Baren Digest                Tuesday, 8 July 2003        Volume 24 : Number 2297


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From: <lcass#primus.ca>
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 09:54:55 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Baren 22162] Hello from the UK 

Hello all -
I'd actually tried to sign out of Baren for the duration of my time away
but wasn't successful and didn't have time to keep trying before I left-
however since I have access to my mail in the Bournemouth library I've
been enjoying reading about the Summit and other things - I'm just about
finished the calendar prints(they're oily ones) and what joy for me to try
the different presses available at the Poole Printmakers studio where I've
been working. I saw a wonderful Kirchner show at the RA in London this
week - many hitherto unviewed paintings and some superb WOODCUTS! Lots of
other good things to see, of course, but it all takes time and London is
absolutely packed (with people). Hurray - the sun is out and I shall walk
along the beautiful clifftop (which abounds in pine, bay ivy and luxuriant
holly, etc. also huge Hydrangea bushes are now replacing the rhododendrons
which greeted me when I first arrived) on my way home - many people are
bathing but the water is icy.
best regards,
Louise Cass

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From: Mike Lyon <mikelyon#mlyon.com>
Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2003 11:51:12 -0500
Subject: [Baren 22163] Hanga -- when paper gets too wet... 

Wanted to post before I 'forget'...

I'm in the middle of printing an edition of 100 oban reduction moku-hanga 
right now, and almost the entire oban size block surface was printed for 
the first seven impressions -- of course, the paper got too wet pretty 
fast...  I considered cutting 100 sheets of newsprint the size of the 
impression (about 9 x 14 inches) in order to interleave and dry the image 
area of the paper (it's an edition of 100), but then I had a "better" 
idea...  I dried about 1/3 of the sheets as I normally would at the end of 
the run and then interleaved those too-dry sheets with the too-wet ones 
before quitting for the day.  The next morning, the moisture in my paper 
stack was PERFECT (what luck)!   That was a lot easier than interleaving 
blotter or newsprint, (or dealing with floppy, wet, bodyless paper) and I 
thought you might be able to use the method yourself...  Or maybe I've just 
reinvented the wheel again and everybody already thought of this obvious 
method...

- -- Mike


Mike Lyon
mailto:mikelyon#mlyon.com
http://www.mlyon.com  

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From: Julio.Rodriguez#walgreens.com
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 12:02:34 -0500
Subject: [Baren 22164] Re: Exchanges....stuff.. 


It does my heart good to see the exchange program doing so well and to 
have such a large part of the membership taking an active part. Little did 
James Mundie and Dave Bull know what was to follow after their innocent 
suggestion for a first time Baren exchange some four years ago. Now, with 
16 exchanges done, one large fundraiser (911) completed and another on 
it's way (calendars), Swapshop and several other off-shoot 
projects....there is no doubt that this facet of Baren is more popular 
than ever. 

 Bring on the mini-prints and the pillow-books !!!!

 Over 19,000 prints have been made in the last four years by our 
membership, prints which are out there in the world to be seen and 
appreciated by a vast audience. Prints which perhaps would never had seen 
the light of day if not for Baren bringing us all together.  That's a 
fantastic record of our short time together. 

Congratulations to all the artists involved in the last sixteen plus 
exchanges and to the folks behind the scenes (Mike Lyon (Coordinator of 
the Exchange program) , Bea Gold (ex-mgr of coordinators), James Mundie 
(Swapshop), Rudolph Stalder & Sharri LaPierre (LPE 1 & 2), Maria Arango 
("What is Baren" - puzzle project.) and all the wonderful exchange 
coordinators for a fantastic over-the-top effort. Thanks to Steve Goddard, 
Cory and the folks at the Spencer Museum for archiving our work.

Julio Rodriguez (Skokie, Illinois) 

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From: Julio.Rodriguez#walgreens.com
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 12:13:09 -0500
Subject: [Baren 22165] Re: Exchanges....stuff..part 2 

.......And of course Dave Bull for thinking up the idea for this group and 
making it all possible.....

Julio



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From: "Joseph Sheridan" <sheridanpsm#msn.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 13:54:29 -0400
Subject: [Baren 22166] Re: Hanga -- when paper gets too wet... 


Mike
I look forward to the result of your drying and re interleaving.
Somewhere in the Yoshida book it said to leave the order of paper the 
same throughout the course of printing. It said leave in the botched 
ones. It suggested this, so that the paper and block expansion/shrinkage 
would be constant. It was phrased like a commandment!
Perhaps the reduction method opens up this avenue.
In a similar vein, I read of the woodblock print maker Paul Binnie 
drying (when necessary) his partial edition. He then re-dampens them in 
the same method and continues where he left off.
Hope you have great success!
Joe



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From: Mike Lyon <mikelyon#mlyon.com>
Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2003 13:26:53 -0500
Subject: [Baren 22167] Re: Hanga -- when paper gets too wet... 

