Baren Digest             Thursday, 11 October 2001     Volume 17 : Number 1583


From: "April Vollmer" <april@aprilvollmer.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 09:40:46 -0400
Subject: [Baren 15900]  [:-(] 


>Barbara wrote: Please go to the web site and mention you are a Baren Forum

member to gain access to the entire site.

But I just joined to get "Contemporary Impressions" and site access! But
thank you, Barbara, and the Print Alliance, for increasing the benefits of
belonging to BAREN! Good luck with the Symposium. It sounds wonderful, I
hope you will send us a full report.

I was thinking it would be a great time to visit Portland, but it is hard to
get away. I am not afraid to fly, but it is difficult to feel motivated. The
city still smells of burning computers. The department of buildings was
closed, Quarterly Taxes payments are in confusion, schools are struggling to
reopen, the mayor announced a 15% cut in all city services. And then you
turn the channel to hear the international news!

On a brighter note, I still have a job! And of course, let's remind
ourselves that art and creative thinking will help get us through tough
times.

April
www.aprilvollmer.com



------------------------------

From: Brian Kelly <bfk0900@louisiana.edu>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 08:44:45 -0500
Subject: [Baren 15901] Re:  [:-(] April,

I believe the only way to uptain full access to the American Print
Alliance's web-site is by subscribing to contemporary impressions.


Brian Kelly, Assistant Professor Printmaking
The University of Louisiana
Department of Visual Arts
310 Fletcher Hall
P.O. Box 43850
Lafayette, LA 70504-3850
USA
337.482.5329 - (office)
337-482-5907 - (fax)
http://visualarts.louisiana.edu/



------------------------------

From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 23:47:14 +0900
Subject: [Baren 15902] Re: CG Ukiyo-e 

Eli wrote:

> Baren'ers (?) may find this an interesting
> site for a modern Ukiyo-e viewpoint.
> 
> http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~tatuharu/index-e.htm


Well, I don't want to cause any kind of ruckus here, but I think this 
stuff is really interesting, and well worth a look. 

If you haven't gone over to that URL to have a look, what he has done is
taken photographs, some carefully posed, some more natural, and some 
'cut and pasted' together, and then manipulated them in a computer. In 
the Japanese section of his site, he mentions that he would like to have
those images then cut and printed in real woodblock, but as that is
simply not economical, he prints the images out using inkjet.

So, they aren't photos; they aren't 'prints'; I don't know _what_ to
call them, but they sure do show a nice sensibility. I laughed and 
smiled my way through the whole series ...

His 'Tokaido' series (the second set of images on the site) will have a
lot more meaning for you if you are familiar with Hiroshige's original
Tokaido prints. This guy has obviously studied those very intensively,
and has created new designs that wonderfully capture the same kind of
feeling that Hiroshige did in his prints. 

Here are three that should bring a smile to anyone who loves the
originals:
http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~tatuharu/tenji/toukaidou/image132e.htm
http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~tatuharu/tenji/toukaidou/image133e.htm
http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~tatuharu/tenji/toukaidou/image135e.htm

If one wished to be cynical about this type of art, he could use that
old cliche and say "What is good in these prints is not original, and
what is original is not good", but I don't much care about that. In the
best 'prints' of this series, he has created some very fine images.

Dave


------------------------------

From: Artsmadis@aol.com
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 11:42:15 EDT
Subject: [Baren 15903] round end grain wood pieces 

I ran across some awfully nice looking end grain wood pieces at an Oriental 
import food store. They are very hard, about 12 inches in diameter and 1 1/2 
inches thick, circular shape [round] and weigh about 6 or 7 pounds. They are 
made as  cutting boards, the edges slightly beveled. I don't do wood 
engravings myself, but anyone who wants to try one, let me know and I'll pick 
one up and mail it to you.  The price is $39.95 + 8 1/4% state tax.  I'm in 
Dallas, Tx.

Darrell

------------------------------

From: John and Jan Telfer <jtelfer@iinet.net.au>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 01 23:53:26 -0000
Subject: [Baren 15904] Re: Japanese Inking Brushes 

Graham,


>I guess I should have listened to Noboru Sawai about soaking and not 
>pulling loose hair.  It makes perfect sense. Do you suppose if I soaked my 
>head (it has often been suggested) that it would prevent my hair loss.?
>
>Jan, how long have you had them and used them as described above.
>

Well, I haven't had mine for long as I am only a beginner at this, but 
Emi Ninosecki here has had hers for years and rarely has any problem with 
the hairs coming out, so that is why I listened to her initially, but I 
was interested in hearing what Dave and David had to say about them too.

I thoroughly but gently wash my brushes after use and because our climate 
is fairly dry don't have problems with them retaining the moisture, but a 
hair dryer might be a good idea in our winter ( our Perth winter is the 
same as summer with the addition of a jumper!)

My brushes are, as I said, bound with copper wire, so they wouldn't 
rust....but then again I did pay about $50 - $60 Australian dollars I 
think for each one.  I'll try anyone else's out for nothing if they want 
to send them to me!!

I will take particular notice of them rewetting next time I am using 
them. 

