Baren Digest Saturday, 21 October 2000 Volume 13 : Number 1187 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Graham Scholes Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 07:31:47 -0700 Subject: [Baren 11804] Re: intaglio In theory it sound good.... in practice it won't work. The answers will come back on this Server as it is common habit to .... hit reply and type the answer. This then picks up the Server address and the answer shows up here. We all have the best intentions yet it happens involuntarily. There are forums around as been posted here, so there is the venue.....move on over and get it happening. Graham ------------------------------ From: Vollmer/Yamaguchi Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 10:58:38 -0400 Subject: [Baren 11805] Barens and papers Yes, put me down for a John Root baren! How much do they cost? I know of several people who are looking for inexpensive barens, so I could advertise them around if he has more to sell. And Lynita, congrats on the paper coup. Your advantage is not just that your husband is Japanese, but that he's such a good guy! Anyone who follows up on this, I am always interested in more good paper.... Kat, couldn't read the website, but congratulations! Hope you are enjoying your ball bearing baren and making more great woodcuts. April Vollmer 174 Eldridge St, NYC 10002, 212-677-5691 http://www.aprilvollmer.com ------------------------------ From: "Maria Arango" Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 08:15:30 -0700 Subject: [Baren 11806] texturing the block charset="iso-8859-1" In doing my exchange #7 print, I needed some texture on some items in the background block that was a bit rougher than what sharp tools can produce, and much more random for a "concrete-block-like" effect. After a few experiments, here are 3 satisfying ways to texture a block with different results (I'm preparing a web-page on this with pictures, but thought it might be of interest to the forum). In all three cases, be sure to texture the block _before_ any cutting is done, or you will lose fine lines and edges. 1. For very hard and sturdy wood like maple or cherry, lay the block on asphalt, cover it with newsprint and rev up the Buick (or whatever). Be gentle when you run it over and check the texturing carefully after just one pass. You should have a beautiful even and rough texture. 2. For any kind of wood and much finer texture but still a random effect, place a sheet of 36 or even 16 grit sandpaper on the block and run through the press with some pressure. If not enough texture results, shift the sandpaper and do it again. The drawback of this method is that particles from the sandpaper will embed themselves in the block. They have to be brushed out with a stiff brush before any cutting can begin or you will hurt your precious knives. 3. For more controlled effects, use the 16 or 36 grit sandpaper to texture the block with a sanding action, keeping the texture where you want it. Happy roughing, Maria <><><><><><><><><><><><> Maria Arango, Printmaker Las Vegas Nevada USA http://www.1000woodcuts.com maria@mariarango.com <><><><><><><><><><><><> ------------------------------ From: slinder@mediaone.net Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 11:24:26 -0500 Subject: [Baren 11807] Re: texturing the block Maria, Have you tried a roulette (used in another unspeakable form of printmaking on a metal surface?) Got mine at Graphic -several 'patterns' from which to choose. If it works on copper it should also be effective on cherry or maple. It would be certainly more controlled than using a Buick and a parking lot! Have a good weekend everyone! Sharen Maria Arango wrote: > > In doing my exchange #7 print, I needed some texture on some items in the > background block .... ------------------------------ From: Aqua4tis@aol.com Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 12:43:32 EDT Subject: [Baren 11808] Re: texturing the block this may sound crass but at self help graphics we went out to the parking lot and found a sharp rock and it became our "texturizer" its a bit noisy but effective georga ------------------------------ From: Daniel Dew Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 13:18:59 -0400 Subject: [Baren 11809] Exchange #7 Aaaaagggghhhh!!!!! I'm so frustrated. Spent three hours this morning and all I have to show for it is 11 acceptable prints. As much as I love working with carving on wood, I hate the "fickleness" of the wood in printing. I can't seem to get that consistency I'm so used to in lino. And every darn wood seems to react differently! Oh well, just venting. I really like my print, it should be a huge improvement over my last submission, or at least I think so. Hairless in Tampa, dan dew ------------------------------ From: Jack Reisland Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 08:23:51 -1000 Subject: [Baren 11810] Re: texturing the block In one of the Yoshida's books (I think it was Toshi's), he recommended an interesting way to print texture. You carve the smooth block as normal, brush on the pigment, place the paper, then put on a sheet of sandpaper, rough side down of course, on top of the print paper. You then go over the back of the sandpaper with your baren, and the grains on the front of the