For what it's worth, I normally (not this time, due to interleaving 1/3 of 
the prints) leave the prints in the same order throughout printing -- when 
I print several blocks, this gives the moisture equal opportunity to 
migrate through the paper, and since the strength of my color oscillates a 
bit through every four or five prints as I perceive the threshold of "too 
light" and "too dark" a bit "too late", I get the best chance to keep 
everything synch'd up by keeping everything in order.  I have only NOTICED 
paper/wood expansion/contraction one time (that's not to say that 
everything doesn't move all the time -- just that I don't usually notice 
their effects in my prints -- by far the biggest source of mis-registration 
in MY prints is my own error when I place and drop the paper) -- that was 
while printing the two tiny pupils (and pink lips) in my "flora" exchange 
print...  Those parts were (stupid me) located about as far from the kento 
as they possibly could be -- and paper expansion / contraction / errors in 
dropping the paper, variations in paper thickness (drooping) etc. all 
conspired to keep the pupils printing outside their outlines on many of the 
prints -- the faces are pretty disturbing when the blue pupils fall out of 
register by 1/32" or so -- enough to put them half-way outside the outline 
and make the lovers appear a bit too starry eyed...

But both Yoshidas (Hiroshi and Toshi) routinely made larger than oban 
prints...  I won't be trying a twice-oban size print until my next print -- 
15" x 20"...  I might become more sensitive to the synchronized shrinking 
thing during that run...

In the meantime, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

- -- Mike

At 01:54 PM 7/7/2003 -0400, you wrote:

>Somewhere in the Yoshida book it said to leave the order of paper the same 
>throughout the course of printing. It said leave in the botched ones. It 
>suggested this, so that the paper and block expansion/shrinkage would be 
>constant. It was phrased like a commandment!


Mike Lyon
mailto:mikelyon#mlyon.com
http://www.mlyon.com  

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From: Artsmadis#aol.com
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 21:33:49 EDT
Subject: [Baren 22168] Re: Hanga -- when paper gets too wet... 

In a message dated 7/7/03 11:58:05 AM Central Daylight Time, 
mikelyon#mlyon.com writes:

<< the paper got too wet pretty fast...  I considered cutting 100 sheets of 
newsprint the size of the impression (about 9 x 14 inches) in order to 
interleave >>

I've often wondered if using newsprint, [especially wet or damp] with high 
quality, long lasting printmaking paper is a good idea.   If you've ever seen a 
book that has had a newspaper clipping between the pages for a few years you 
know that it makes a darkly discolored area on the paper.  Seems like moist 
newsprint would transmit some of it's acidity to the print paper and over time 
have an effect on it.  
Wouldn't acid free blotters be a better idea? 

Darrell

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From: Barbara Mason <barbaramason45#yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 21:41:00 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 22169] Re: Hanga -- when paper gets too wet... 


Darrell,
I used damp blotters and they worked very well, so think this is
a good choice. I also think that newsprint will work because it
is against the prints for such a short time, only a few days.

I stored some plates in butcher paper and discovered it is pretty
acid free, but I think it would be good to test it for any really
long storage.

I have also just stacked up the work, offset a bit and that
seemed to work, I had a piece of plexiglas on top of it to keep
in the moisture....but I do live in a moist climate most of the
year and the prints were fairly small. I think something to keep
the moisture even is always a good idea. Dave uses newspapers and
a plastic bag, I think you should test the papers in your city to
be sure the ink does not offset to the printing paper. In Japan
there seems to be no problem with this but I have heard that in
some cities in the US that the papers must be old so the ink is
really set

I think your idea worked well for you Mike, drying some sheets
and interleaving them back into the pack of wet ones. Of course
this would get them out of order....does that really matter if
they are sitting overnight????? Best to all, Barbara

>Artsmadis#aol.com wrote:
>In a message dated 7/7/03 11:58:05 AM Central Daylight Time, 
>mikelyon#mlyon.com writes:
>
><< the paper got too wet pretty fast... I considered cutting 100 sheets of 
>newsprint the size of the impression (about 9 x 14 inches) in order to 
>interleave >>
>
>I've often wondered if using newsprint, [especially wet or damp] with high 
>quality, long lasting printmaking paper is a good idea. If you've ever seen a 
>book that has had a newspaper clipping between the pages for a few years you 
>know that it makes a darkly discolored area on the paper. Seems like moist 
>newsprint would transmit some of it's acidity to the print paper and over time 
>have an effect on it. 
>Wouldn't acid free blotters be a better idea? 

Darrell



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End of Baren Digest V24 #2297
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