 We also wet/soak our Japanese calligraphy brushes before use for the 
same reason of allowing the colour to be saturated into the bristles.

Mmmmmm! Food for thought.
Jan

------------------------------

From: Graham <gscholes@home.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 09:21:54 -0700
Subject: [Baren 15905] Re: CG Ukiyo-e 

Bareners,

I promised I would not cause any waves...  as I read this,
 the hair on the back of my neck stood up about 10 feet.


>So, they aren't photos; they aren't 'prints'; I don't know _what_ to
>call them,


I won't go there......
Mind I did look at all the stuff.

Velcro lips...
Graham

Just so you know....
Fluff comes to mind.



>Eli wrote:

>> Baren'ers (?) may find this an interesting
>> site for a modern Ukiyo-e viewpoint.
>>
>> http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~tatuharu/index-e.htm

>
>Well, I don't want to cause any kind of ruckus here, but I think this
>stuff is really interesting, and well worth a look.
>
>If you haven't gone over to that URL to have a look, what he has done is
>taken photographs, some carefully posed, some more natural, and some
>'cut and pasted' together, and then manipulated them in a computer. In
>the Japanese section of his site, he mentions that he would like to have
>those images then cut and printed in real woodblock, but as that is
>simply not economical, he prints the images out using inkjet.
>
>So, they aren't photos; they aren't 'prints'; I don't know _what_ to
>call them, but they sure do show a nice sensibility. I laughed and
>smiled my way through the whole series ...
>
>His 'Tokaido' series (the second set of images on the site) will have a
>lot more meaning for you if you are familiar with Hiroshige's original
>Tokaido prints. This guy has obviously studied those very intensively,
>and has created new designs that wonderfully capture the same kind of
>feeling that Hiroshige did in his prints.
>
>Here are three that should bring a smile to anyone who loves the
>originals:
>http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~tatuharu/tenji/toukaidou/image132e.htm
>http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~tatuharu/tenji/toukaidou/image133e.htm
>http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~tatuharu/tenji/toukaidou/image135e.htm
>
>If one wished to be cynical about this type of art, he could use that
>old cliche and say "What is good in these prints is not original, and
>what is original is not good", but I don't much care about that. In the
>best 'prints' of this series, he has created some very fine images.
>
>Dave



------------------------------

From: "Larry Giacoletti" <lgiacoletti@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 16:55:52 
Subject: [Baren 15906] Re: CG Ukiyo-e 

They are beautiful though...
- -Larry Giacoletti

------------------------------

From: Sunnffunn@aol.com
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 12:55:58 EDT
Subject: [Baren 15907] Re: Baren Digest V17 #1582 

Barbara, you are than suggesting we create another print of the size they 
require?  As the 10x15 we are doing as baren members does not fit an 8x10 
size requirement.
Or is baren sending them our group of prints, the ones so many of us are busy 
working on?
This seems an honor and thank you 
barbara for you work and info.
Marilynn

------------------------------

From: Graham <gscholes@home.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 12:40:40 -0700
Subject: [Baren 15908] Re: CG Ukiyo-e 


>They are beautiful though...
>-Larry Giacoletti


Yes there is no question about that. 
I could just imagine how much more feeling and emotions the images
would have for me if they were hand-made.... as in stone lithos.... Wow.

Graham



------------------------------

From: "DRAGO G KISIC" <kisic@PRODIGY.NET>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 16:26:02 -0400
Subject: [Baren 15909] Re: round end grain wood pieces

Could you specify what kind of wood is it?, thank you,m.k.
- ----- Original Message -----
From: <Artsmadis@aol.com>


> I ran across some awfully nice looking end grain wood pieces at an

Oriental

> import food store. They are very hard, about 12 inches in diameter and 1

1/2

> inches thick, circular shape [round] and weigh about 6 or 7 pounds. They

are

> made as  cutting boards, the edges slightly beveled. I don't do wood
> engravings myself, but anyone who wants to try one, let me know and I'll

pick

> one up and mail it to you.  The price is $39.95 + 8 1/4% state tax.  I'm

in

> Dallas, Tx.
>
> Darrell



------------------------------

From: ArtfulCarol@aol.com
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 17:56:23 EDT
Subject: [Baren 15910] Re: Print Alliance 

 Thank you Barbara , but:
What affect will this American Print Alliance Memorial Print Exhibit have on 
the prints that our members are already working on for John's Firemen's 
Benefit.   The size of ours is !0x15.  Some exhibits are already planned.
Carol Lyons

------------------------------

From: "Maria Arango" <maria@mariarango.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 15:08:01 -0700
Subject: [Baren 15911] benefit paper 

I received my paper for the benefit today from Dean's Graphic Chemical.
Beautiful stuff, I hope to honor it with my prints. A suite of 4 prints is
in the making.
Thank you Dean!

Dave, those images sure capture the spirit of the Japanese design.

Graham, grow up.

Maria

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Maria Arango
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
http://www.1000woodcuts.com
maria@mariarango.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>


------------------------------

From: "Maria Arango" <maria@mariarango.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 15:16:24 -0700
Subject: [Baren 15912] benefits

Apologies for duplex posting, but I would like to clarify something about
the benefits.