sandpaper press the print into the pigment in little spots, resulting in an even finely dotted texture. Different grits of paper will give different densities to the dot pattern. Jack ------------------------------ From: "Jeanne Norman Chase" Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 16:36:49 -0400 Subject: [Baren 11811] Re: Exchange #7 charset="iso-8859-1" Dan What kind of wood are you using for your #7 print? My first attempt at carving on cherry wood was really frustrating. It is soooo hard, but once you get the feel of it, you do not want to carve on poplar or any of those softer woods. I have never use d shina though. Maybe shina is for the hanga printers out there. Don't give up, and stop tearing your hair out. Just remember the Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland smoking his hookah!!!! Jeanne N. ------------------------------ From: Graham Scholes Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 13:24:49 -0700 Subject: [Baren 11812] Re: texturing the block >this may sound crass but at self help graphics we went out to the parking >lot and found a sharp rock and it became our "texturizer" its a bit noisy >but effective >georga Not at all. The end results and the statement you want to make is far more important than the method of achievement. If you want more delicate texture take some sand and pound it with a hammer. Looks great.... I have not be able to verify this yet but after seeing 75 prints by Kiyoshi Saito (David's unfavourite woodblock artist) this summer I came to the conclusion that he achieved texture by pressing his blocks onto cement sidewalk. Who was it that took from Saito a few years back.... Lynita maybe. Did he ever explain how he achieved this. Graham/Victoria BC An Island in the Pacific It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions. ------------------------------ From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 15:50:13 -0500 Subject: [Baren 11813] Re: Exchange #7, Hairless Dear Hairless... I mean Dan.....your prints are wonderful. I own three or four of them and every single one of them is a treasure. They are not only well executed but also carry a forceful message. Your last print with Sacred Trees is truly moving and I enjoyed learning from it....the way you handled the background areas!!! Stop venting and get cutting....your audience awaits! Julio ------------------------------ From: Shireen Holman Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 18:15:40 -0400 Subject: [Baren 11814] Kannei Does anyone know the artist Kannei (I believe that's the spelling that I can make out)? I have a print that says on the back of the plywood backing of the frame - By Kannei Made in 1898. It's a profile of a somewhat stout, squat woman, holding a fan - beautiful, sort of pale peach and yellow and green colours. Shireen *********************************************** Shireen Holman, Printmaker and Book Artist email: shireenh@earthlink.net http://home.earthlink.net/~shireenh/ *********************************************** ------------------------------ From: David Bull Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2000 07:13:04 +0900 Subject: [Baren 11815] Re: intaglio Greg Carter wrote: > Though Baren is a list for wood block printers I think it would be sad to > lose its many members as a source of information for topics that somtimes > go beyond wood. I hope the list would allow members to maybe ask questions > but the answers could come off line so others will not be botherd by it. I'm not going to put my foot down so heavily Greg, and demand that every single post that comes to the group be carefully 'filtered' for woodblock content. I think we haven't been doing too badly up to now. All I suggest is that people generally keep in mind where we would 'like' to be with the content. If one of us occasionally asks a marginal question, it's not going to kill anybody. The problem only comes when the question leads to an extended discussion, and this is something that should be kept under control by the moderator. So _I'll_ try and do the job a bit better! (At least I will until my 'term' as moderator ends, and it becomes time to do a 'baton touch' to somebody else ... :-) Dave ------------------------------ No, I never took from Saito ... just love his work. One texture technique I sometimes use is to cut one smooth block, then cut a second block and score randomly (or in controlled directions) with an exacto knife. You then take a wire brush and brush over the surface. If you want to see a rather blurred image of what it looks like, you can go to http://homepage.mac.com/mokuhanga/woodblock/falls.html Eager to try the sandpaper idea, Jack. Lynita ------------------------------ From: Graham Scholes Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 17:38:02 -0700 Subject: [Baren 11817] Re: texturing the block >Eager to try the sandpaper idea, Jack. > >Lynita One factor with the sandpaper suggestion is that you never get the same pattern on each print.... sometimes good and maybe sometimes not so good. Graham/Victoria BC An Island in the Pacific ps... I would of used the word bad but that's bad as I don't like to be negative, which is good....ye ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V13 #1187 *****************************