Baren Digest Friday, 23 February 2001 Volume 14 : Number 1332 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: dimitris grammatikopulos Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 11:57:48 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Baren 13569] ...paytime... Dear Baren and Print Australia, during the past six months I've put myself in various different positions considering delay of prints and paying for back-postage. It's only because of your patience and understanding of coordinators that I received my sets of prints or that I participated in any Baren activity at all. Having these on my mind (constantly) I decided to dedicate half of my exhibition space to all the Exchanges I've taken part in. The exhibition is to take place in May (proposed dates 05-25.05.2001). In anyway, this is only a proposition from my part, with two obvious objectives. Show the people here what is going on in Printmaking and to settle my score with you (at least on the material part of my debt to you all). So, if ANYONE has any objections to that kind of settlement I will not argue in any way and keep to the practiced way of paying. If, on the other hand my offer is accepted I will be expecting works from people who did not make the Exchanges but would like to have shown their ideas on those subjects. As a reminder, I will be showing #7-#8, Exchange des Refuses ala Dan Dew(if it comes in on time), Sacred Tree and SSSSSSnakessssss (....my precioussssssss....). If anything goes not so right the Exhibition will take place in June (same dates). I will be expecting your ideas and counteroffers, please offlist, at: digramma@cc.uoi.gr Regards, Dimitris ------------------------------ From: "Daniel L. Dew" Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 17:27:14 -0500 Subject: [Baren 13570] Still looking In an attempt to get the prospectus out to as many printers as possible, is there any other internet groups like Baren? dan dew ------------------------------ From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 17:01:21 -0600 Subject: [Baren 13571] Re: Still looking 02/22/2001 05:01:09 PM No Dan, there are no other groups "like" Baren {;-) Baren is a special place where pros, beginners and lurkers can all interchange ideas and contribute to the "mission" w/o the obstacles that current society places upon us. Julio ------------------------------ From: "Charles and Gail Sheffield" Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 18:40:11 -0800 Subject: [Baren 13572] Exhibiting prints charset="iso-8859-1" I have not yet participated in a print exchange, although I have signed up for the open PrintAustralia exchange and one on Baren; some of you participate in both groups. This posting goes to each group. The idea of an exhibition in one's locality of print exchange prints is absolutely wonderful, to get more people appreciative of printmaking. But, how do you present them? The cost of framing is prohibitive. Julia, on PrintAustralia, mentions displaying them as portfolios, although I am not sure what she means by that. Incidentally, I hope someone on either list will mention any juried print shows they may know about. Gail Sheffield Covington, LA, USA ------------------------------ From: barebonesart Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 18:00:13 -0800 Subject: [Baren 13573] Re: Baren Digest v14 #1331 Marilynn, Is it too late to jump into the hand coloring arena? Just a personal opinion, but I think people worry to much about the exact sameness of an edition: they are never EXACTLY the same, anyway, only as near the same as we can humanly get them. To use stencils, hand coloring, stamping, it's all okay. Have any of you seen the way Warrington Colescott prints? He has an elaborate stenciling system he uses after he inks the plate. I did one series of intaglio priints using his system and it is fun to do. It would not work as well with relief prints, but there might be a way to work it out. Anyone wanting a more thorough explanation can contact me off line and I'll do my best. Sharri ------------------------------ From: Claude Villeneuve Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 21:48:31 -0500 Subject: [Baren 13574] Re: Still looking Dan: What about the Printmaking forum from Middle Tennesse University? I have seen some calls for entry there from time to time. I think Le Green has posted a few calls there in the past few years... the url: http://www.mtsu.edu/~art/printmaking/wwwboard/wwwboard.html Claude AimŽe ------------------------------ From: Sunnffunn@aol.com Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 23:27:33 EST Subject: [Baren 13575] Re: Russian birch and cork Maria you will have to give out a schedule of where you plan to be. I will be moving, I hope this year to the Long Beach Peninsula, Washington. We have several fetivals that often include artists. There i a kite festival and a garlic festival for 2 I have never made the jazz festival so that i can't speak for and I doubt you want a booth at the old car show. But let us know where you will be so if we are in the area we can visit. Oh the kite festival is big and world wide, quite an event. Marilynn ------------------------------ From: B E