Today's postings
- [Baren 28900] first moku hanga work (Barbara Mason)
- [Baren 28901] Woodblock prints on display in Indiana / Vermont / Seattle (baren_member # barenforum.org)
- [Baren 28902] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification (Blog Manager)
- [Baren 28903] Gampi paper (Melinda)
- [Baren 28904] Gadfly Exhibition Opening W Aust. (Jan Telfer)
Message 1
From: Barbara Mason
Date: Tue, 4 Oct 2005 10:43:15 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 28900] first moku hanga work
Send Message: To this poster
Robert,
This internet site has the most information available anywhere in the world, outside of a printing house in Japan, for doing this type of printmaking. Go to the encyclopedia, start reading the one point lessons and go from there. Everything is here, somewhere. If things are not clear, ask questions. Moku Hanga, which is what we call this type of printmaking, is our western term for traditional Ja[anese woodblock waterbased printmaking. The all Hanga exchange really means using waterbased pigment in water with a little paste as a binder, applied with a brush, not rolled on, and printed with a baren.
Pretty simple till you make your first one. Like everything else there is a lerning curve and it takes a while to learn. The results are so worth it, it is a very zen process. Calms your nerves like nothing else. It can also make you crazy when you have problems. My worst problem when starting to learn this was figuring out where to put stuff so I did not get ink all over....I had it on my hands, on the table, on the edges of the paper, on the sides of the block.....Finally I got comfortable with things and no longer fight all the materials. Look carefully at the set up Dave Bull uses, go to his webcam and see where he puts stuff, rembering he is left handed and it probably needs to be reversed for a right handed person. Use less water and less paste and less pigment than you think you need. You just want a satin film over the block. The key is consistency, just like any printmaking process. The same process repeated over and over gives you the same results. Finding this flow
is the
key to doing this well. Of course good carving doesn't hurt. This is definitely my downfall! I am a way better printer than a carver and I am just a mediocre printer with this process...but we just keep doing it and over and after several years we see progress!
Also, I recommend a simple print for your first attempt...don't try to do 5 or 6 blocks for the first one. Two or three will be ample for your first attempt.
Best to you and welcome to the Baren Forum,
Barbara
This internet site has the most information available anywhere in the world, outside of a printing house in Japan, for doing this type of printmaking. Go to the encyclopedia, start reading the one point lessons and go from there. Everything is here, somewhere. If things are not clear, ask questions. Moku Hanga, which is what we call this type of printmaking, is our western term for traditional Ja[anese woodblock waterbased printmaking. The all Hanga exchange really means using waterbased pigment in water with a little paste as a binder, applied with a brush, not rolled on, and printed with a baren.
Pretty simple till you make your first one. Like everything else there is a lerning curve and it takes a while to learn. The results are so worth it, it is a very zen process. Calms your nerves like nothing else. It can also make you crazy when you have problems. My worst problem when starting to learn this was figuring out where to put stuff so I did not get ink all over....I had it on my hands, on the table, on the edges of the paper, on the sides of the block.....Finally I got comfortable with things and no longer fight all the materials. Look carefully at the set up Dave Bull uses, go to his webcam and see where he puts stuff, rembering he is left handed and it probably needs to be reversed for a right handed person. Use less water and less paste and less pigment than you think you need. You just want a satin film over the block. The key is consistency, just like any printmaking process. The same process repeated over and over gives you the same results. Finding this flow
is the
key to doing this well. Of course good carving doesn't hurt. This is definitely my downfall! I am a way better printer than a carver and I am just a mediocre printer with this process...but we just keep doing it and over and after several years we see progress!
Also, I recommend a simple print for your first attempt...don't try to do 5 or 6 blocks for the first one. Two or three will be ample for your first attempt.
Best to you and welcome to the Baren Forum,
Barbara
Message 2
From: baren_member # barenforum.org
Date: 5 Oct 2005 03:49:02 -0000
Subject: [Baren 28901] Woodblock prints on display in Indiana / Vermont / Seattle
Message posted from: Google News Update
From the 'Indiana Daily Student', Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana:
The Art of Business
Once a blank canvas, the walls and ceilings in the Kelley School's Graduate and Executive Education Center now create an artistic sanctuary aside from business as usual.
