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Message 1
From: Plannedscapes # aol.com
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:23:14 GMT
Subject: [Baren 39943] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V49 #4998 (Oct 13, 2009)
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re "selling my prints"
Regarding marketing work -- I have a very small gallery in Mineral Point,
Wisconsin. I specialize in nature related art (But isn't everything) by
Wisconsin artists and I sell on consignment - I keep 30%. Send me photos or
scans of your stuff and I can (try to) sell it in the gallery starting next
spring.
Karma
_www.prairieoakartisans.com_ (http://www.prairieoakartisans.com)
_www.prairieoakartisans.blogspot.com_
(http://www.prairieoakartisans.blogspot.com)
_plannedscapes@aol.com_ (mailto:plannedscapes@aol.com) (NOT the email on
the website)

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Message 2
From: Lana Lambert
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:24:53 GMT
Subject: [Baren 39944] Re: Woodgrain Pain
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Open grain in poplar?  You must be printing in oil.  I never had grain problems with poplar but then for the most part I printed moku hanga style.  I printed a book once with a poplar block and some rubber based ink and the grain was pretty obvious so it must be an inherent quality of the wood when printing up in oil.  I'm sure someone will mention shellac or some sort of sealant but why bother with that when linoleum will give you want you want as far as solid color coverage?  Sometimes working in wood means adopting the natural textures that show up in the grain and using them to your advantage.  If you are printing in a water based technique, did you warm up the block before starting?  This will allow the small grain in poplar to seal shut before the printing begins. Good luck!


-Lana Lambert

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Message 3
From: Daniel Dew
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:29:36 GMT
Subject: [Baren 39945] Re: Woodgrain Pain
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I've used poplar in the past also, without issues. If you want the
grain, a very thin shellac will do. If you don't want grain to show,
a heavier or multi coating of shellac should solve the problem. But I
agree Lana, if you don't want the grain to show at all, either go lino
or go with a very tight cherry.

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Message 4
From: thadeenz97 # verizon.net
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:49:56 GMT
Subject: [Baren 39946] Re: Woodgrain Pain
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Lana--

Yes, I am working in oil, and indeed that may be the case. It might also just be a batch of bad wood. I began using poplar again after finding the open grain problem with the birch plywood I'd been using. Now, one of the reasons I decided to start doing multiple-block prints was because I did want some grain. SOME grain. Maybe I'm just overthinking it all and not letting the print guide me, but I'd really like a happy medium between a nice rustic look and being able to make out what it is that I'm printing. As far as linoleum goes, I have been thinking about going that route for a long time, especially since it's environmentally greener than wood (and far more so than plywood). We'll see.

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Message 5
From: Barbara Mason
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:13:49 GMT
Subject: [Baren 39947] Re: Woodgrain Pain
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I had such a problem with poplar warping, it makes me think you are using oil based inks or at least rolling the ink on. I think varnishing the blocks will help a lot, I learned to use a solution of 1/2 marine varnish (McClosky's from Home Depot) and 1/2 thinner. We wiped it on with a cloth before carving, then sanded when dry, and gave it another coat after carving and before printing. Believe it or not this works for Moku Hanga as well. The varnish is so thin it does not keep the wood from absorbing water but does make the narrow lines a lot stronger.
My best
Barbara

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Message 6
From: Andrew Stone
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:33:42 GMT
Subject: [Baren 39948] wood grain poplar
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Printing with poplar is problematic. It carves well enough but absorbs a lot of water during printing and can warp or swell pretty badly.
If you're working small switch to cherry. you can find nice 6-9 inch wide planks and sanded smooth (to 600 grit) it will take on a glasslike quality that prints very evenly.
But for very rich/dark colors in waterbased printing you'll need several drops to get a rich deep dark "lino block" type impact.
The cherry is harder to carve but not too bad if you oil the block first and keep your strop handy to keep the tools sharp.
I find for "even" tone even the Shina plywood is pretty serviceable stuff. Cheap if you work small and while it's hard to get fine detail (in my hands anyway) it can print evenly.
Andrew Stone

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Message 7
From: Hideki Arichi
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:36:39 GMT
Subject: [Baren 39949] Baren 39942 Woodgrain pain
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I'm a new print maker and was under the impression that sanding brought out the grain in harder woods.

I'd actually like the grain to show in my prints so it will be interesting to see the answers on how to show grain and how not to.

H

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Message 8
From: Margot Rocklen
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:22:15 GMT
Subject: [Baren 39950] Re: New Baren Digest (HTML) V49 #4998 (Oct 13, 2009)
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Hi, Louise and Viza,
I am currently working on images incorporating a lot of gradation and fades. I find that when I bevel the edges of the relief areas of my block to get a blurred effect, and extend my strokes in the normal way as far as the "softened" edges, the effect still is not as soft as I want. It will not give me that luminous quality, more dense color in the middle to a complete fade at the edges.

I don't stroke the color to the very edges. I print the area twice: first very light, with only a little pigment, and a watered down paste. Then I'll add more of the same pigment (or different) in the center of the area, dot around that "puddle" with tiny dabs of paste, and brush out in circles or semi circles from the center to blend with my first application. There may be enough paste already on the area so that the addition of more is unnecessary. (the more paste used, the more even the resulting tone).

For narrow or very small areas, I've used #2 or #4 bright watercolor brushes.

Margot R.

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Message 9
From: "Mike Lyon"
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:00:53 GMT
Subject: [Baren 39951] RE: Baren 39942 Woodgrain pain
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Grain in Japanese printing:



Use wood which tends to print grainy:

Birch, Pine, Fir -- plank sawn or plywood - the grain varies from less
absorbent (darker parts) to more absorbent (lighter parts and prints the
grain strongly)

Large open grained hardwoods - birch, ash, oak, luan - open grain can
print lighter OR darker depending on whether you brush block parallel to
grain or across the grain



Grain can be enhanced by wire-brushing in direction of grain



I'm sure you'll get some other ideas from other printers as well!



-- Mike



Mike Lyon
Kansas City, MO
http://mlyon.com

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