Today's postings
- [Baren 41041] Call for Ads & Ops (Mary Kuster)
- [Baren 41042] Re: Call for Ads & Ops (mary caulfield)
- [Baren 41043] My Tigers are descending upon you ("Maria Arango Diener")
- [Baren 41044] UK paper supplies (Jennifer Martindale)
- [Baren 41045] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification (Blog Manager)
Message 1
From: Mary Kuster
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:49:28 GMT
Subject: [Baren 41041] Call for Ads & Ops
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Newsletter/Digest on the 15th. I'll need your /ad or op/ by the
13th, please.
Submit ads to ads@barenforum.org
Your ads coordinator,
Mary Kuster
ads@barenforum.org
mkuster@kusterart.com
Message 2
From: mary caulfield
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:40:05 GMT
Subject: [Baren 41042] Re: Call for Ads & Ops
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I'd like to post about a workshop about wood engraving in Rio de Janeiro
Message 3
From: "Maria Arango Diener"
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:32:26 GMT
Subject: [Baren 41043] My Tigers are descending upon you
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Funny the US postal office decided on a tiger lily for the stamp?! I
personally think the tiger is about the most beautiful animal in the kingdom
but I failed to make the committee for choosing the stamp, oh well.
In any case, I didn't include any print info and the extra post-card in
there is just for reinforcement. I bought a set of ready-to-print post-cards
from the Baren Mall but chickened out last minute about sending them
"nekked"; just too rough out there in the mail rooms. So I inserted them
into clear bags with a reinforcing old postcard. Should make the trip much
safer.
A preview of the tigers on my blog www.1000woodcuts.blogspot.com I neglected
to include print info so for those who care about such things, here it is:
Title: 2010
Materials: Shina blocks, sumi ink, akua pigments, Baren Mall postcards from
Matsumura-san's shop
Image: Shamelessly ripped-off from a Chinese scroll that I have owned for
years; purchased in the 70's at a swap meet.
Process: I wanted to "push" Shina plywood to see if I could yield a tiny
detailed print. I only ruined one block at the beginning of carving so I was
happy about that.
On to Exchange 45, are there anymore sign ups?
Maria
[=o=][=o=][=o=][=o=]
www.1000woodcuts.com
ww.artfestivalguide.info
[=o=][=o=][=o=][=o=]
Message 4
From: Jennifer Martindale
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 09:06:18 GMT
Subject: [Baren 41044] UK paper supplies
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I think one needs a lifetime to learn about paper, but these are my sources: http://www.lawrence.co.uk you can buy a sample book of Plain Japanese paper. http://www.intaglioprintmaker.com They have a useful and affordable Hosho pad midweight, which I assume from the price is machine made paper. http://www.johnpurcell.net a magic wonderland of paper and knowledgable staff. http://www.falkiners.com a good range. An interesting jumping off point is http://www.eastlondonprintmakers.co.uk to discover contacts and sources. My pigment supplier http://www.cornelissen.com also sell paper and are helpful. They are only just getting their online site sorted.
So far I have tended to go for the cheaper, machine made Hosho end of the scale until I can improve the quality of the work, but I endlessly try out paper samples and find that the thicker softer paper is better for impressing effects and Hosho for the watercolour hand (baren) printing. Perhaps wiser heads than mine can give better advice about the insanely wide choice available, I look forward to learning. Thank you for the question.
Digest Appendix
Postings made on [Baren] members' blogs
over the past 24 hours ...
Subject: Progress and updates ...
Posted by: Dave Bull
|
Time for an (overdue) update on what's going on around here! Spring has sprung here at the Seseragi Studio ... beautiful warm sunny spring days one after the other!  The exhibition closed a week ago. Collector Doi-san came over just before closing time, and the two of us got everything off the walls and into boxes ready for the Rent-a-Truck guy to take away, managing to finish just a few minutes in front of the 5:30 deadline. (The next exhibitor was waiting outside to come in and begin his setup, just as I had been waiting a week before ...) How was the show? Mixed. (Again.) Many of the Tokyo-based collectors came by for a visit, and I spent lots of time chatting with them and getting reacquainted. (There's a 'story' about that here.) Although I had sent out hundreds of media packs, there had been no response at all, and without any TV/radio/newpaper/magazine coverage of the show, 'new' visitors were thin on the ground. As this gallery opens out onto the street, I had been very interested to see what kind of 'walk in' business there would be, but there was actually very little. Passers-by ... passed by! (There's a 'story' about that here!) There were orders though, mostly from current collectors telling me 'OK, I'm in!', as well as a few previous collectors 'coming back for more'. Current collector count is now 93, within striking distance of the 'making a living' level. And as there is a small but steady stream of back issues of other print sets still going out, I'll be OK. Cash is insanely tight just now though. What with paying for the gallery, the trucking, printing, promotion, etc., not to mention the huge bill for the cases for the Mystique series (that alone is over $5,000 ...), there isn't much breathing room. But I'll chew away at the unpaid bills bit by bit over the next few months, and by somewhere around mid-summer I should be back 'even' again ... ** Plenty of emails and phone calls recently along the lines of "You said 'early April' for the start of this series, so where is the first print?" Well, it's still on the blocks! As you saw in the previous post here on the RoundTable, I began the printing just as soon as I got cleaned up after the exhibition, and it has been moving forward every day, bit by . . . |
This item is taken from the blog Woodblock RoundTable.