With the opening of the school's new building in 2002, Kelley School professors and administrators wanted to create an atmosphere that encouraged critical thinking and ingenuity. They turned to the school's diverse art collection as a source for motivation. Featuring more than 200 pieces, the Kelley School's art collection seeks to inspire students and create an escape from "business as usual."
The IU art collection contributed several works, including pieces from Echo Press, a fine arts printmaking workshop that operated on campus from 1979 to 1995.
The diversity of the collection reflects its diverse contributors. As an Asian art collector, Joseph Waldman, a professor of business administration, donated several Japanese woodblock prints of samurai, actors and pagodas. On a tour of the school's collection, he pointed out some of his favorites, including a series of six prints of cats from 1914.
Although the collection continues to grow, Waldman said he would like to see much more art adorning the walls of both business buildings. During the tour of the collection, Waldman gestured at bare walls lining a hallway.
"See this?" Waldman said. "This is a problem."
http://www.idsnews.com/subsite/story.php?id=31515&adid=business
***
Essex Junction, VT—This year’s Champlain Valley Antiques Festival (CVAF), which takes place October 8-9, 2005 at the Champlain Valley Exposition site in Essex Junction, Vermont, will feature dealers from eleven states, including each New England state, and New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland. ... Leatrice Robinson has a wonderful showing of Asian Art & Antiques, Japanese woodblock prints, and Persian & Indian art.
Further information is available at www.antiquingvermont.com, or by calling 781-862-4039
***
From the Seattle Weekly:
A selection of woodblock prints from Japan's Sosaku Hanga movement of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, plus nature-inspired woodcuts by Nebraska artist Karen Kunc. Reception: 5-7 p.m. Davidson Galleries, 313 Occidental Ave. S., 206-624-7684. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Oct. 29.
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0540/051005_arts_vacalendar.php
From the 'Indiana Daily Student', Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana:
The Art of Business
Once a blank canvas, the walls and ceilings in the Kelley School's Graduate and Executive Education Center now create an artistic sanctuary aside from business as usual.
With the opening of the school's new building in 2002, Kelley School professors and administrators wanted to create an atmosphere that encouraged critical thinking and ingenuity. They turned to the school's diverse art collection as a source for motivation. Featuring more than 200 pieces, the Kelley School's art collection seeks to inspire students and create an escape from "business as usual."
The IU art collection contributed several works, including pieces from Echo Press, a fine arts printmaking workshop that operated on campus from 1979 to 1995.
The diversity of the collection reflects its diverse contributors. As an Asian art collector, Joseph Waldman, a professor of business administration, donated several Japanese woodblock prints of samurai, actors and pagodas. On a tour of the school's collection, he pointed out some of his favorites, including a series of six prints of cats from 1914.
Although the collection continues to grow, Waldman said he would like to see much more art adorning the walls of both business buildings. During the tour of the collection, Waldman gestured at bare walls lining a hallway.
"See this?" Waldman said. "This is a problem."
http://www.idsnews.com/subsite/story.php?id=31515&adid=business
***
Essex Junction, VT—This year’s Champlain Valley Antiques Festival (CVAF), which takes place October 8-9, 2005 at the Champlain Valley Exposition site in Essex Junction, Vermont, will feature dealers from eleven states, including each New England state, and New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland. ... Leatrice Robinson has a wonderful showing of Asian Art & Antiques, Japanese woodblock prints, and Persian & Indian art.
Further information is available at www.antiquingvermont.com, or by calling 781-862-4039
***
From the Seattle Weekly:
A selection of woodblock prints from Japan's Sosaku Hanga movement of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, plus nature-inspired woodcuts by Nebraska artist Karen Kunc. Reception: 5-7 p.m. Davidson Galleries, 313 Occidental Ave. S., 206-624-7684. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Oct. 29.