There are currently many of these things in the works, each with its own
separate rules and paper sizes and so on. I just received a post-card size
benefit thing.

Baren's guided benefit was started by John Center, aided by Dean at Graphic
Chemical and others (sorry, memory fails me) that have shown an interest in
showing the prints. The size is Oban, John may want to repost the rules once
in a while to remind folk.

The Print Alliance benefit is guided by the Print Alliance, has its own
prospectus and guidelines and was only mentioned in Baren because we thought
it would be of interest to printmakers. One of the requirements is that you
belong to one of the many organizations under the Print Alliance umbrella
and pay dues.
Confusing the thing is the announcement that Barbara made that the Print
Alliance may include Baren as one of its member organizations. THIS HAS NOT
HAPPENED YET, as far as I understand it. Barbara, slap me if I'm wrong. So
if you want to participate in the Print Alliance thing, go to their web site
and read all about it.

They are independent benefits. There are many others, by the way, for the
productive machines out there.

Hopefully this will clear up things.
Maria

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Maria Arango
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
http://www.1000woodcuts.com
maria@mariarango.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>


------------------------------

From: Artsmadis@aol.com
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 20:22:20 EDT
Subject: [Baren 15913] Re: round end grain wood pieces 

In a message dated 10/10/01 3:29:33 PM Central Daylight Time, 
kisic@PRODIGY.NET writes:

<< Could you specify what kind of wood is it?, thank you,m.k. >>

I have no idea, all I know is that it is very hard, of a medium brown color 
with some variation, and quite heavy.  Possibly a wood from China, Vietnam, 
etc.

Darrell

------------------------------

From: Graham <gscholes@home.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 23:18:50 -0700
Subject: [Baren 15914] Re: benefit paper 


>Graham, grow up.
>
>Maria
>


That was not very polite think to write when I express my opinion.
Which was by the way done in fun.  If you saw my later posting you would ....

Graham

------------------------------

From: Graham <gscholes@home.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2001 00:12:09 -0700
Subject: [Baren 15915] Re: digital stuff 


>Hi there:
>
>I agree that these works are noteworthy, on several different levels, not
>the least of which are the 'ins and out's' of running Japanese papers
>through an inkjet.
>
>For me, it is interesting to learn more about methods of processing Japanese
>and other art papers through inkjets and laser printers.


I was at a seminar tonight about printing using digital and inkjet 
printers as well as sending material to print by job printers.
Most informative and certainly very techy stuff.  I won't go into 
details as it would fill pages... however there is one important fact 
that struck home with printmakers that enjoy the use of these new 
tools.

Using a inkjet printer  ie.  Epson... HP ... or who ever it is 
important to use their pigment inks as well their papers ... even 
though they are expensive.   The reason for this is that the pigments 
and the papers have been formulated to give the best result and 
quality as well as longivity. There are chemicals in/on the paper 
that are compatible with the inks and give more permanent results and 
better colour.  If you change to different papers then you can expect 
some unusual result that at times will not remain constant.

Colour Laser printers present less of a problem in this regard.

The person that was giving this presentation was an independent who 
was in the field of fine printing as well as commercial work.


>For example, have any of our Hanga printmakers use digital means to design a
>work and then 'print' up the transfer sheets, complete with register marks?
>Are common inkjets even capable of that sort of accuracy?


We did this last year for a participant at Boot Camp and had no 
problem.  Scanned his drawing.  Printed it out on a our laser printer 
and voila, worked like a charm.  I have not found away to transfer 
the toner from an inkjet onto the wood... however the accuracy is 
definitely there. I know this because I have printed the same image 
twice on a piece of paper to get more intense colour. The 
registration was bang on using my Epson 750... a six colour printer.


>Do any of our artist/printmakers feel that using these new tools are
>enriching their work, or are they a distraction, causing you to neglect
>basics like drawing and composition?


I find it takes a hell of a lot longer to arrive at the final 
results..  Give me watercolours, colour pencil or what ever and I 
will be there hours ahead of the digital tools that are out there.  I 
just recently purchased a Wacom tablet and thought this was the 
answers to my prayers.... marginally faster but not up to snuff with 
the traditional tools. A big plus with the traditional tools is that 
I end up with all these lovely little renderings that are cherished 
by the buying public.  What a wonderful plus.  So for me I am very 
comfortable with both tools and understand the technology indepth and 
believe they each serve a different purpose.
Each to his own.

Do you think I have grown up enough Maria. .... (<:  (An in joke on the Baren)


>The bridge between the digital and the traditional is a broad, two-way
>affair and while some prefer to remain on just one side of the divide, I do
>not believe that any such experimentation is wasteful at all.  Such
>creativity may not always be successful, or welcome, but even from failure,
>we can learn and grow.


Well expressed.... You forgot the word risk.... I like to take risks to grow.
Some work some don't but that's OK.  There is an adage that fits ... 
alas it is too late to search for it.

Good night.

Graham


------------------------------

End of Baren Digest V17 #1583
*****************************