Mason Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 20:40:34 -0800 Subject: [Baren 13576] exhibits Gail, The baren has frames, stored at Julio's in Illinois so if you ever need them for an exhibit, just let us know! We will eventually raise money to help with exhibits so no one will spend their own money to do one, we are getting a small profit from sales on the baren mall for this purpose. Barbara ------------------------------ From: Sunnffunn@aol.com Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 00:02:07 EST Subject: [Baren 13577] Re: Mistakes Rule Many years back i was searching for a direction to take my watercolors. I made a mistake in a piece and it took over and I had what I had been searching for! I locked a portfolio in a drawing studio and had to go to the print studio to get the key to get it. Print making became a part of my life at that moment. what a mistake! I remember messing up the first letter in a calligraphy asignment and finishing the poem anyway, for practice. Than I decided i could cut out a letter and paste it over the mistake, the teacher was esctatic. I had an original! I adore mistakes! Marilynn ------------------------------ From: Pgiclas@aol.com Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 00:46:45 EST Subject: [Baren 13578] Re: Mildew Hi folks. I've just rejoined the group after a lightning storm last fall forced me to replace the modem in my computer. Took a while! On the topic of dehumidifiers, there's a product we use in the laboratory a lot. It's called DriRite and it's basically (no pun) Calcium Carbonate. When it's fresh, it's a pinkish pebbly compound, and as it absorbs water it turns purple and blue. You can restore it by baking it in your oven until it turns pink again. I use it in a coffee can that I leave open in a container that has chemicals that I want to keep dry, but it would work in almost any closed space. Fortunately for my artwork, Denver doesn't have a mildew problem! Nice to know you're all still going strong! Patsy ------------------------------ From: "Bea Gold" Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 23:16:57 -0800 Subject: [Baren 13579] Re: Sizing??? Eli, You do not size paper for printing in the Chinese manner - = Shui-yin. You use water color on unsized paper. Look at the last = Baren-Suji. http://barenforum.org/newsletter/index.html =20 Bea Gold ------------------------------ From: baren_member@barenforum.org (Noreen Richards) Date: 23 Feb 2001 08:02:06 -0000 Subject: [Baren 13580] Introduction ... Message posted by: Noreen Richards i am so gratified to have found the baren forum. i got on the internet out of desperation, as i am committed to working this way (woodblock printmaking w/ water-based ink) and i have run into some serious technical difficulties. i am attempting to teach myself traditional hanga methods, adapted for my purposes, and it hasn't been smooth. it occurred to me that i'm reinventing the wheel here, and that i could use some help. unfortunately, i'm pretty isolated hanga-wise, as i live in new mexico and know of only one other water-woodblock printmaker. i am committed to using materials that i can afford and that i can get my hands on easily. i am working large (24 x 36", 36 x 36"), so the size also dictates what my materials will be to some extent. this is what i've been using: - -7-ply baltic birch plywood - -akua color inks - -i have tried rice paste, but i am presently using methyl cellulose to print with - -i have very nice knives, but they're not big enough for this work, so i am using a utility knife and wood chisels w/ a hammer to cut the plate. - -140#, 356 gram, hot press arches watercolor paper, which i buy in rolls 51" x 10 yards. it is heavily sized. the package says "gelatin-tub sized" - -i use large cotton linters (blotter) to dry the prints. i don't know if my problems lie with my materials, my process, or both. these are a couple of my problems- i don't wan't to overwhelm you. 1) after i soak my block in water before printing- (i soak it in a kiddy pool outside because the block is so big), the surface of the block bubbles where part of the top ply of the wood has expanded or come loose- it's a real drag.it does it in areas where i've cut, and also in areas where i haven't cut. am i soaking the block for too long?- i usually soak it for 1/2 to 1 hour. i do reductive printing, so i really need my block to hold up. almost every time i soak it there's a new bubble somewhere. i've tried slitting the bubble and removing a small amount of wood in order to let it lie flat, but that doesn't really work...i never had this problem when i was working smaller. 2) mildew. i brush water on to the back of the prints and stack them inside a large plastic bag overnight in order to get them evenly moist and soft. then i print one, maybe two colors and i dry them out. still, over time, mildew spots start showing up as i keep wetting and drying them. i try not to ever let them be wet for longer than 24 hours, but i'm still seeing spots. any suggestions? i live in a desert, so once they're out of the plastic bag, they dry very quickly. Noreen Richards ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest v14 #1332 *****************************