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0540/051005_arts_vacalendar.php
Message 3
From: Blog Manager
Date: 5 Oct 2005 03:55:02 -0000
Subject: [Baren 28902] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification
Send Message: To this poster
This is an automatic update message being sent to [Baren] by the forum blog software.
The following new entries were found on the listed printmaker's websites during the past 24 hours. (8 sites checked, just before midnight Eastern time)
*****************
Site Name: Printmakingblog
Author: Printblog
Item: THE FUTURE OF ART MATERIALS
http://printmakersmaterials.blogspot.com/2005/10/future-of-art-materials.html
*****************
[Baren] members: if you have a printmaking blog (or a website with a published ATOM feed), and wish it to be included in this daily checklist, please write to the Baren Blog Manager at:
http://barenforum.org/contact_baren.php
The following new entries were found on the listed printmaker's websites during the past 24 hours. (8 sites checked, just before midnight Eastern time)
*****************
Site Name: Printmakingblog
Author: Printblog
Item: THE FUTURE OF ART MATERIALS
http://printmakersmaterials.blogspot.com/2005/10/future-of-art-materials.html
*****************
[Baren] members: if you have a printmaking blog (or a website with a published ATOM feed), and wish it to be included in this daily checklist, please write to the Baren Blog Manager at:
http://barenforum.org/contact_baren.php
Message 4
From: Melinda
Date: Tue, 4 Oct 2005 21:03:46 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 28903] Gampi paper
Send Message: To this poster
Hello Dale,
By western printing do you mean relief through a press?
If it has a smooth side and a side that's more
fiberous, i usually use the smooth side- but i make my
own paper, if they have sized one side but not the
other the finish will be different, i guess you would
want to use the glossy side in that case. If your
block is a harder wood you can print on the more
fiberous side, but look out for the fiber making
impressions in your block, i had this happen on a pine
block, if your pressure is high enough even a 1mm
piece of fiber will leave an impression.
Are there any other papermakers out there? I want to
size my kozo papers for use in hand printing and have
no idea how to make it worth the time.
side note- for some reason i don't get the html
version anymore, just the old version is it just me?
I went to the baren homepage and tried to request both
again, but it dosn't look like it worked.
~Melinda Cross
Boston, Ma
By western printing do you mean relief through a press?
If it has a smooth side and a side that's more
fiberous, i usually use the smooth side- but i make my
own paper, if they have sized one side but not the
other the finish will be different, i guess you would
want to use the glossy side in that case. If your
block is a harder wood you can print on the more
fiberous side, but look out for the fiber making
impressions in your block, i had this happen on a pine
block, if your pressure is high enough even a 1mm
piece of fiber will leave an impression.
Are there any other papermakers out there? I want to
size my kozo papers for use in hand printing and have
no idea how to make it worth the time.
side note- for some reason i don't get the html
version anymore, just the old version is it just me?
I went to the baren homepage and tried to request both
again, but it dosn't look like it worked.
~Melinda Cross
Boston, Ma
Message 5
From: Jan Telfer
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 2005 23:19:39 +0800
Subject: [Baren 28904] Gadfly Exhibition Opening W Aust.
Send Message: To this poster
Hi Everyone,
Well, last night was the Opening of my Exhibition in which I had my 40
woodblock prints. I have already sold several.
Sooooooo many people I couldn't believe it and the Gadfly has quite a
bit of floor space too. I don't know the numbers that were there but
will ask Anna next time I am at the Gallery. It was literally
shoulder to shoulder and from so many areas of my life...... my hair
cutter, masseur, accountant, lawyer, dentist, art framer, from my old
work, current Uni, and groups of printmakers, calligraphers, and I
think John's entire golf club!!!! My daughter, Nicki, took some
photos and am waiting for her to email them to me.
I sold several prints, and I may have sold my entire Aussie Flag mixed
media series of 12 prints to BHP!! But just keep your fingers
crossed!! One of the State Librarians was there and he wants to keep
them all together and under a corporate sponsorship, so I am just
biding my time and waiting to see what happens. It could be rather
exciting!!
