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Message 1
From: "Maria Arango Diener"
Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 16:11:24 GMT
Subject: [Baren 38958] RE: ox exchange
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I will say this every year: I love this yearly exchange, I was on time until
last year (on time defined by sending my cards somewhere around February). I
love getting cards, I have a HUGE file box full of them, I've gone over them
once when I twisted an ankle and couldn't move for three days and some day
when I'm too old to ride a bike and hike I will delight in them once more.

The nature of the exchange is obvious and has been for some time; I don't
understand the (yearly) complaints. I don't count cards (big no-no in Vegas,
counting cards!), I don't care who sends me cards or who doesn't, I simply
don't keep track; they arrive, I enjoy, I stuff in my box. When I'm done
with mine, everyone on the list gets one. Them's the rules. I love everyone
and keep the envelopes with the worldly stamps on them; they are invaluable.

I have in the past participated in the Wood Engraver's Network "exchange"
where a few engravers continually send 200 engravings and most members just
receive a few back without ever sending their own; a most generous
arrangement. I have sent in my 200 four times and have made 200 covers for
their wonderful magazine twice and plan on getting back to that.

If anyone doesn't 'GET' the spirit of this yearly exchange, then they should
not participate. But to participate "with conditions" is a bit
prima-donnish, IMHO. What makes anyone in the exchange so special that they
dictate their own rules? Please give a thought to the idea that if we all
decide to wait to receive cards in order to send cards, NOTHING will be
exchanged, ever, and we will all be deprived of this most wondrous
experience.

I do not mean to offend anyone in particular, merely to point out that the
loose rules of this exchange are what makes it attractive to all involved.
Generosity in art has historically been embodied by printmakers. Give and
forget.

Peace,
Maria

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Message 2
From: Marilynn Smith
Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 16:24:23 GMT
Subject: [Baren 38959] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V47 #4826 (May 20, 2009)
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HI,

I have reared my head for the last time about the new years cards. It
was a surprise to have less than half when I got home and I wondered
about it. I totally agree that it is fun to have this relaxed
exchange and it is fun to get cards through out the year. Since I was
wondering and whining I took it upon myself to really check it out.
So, I took the list and checked out the year of the rat and the year
of the boar as well as the ox cards and I found only a few folks who
have signed up and not sent cards for all three years. The number is
very small, certainly not enough to get fussed over. It really made
me proud to be part of Baren and to know so many wonderful people. I
guess rainy Washington weather makes space for silly pursuits.

Dave, I think we do need to consider what to do with the money in our
bank account. Maybe we could field some ideas and take a vote like we
do for the themes for our exchanges. I like the idea of funding for
our summits. Other ideas???? People speak your mind here. How about
a scholarship, nice to help a budding artist?

As for the council, you people have been amazing. Not all of us have
the skill for building web sites or doing the chores you wonderful
volunteers have. At this time I would not put a limit on how long a
person can be on the council, because not many have the skills to do
the work that is needed. We could do an annual review and ask for
volunteers for each post and for their qualifications. Than we could
do a vote if there happens to be more the one person who wishes to
have a job. I have been president of organizations and my husband and
I held every post for 7 years at our Yacht club. It was going through
the chairs. The thing about it is you still need volunteers and some
times the new ones are not as good as the old ones. Doing an annual
review and asking for new blood is good, but I would not limit the
jobs to terms, at this time, and I would not require change, only ask
if others are interested. Perhaps we could do our review now as we
have a position open and than do it every spring just to keep everyone
informed as to who does what and ask if a change is wanted??? I can
understand that those on the council might not want it to be a life
time job. Also as our group grows perhaps we need new positions, like
a web builder. Also jobs could be shared like Barbara and Michelle are
doing with the Baren mall. Another thought, managing our money for
some sort of charity, perhaps we need a volunteer to look into
possibilities, a new position say summit committee or scholarship
chairman or whatever we think would be a good way to spend our funds?

