Today's postings

  1. [Baren 40138] mold (Marilynn Smith)
  2. [Baren 40139] YouTube: The Complex of All of These ("Ellen Shipley")
  3. [Baren 40140] Re: Andrew's Mold Problem (Sharri LaPierre)
  4. [Baren 40141] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification (Blog Manager)
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Message 1
From: Marilynn Smith
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:22:49 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40138] mold
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One other thing about wetting paper and mold. If you find you don't
have time to get back to the studio you can also let the prints dry
completely and rewet them later. I have done this and found it not to
be a problem. It really takes only a short time to take them out and
stack them to dry.

Marilynn
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Message 2
From: "Ellen Shipley"
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:33:29 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40139] YouTube: The Complex of All of These
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9a5hH5idQc&feature=player_embedded

The Complex of All of These

An interesting video, if a bit jerky, of making a book of prints. I would have liked to have seen the printing process done a bit slower, but the emphasis is obviously on the book making process.

Ellen
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Message 3
From: Sharri LaPierre
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:40:30 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40140] Re: Andrew's Mold Problem
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Living in the Northwestern US has its inherent mold and mildew
problems. My first run in with the nasty little spores was with a
small print and I just mixed a tray of water with a few drops of
chlorine bleach and put the prints in to soak for a few minutes, took
them out and rinsed them in clear water, blotted them with towels and
put them in a new bag and went on with my printing. I knew nothing of
anything and it worked just fine! I still have some of those prints
and they seem to be none the worse for wear. However, since then I
have been told never to do that, so now I dutifully place them in the
refrigerator, not the freezer, when I've finished printing and take
them out again the next day when I enter the studio. By the time I
get everything else ready to go the prints are at room temperature and
ready to go. I have not had any more trouble with mold and it has
been many years, and some of the prints have been worked on for two
weeks - in and out of the fridge. I don't think it is necessary to
freeze them unless you are going to leave them for an extended time.
When I have frozen paper it does not take it long to thaw out - I
suppose that depends on the temp. of the studio.

Cheers ~
Sharri

Digest Appendix

Postings made on [Baren] members' blogs
over the past 24 hours ...

Subject: [Forest in Winter - 3] : Proofing day ...
Posted by: Dave Bull

Continued from [Forest in Winter - 2] | Starting point of the thread is [Forest in Winter - 1]

So, the little Gift Prints are now all back 'in stock' waiting to be sent off to places around the world, and I can now get back to work on the Forest in Winter ...

There aren't actually going to be so many impressions on this one, so that makes the proofing a bit easier. And as the basic concept is set - sunlight on snow in the forest - I certainly know where to start. This one is going to be all about the 'contrast' - how dark to make the darks and intermediates in order to let the brights (the bare paper) shine properly.

Anyway, here we are ... time for the 'corkboard' test; I finished a proofing batch last night, but didn't attempt to study it too closely. I dried it off, and then last thing before heading for bed, pinned it up on the corkboard. How it would look in the morning - with fresh eyes - would be more relevant ... Here it is (remember, this isn't 'final', just one sheet from the initial batch of a few copies ...)

That doesn't look so bad for the first shot. When I do some more tomorrow, I'll work on the contrast end of it, to see where the best balance lies.

But looking at it a bit closer this morning, I see that I have an 'issue' with this one. It's something that has been dogging this entire series, and on this design, it has become a real problem.

I think I may have talked about this in an earlier RoundTable post - it's the question of the proper 'scale' for any particular design. This design doesn't look so bad in that photo above; we are standing 'back', and thus the perspective in the design makes sense. And we are far back enough that the individual dots and lines aren't visible - we see the 'forest', not marks on paper.

But these prints aren't being made at a scale that allows them to be seen 'on a wall' in this fashion. After I finish printing, they will be passed to helper Ichikawa-san, who will then insert them into the books. The collectors will receive the package, open it up to the print page, and unless . . .
[Long item has been trimmed at this point. The full blog entry can be viewed here]


This item is taken from the blog Woodblock RoundTable.
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