The woodblocks looked really nice all hung. I didn't feel like it was
"my exhibition" but that I had just seen all the prints hanging on the
wall!! But so many people were so enquiring of the techniques.... I
had my tools for both hanga and oil based cutting and printing in a
cabinet with the registration marks highlighted on the blocks and the
paper that covered half of one block.
Leonie Dobrowolski who opened my exhibition is an art teacher and
friend of 25 years and it was she who took our group to Italy a couple
of weeks ago. What she said about my woodblocks and me I am sure she
wasn't talking about "this me" but someone "Idyllic me"........ it is
too embarassing to repeat here! There were so many people that I
didn't have a right of reply, but had my "thank you" speech already
prepared and up my sleeve. Our kids came out to dinner with us
afterwards and I was saying that I didn't have an opportunity to say my
thank yous and so they asked me to read it at the table......... only
another couple in the Japanese restaurant at this stage!!...
Besides the usual thank yous to Anna and Leonie and my framer, George,
and Hiroshi Tomihari and Graham Scholes for their teaching me my
woodblock skills I also had a big thank you which went like this:
"I would especially like to acknowledge my International woodblock
printing friends on Baren woodblock printmakers who have a like minded
passion for carving and printing in wood. I have met only a handful of
them from America, Canada and eastern Australia but our internet
connections and exchanges keep us enthused. Thank you Baren Members."
I have a lot to thank you guys for...... mostly for just being there!
Thank you Baren Members for your support,
Jan
Perth, Western Australia...... the most isolated capital city in the
world!
Well, last night was the Opening of my Exhibition in which I had my 40
woodblock prints. I have already sold several.
Sooooooo many people I couldn't believe it and the Gadfly has quite a
bit of floor space too. I don't know the numbers that were there but
will ask Anna next time I am at the Gallery. It was literally
shoulder to shoulder and from so many areas of my life...... my hair
cutter, masseur, accountant, lawyer, dentist, art framer, from my old
work, current Uni, and groups of printmakers, calligraphers, and I
think John's entire golf club!!!! My daughter, Nicki, took some
photos and am waiting for her to email them to me.
I sold several prints, and I may have sold my entire Aussie Flag mixed
media series of 12 prints to BHP!! But just keep your fingers
crossed!! One of the State Librarians was there and he wants to keep
them all together and under a corporate sponsorship, so I am just
biding my time and waiting to see what happens. It could be rather
exciting!!
The woodblocks looked really nice all hung. I didn't feel like it was
"my exhibition" but that I had just seen all the prints hanging on the
wall!! But so many people were so enquiring of the techniques.... I
had my tools for both hanga and oil based cutting and printing in a
cabinet with the registration marks highlighted on the blocks and the
paper that covered half of one block.
Leonie Dobrowolski who opened my exhibition is an art teacher and
friend of 25 years and it was she who took our group to Italy a couple
of weeks ago. What she said about my woodblocks and me I am sure she
wasn't talking about "this me" but someone "Idyllic me"........ it is
too embarassing to repeat here! There were so many people that I
didn't have a right of reply, but had my "thank you" speech already
prepared and up my sleeve. Our kids came out to dinner with us
afterwards and I was saying that I didn't have an opportunity to say my
thank yous and so they asked me to read it at the table......... only
another couple in the Japanese restaurant at this stage!!...
Besides the usual thank yous to Anna and Leonie and my framer, George,
and Hiroshi Tomihari and Graham Scholes for their teaching me my
woodblock skills I also had a big thank you which went like this:
"I would especially like to acknowledge my International woodblock
printing friends on Baren woodblock printmakers who have a like minded
passion for carving and printing in wood. I have met only a handful of
them from America, Canada and eastern Australia but our internet
connections and exchanges keep us enthused. Thank you Baren Members."
I have a lot to thank you guys for...... mostly for just being there!
Thank you Baren Members for your support,
Jan
Perth, Western Australia...... the most isolated capital city in the
world!