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Subject: Gay in America, 1636
Posted by: Annie B
 Sketch for new print I'm starting a new print that will be the last one (at least for now) in the Pilgrim series. It's a portrait of John Alexander and Thomas Roberts, two men who were lovers in Plymouth Colony in the 1630s. We know about John and Thomas only because of court records from their prosecution. Here's the account in full: John Alexander & Thomas Roberts were both examined and found guilty of lewd behavior and unclean carriage one with another, by often spending their seed one upon another which was proved both by witnesses & their own confession; the said Alexander found to have been formerly notoriously guilty that way, and seeking to allure others thereunto. The said John Alexander was therefore censured by the Court to be severely whipped, and burnt in the shoulder with a hot iron, and to be perpetually banished from the government of New Plymouth, and if he be at any time found within the same, to be whipped out again by the appointment of the next justice, &c, and so oft as he shall be found within this government. Which penalty was accordingly inflicted. That's all we know. But what it says to me, a homosexual 21st century American, is that we've been here since the first boats arrived. That makes me proud. It also says to me that even the harsh Puritan penalties against homosexual activity weren't enough to stop these men from being lovers.  I used a photograph (above) from an exhibit called Dear Friends: American Photographs of Men Together, 1840-1918 for my initial sketch. The photo is obviously from a much later time period, but I like the posture very much. In my redraw I blended the clothing of the two men into a single shape to accentuate their hands. It will change more as I render it in wood. Copyright Woodblock Dreams blog
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This item is taken from the blog Woodblock Dreams.
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Subject: Done with Color One
Posted by: Ellen Shipley
 For better or worse, I'm done with the first color pass. It's been a little uneven, but I've made a number of extras so there should be enough for the exchange. I made 50 in all. Hopefully I won't lose too many in the next two passes. It rained last night and has been spitting occasionally today, but I didn't notice any improvement in the ink coverage. It wasn't as fussy as the previous printings, but it sure wasn't any sweet spot. Must be the printermaker. ;- j  |
This item is taken from the blog Pressing-Issues.
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Subject: The Printing Desk and Registration Boards
Posted by: Maria
One of the things I'm enjoying most about doing moku-hanga is the "compactness" of the whole process. I thought I'd share the arrangement of my printing desk (also doubles as mat-cutting desk, framing desk, doodling surface, cat bed and various other things). At the left top, the Valley of Fire II blocks all cut and ready for me to get the courage to print bokashis. Just below, one of my registration boards, close ups and more details below. Front, center, the brushes and ceramic cups I just used to print my tigers; blocks laying on anoher registration board. Just to the right, bottom, that blue cloth is an auto drying cloth (faux, synthetic chamois) which I dampen and put inside a Tupper-ware (plastic with tight-cover) flat container. I keep printing paper in there throughout the printing process and stays nice and evenly dampened for as long as I keep the lid closed. During printing, I take the entire stack of paper, place in a plastic bag with another of those dampened synthetic chamois. I then pull out a sheet at a time, print, and then place in the plastic container. Works well and I have had absolutely no registration problems...well, other than "operator error" when placing the paper down on the registration board. Behind the whole setup, to the right of the paper towels, a set of small stackable plastic drawers. There are four drawers in all and I keep pigments on the larger bottom drawer, paste and brushes in the next one up, barens and more brushes next, and miscellaneous printing containers and other paraphenalia in the top drawer. My entire supply of woodblock printing "stuff" right there in that portable little set of drawers and they are see-through plastic so they are protected from dust and cats and I can readily see what's in them. Registration boards in the next post!  |
This item is taken from the blog 1000 Woodcuts Updates.
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