Good thoughts Dave. As our group grows and changes we certainly do
not want to get stagnant, not that we are. I would like more folks to
put in ideas for our council to consider, this is a wonderful group
with many thoughtful and gifted people. And very honorable considerate
and kind people as well.

Marilynn

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Message 3
From: aqua4tis # aol.com
Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 17:29:56 GMT
Subject: [Baren 38960] Re: chinese cards exchange
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colleen (and everyone)
?? im in the same boat as you. i have my dog, pig and rat blocks along with my ox blocks all cut and ready to print but because of my job, my mfa classes, my mom, my health ?and several other issues, i havent been able to get them printed. this doesnt mean i wont. i have everyones name and address that signed up for each year and they will receive blocks from me. im trying to get them all done so i can mail them all at once. hopefully this summer ill have time in my studio for printing. i too am not going to keep track of who sends what
take care
georga

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Message 4
From: "Bob & Sue Salsbury"
Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 19:34:59 GMT
Subject: [Baren 38961] non profit ideas
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I belong to a couple of not for profit groups and most of them take the easy way out by offering a monetary gift to either a program or an individual. I think we have an opportunity to do something more proactive with our resources.

As a non traditional student while at university I was able to buy paper for printing class with out to much reserve. Most of the students would buy one piece of paper and make the smallest print possible to meet the required number for the assignment. I would suggest that we give packages of various papers to students who are working in printmaking classes. We could also consider providing inks, a few beginner tools, printmaking books etc. I am not saying to provide all of these at once but we could change what was offered from time to time. We would not only be offering assistance to the students but we would also support our vendors from the Baren Mall. We have several Baren members who have published books on printmaking and we certainly should support them. This would be a way to introduce students to various products on the market and help them experience the difference in quality.

I would like to see us offer at least a few of these types of scholarship packages per year. One would most likely have to be offered each time in the US to appease the government records but I think we should offer these packages to students world wide as we are a global organization. I am sure there are enough of us that are connected with a university or still have contacts at a university that this wouldn't be that hard to accomplish.

Another thought along the university line is to have our members provide a visiting artist program. We have a number of members who give classes and perhaps they could provide a one day program, and possibly a lecture, for a university in their own state or a neighboring state. We could pay their travel expenses and possibly an honorarium.

When we do the Baren Summit we could sponsor one or more students with in the area to attend at no charge and provide equipment and or supplies for them.

We could sponsor a competitive print show some where. This one would take more work and time than the other suggestions but could be fun.

I know there are a lot of questions that have come to mind here, but just a few ideas to think about.

Sue Salsbury

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Message 5
From: "bobcatpath # 207me.com"
Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 22:05:01 GMT
Subject: [Baren 38962] dog,rat,ox etc. post cards
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someone mentioned using postcards for the chinese new year exchanges
i have been doing just that for a few years
i buy stamped post cards and cut a wood block to its exact size

some have mentioned (worried) in the past that these would not make it thru the mail intact,
but actually -they make it fine-
some times with that little strip of computer marks on the bottom
it just peels off easily with no damage to the print

i have had no complaints of the cards coming in damaged
and i always post one to myself
just to make sure they are going where they should

dogs were $0.26 , the rats were $0.27 , the ox were $0.28
so it is pretty cost effective
only drawback is probably the card stock is not archival
dont know-- but it is all just for fun-anyway-
and i enjoy tremendously having these collections

the year of the .....
i have utilized them in teaching woodcut/linocut workshops in my local schools
the kids LOVE seeing all the different cards from around the world
it provides them wonderful inspiration then, in creating their own designs
as they see how many different interpretations there are

i hang mine up as they come in, around a north window in my cabin
all my friends love to see them too

i think this is really one of our best exchanges, because it is less structured
with no REAL deadline-it is fun to get them all year long
you never know when the half mile walk to the mailbox
will be rewarded with a surprise from ANYWHERE in the world !
and it allows everyone to procrastinate for as long as they need to without hurting anything

i think i just have the snake and the tiger to go and
i will have made all the 12 year of the animals
thank you BAREN and BARENERS
it is a lot of fun to be part
of this group

gillyin gatto machias maine usa

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Message 6
From: J Cloutier
Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 23:06:20 GMT
Subject: [Baren 38963] Re: Message (and request) from the Council ...
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I've been a member and officer of a not-for-profit choral group that put
off looking at "the big picture" for years. It was nearly the death of
the group.

