Winsor Newton artists' (tube)
watercolours which are strongly pigmented work well for me - used
with Nori (rice paste)
but then I haven't tried the Guerra or Akua colours - since I paint
watercolors from time to time I always have the WN at hand -

OFF TOPIC
one acquires so many materials because they look good and they don't
always end up being used! Is anyone else out there guilty of buying
delicious-looking materials and having them take up
shelf space in their studios? and they're just too nice to get rid of
- one 'might' use them someday?! e.g I have many tubes of various
iridescent acrylic colours
and jars of gold and silver Mica flakes in acrylic as well as
various molding pastes and gels which rarely get used but they're so
attractive! and if one's doing woodcuts and linos
doesn't everyone have all kinds of materials lying around - it would
be interesting to know how many $'s, euros or pounds are
spent impulsively or am I an exception?

Louise C.

www.lcassart.com

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Message 6
From: david # harrisonsigala.com
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 00:42:59 +0100
Subject: [Baren 36413] Re: Speedball vs other inks
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Some folk would have you believe printmaking is all about creating art, but
I reckon they've completely missed out on the real point, which is
unearthing new and wonderful materials to buy, and tinkering with
equipment. Guilty? Nope, it's too much fun :-)

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Message 7
From: L Cass
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:46:13 -0400
Subject: [Baren 36414] Re: Speedball vs other inks
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Once more into the fray............................................

Lee - I'm curious -how did you know that it was Speedball inked
prints you were attempting to 'wash' - often an artist doesn't
mention the ink used..
I'm guessing that you must have been testing how various materials reacted??

BTW , years ago I did Gum Bichromate prints (on high quality WC
paper) adding my favourite Winsor Newton colors and they still look good but
I was always afraid to have them in the light - they're in a
portfolio - a question, Lee, would framing and hanging them on your
average wall in a house affect them?

Louise

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Message 8
From: Scholes Graham
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 17:14:15 -0700
Subject: [Baren 36415] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V44 #4463 (Aug 6, 2008)
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I could put it on YouTube.... Not my first choice...
I would rather send the clip to each person.
I will let you know when I edit the 1 hour video down to just the
serrated bit....

I doubt I could carve the hours I do without my hori dai.

Regards
Graham

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Message 9
From: Tom Kristensen
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 10:30:18 +1000
Subject: [Baren 36416] More on Titanium
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Sorry for two posts in one day, but while busy printing my latest
titanium-rich creation I realised two more points that I could add to
the titatanium compendium. Thickish titanium inks can be easily used
without starch. In fact, you could think of titanium as white nori.
Because the stuff makes ink sticky it will sit on the block without
crawling and forming goma-zuri. By adding water this effect can be
reduced. The texture of the goma zuri can therefore be easily
controlled with the use of added water. This means that one can make
a nicely graded goma zuri by adding water to one side of a block.
Another factor with titanium ink, again relating to its stickiness,
is the way it bites the paper. I think it works best when the paper
is dampish and printed with considerable pressure from the baren. It
will then drive through the paper fiber like any other pigment. If
the paper is too dry it will tend to sit on the surface and I think
this is where most of the problems arise. ink that forms a crust on
the paper is problematic.

Tom

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Message 10
From: cucamongie # aol.com
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:45:35 -0400
Subject: [Baren 36417] Inks
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Hi folks, as long as we're talking about inks, for the oily-type inks, I have used Graphic Chemical and Charbonnel inks, and recently tried Faust inks, which are great and I found that the black Faust ink left less plate tone on solarplates, particularly
when used with some Graphic Chemical Easy-wipe.

Sarah

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Message 11
From: Shawn + Elizabeth Newton
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 18:50:06 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 36418] Re: wood vs. lino
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i get the vinyl from a local place in town. (hot springs, ar... boyhood home of billy bob clinton)

okay, so, if you'd like, i'll mail you a small piece of it so you can see. would i recommend it for school? YES!!!! it is CHEAP! if you can take a sample to several different floor stores and find some, you'll never buy lino again. like i said, it cuts the same and produces great lines, but it's SO cheap.
so, if you want a small piece, maybe 4x6, i'll give you a piece.
drop me a line.
snennewton@yahoo.com

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Message 12
From: Shawn + Elizabeth Newton
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 18:53:33 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 36419] Re: wood vs. lino
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exactly. i only use the vinyl b/c it works well. if i could afford something better, and could afford the nice higher quality tools, or at the very least knew how to sharpen my tools well, then i would get the better stuff just b/c it's more fun to work on. i hate preparing vinyl. it's easy to cut to size, but then i have to sand it down and put a thin layer or white (or whatever color) acrylic on it so the surface will hold a mark. pencil, sharpie, or even plain ole bic won't stick to it well w/o paint. then, before i print (or even before i mark on it) i glue it to some masonite to keep the corners from bending up. makes it easier to ink and print.

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Message 13
From: Shawn + Elizabeth Newton
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 18:55:45 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 36420] Re: wood vs. lino
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well, yeah, the lino floor tiles form home depot/lowes/sutherlands are hard as rock. i've tried that too. the stuff i get is vinyl. it's plastic. i think it's actually a commercial grade kitchen floor vinyl. it's smooth on both sides. absolutely no texture, which is important. b/c if there's wood or tile on the front, then you get that texture on the back as well. and i cut the back of the vinyl by the way. the side you step on i don't touch.

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Message 14
From: Bill Joel
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:12:57 -0400
Subject: [Baren 36421] Re: Speedball vs other inks
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One of the best inks I ever used was when I was a teenager. My Dad
worked for a paper company, downtown NYC, and knew lots of printers.
He also knew I loved doing woodcuts, so he brought me home an almost
empty tin of professional grade printer's ink. It was fantastic. Of
course, I probably could never afford that grade of ink, today ... or
could I (?).

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Message 15
From: Blog Manager
Date: 7 Aug 2008 03:55:29 -0000
Subject: [Baren 36422] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification
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Baren Archives

[Baren] - the International Forum for Woodblock Printmaking

Volume: 44 / Number: 4464

Wednesday, 6th of August, 2008

Today's postings

End of [Baren] Digest