Without any formal term limit, the only way for an officer to resign was
to leave the group entirely. If they stayed around, people kept
expecting them to handle jobs and problems, because they were the only
one who knew what to do. Over the years, that happened to a couple of
presidents, a secretary, and a treasurer (myself).

The last year before I left, we were down to two people doing all the
organizational work. What saved the group was forcing the members to
hold elections, bringing new people into the jobs, and insisting on
their following the election and term limit rules that had been written
up when we applied for our non-profit status.

It sounds like the Baren Forum council members are not yet burned out as
badly as the chorale officers. But I agree with Dave that since the
group is too large to run like a small group of close friends, it would
be a good idea to formalize rules for getting fresh people to take
over. As for his questions:

1) Yes, I think Council members should have a term limit. Keep officers
from getting burned out, keep the other members from thinking "only
so-and-so can do that job".

2) No, don't separate jobs from Council membership. People doing the
main work should have decision making power as well as job
responsibility. If decisions need input from the entire membership, we
can all express an opinion (like now) or cast a vote.

3) Elections are a hard question. I don't feel I know anyone well
enough to tell whether they'd be responsible and effective. Should we
just accept the first ones to volunteer? Or have current Council
members nominate their own replacements? My own experience is that it's
hard to find anyone willing to take on a job - narrowing down the
numbers has not been an issue.

4) Using the financial resources - whew! Could there be a stipend for
people doing enormous amounts of essential work for the Forum? Could
some of it be used to defray mailing costs for members outside of the
U.S. so they don't have to spend any more on postage for exchanges than
members within the U.S.? It sounds like the Council doesn't have
regular planning meetings. But maybe they could generate some ideas for
the rest of us to discuss and decide on. Too much money on hand is not
a problem my group (or me!) has ever had to deal with...

Thank you, Dave, for starting the Baren Forum, and for helping it grow!

Jane

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Message 7
From: aqua4tis # aol.com
Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 23:56:52 GMT
Subject: [Baren 38964] Re: dog,rat,ox etc. post cards
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i think its the rabbit and the tiger. we alread did the snake
georga

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Message 8
From: Barbara Mason
Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 01:18:09 GMT
Subject: [Baren 38965] Re: Message (and request) from the Council ...
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Jane,
the council members are like board members and cannot be compensated for their work.
We can hire someone to do work but they cannot be on the council..this is the law for non profits. However as secretary the council could hire me to manage the exchanges....but not to do secretarial work as that is my job on the council.
It is confusing but we want to be sure we are not doing anything wrong.
We don't have that much so it is not a huge worry but over the years have built up several thousand dollars.
My best
Barbara


4) Using the financial resources - whew! Could there be a stipend for people doing enormous amounts of essential work for the Forum? Could some of it be used to defray mailing costs for members outside of the U.S. so they don't have to spend any more on postage for exchanges than members within the U.S.? It sounds like the Council doesn't have regular planning meetings. But maybe they could generate some ideas for the rest of us to discuss and decide on. Too much money on hand is not a problem my group (or me!) has ever had to deal with...

Thank you, Dave, for starting the Baren Forum, and for helping it grow!

Jane

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Subject: Linocut: The Brambles became Roses
Posted by: Georgina

This item is taken from the blog The Linocutter has a new adventure.
'Reply' to Baren about this item.

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