Today's postings
- [Baren 40309] Re: Boxing day in Australia is almost past. Sitting in... ( slinders # comcast.net)
- [Baren 40310] Time for Exchange 44 sign ups already! (Kristine Alder)
- [Baren 40311] Baren question (Jerrick Fulkerson)
- [Baren 40312] Re: Boxing day in Australia is almost past. Sitting in... (jennifer kelly)
- [Baren 40313] RE: Baumann (jennifer kelly)
- [Baren 40314] Online exhibition of Japanese work ... (David Bull)
Message 1
From: slinders # comcast.net
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:42:58 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40309] Re: Boxing day in Australia is almost past. Sitting in...
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jennifer kelly wrote:
> Boxing day in Australia is almost past. Sitting in a house in the wilderness, perched on the side of a mountain.
>I have spent time catching up with Baren topics and consequently indulging in all things Gustave Baumann.
> Questions arise. There was mention that he used pigments. Were they used in the Japanese woodblock printing
>style, or mixed with plate oil, or in another fashion?
> I have paid close attention to one particular print, ie the one that appears first on the utube video that
>Julio (thanks Julio) posted. I have broken down the colours he used into blocks, I as yet am not prepared to call
>the exact order of printing, however, the soft, potentially overprinted areas are interesting. Has he hand wiped from
>the outer edges, toward the body of colour to produce the soft edges? If not, then how.
> all the bst from the antipodes, Jenny
Hi, Jennifer,
Your location sounds idyllic! I'm looking out at over a foot of
feathery snow, with more coming down.... It's a 'darks &
lights' print-like world! Quite beautiful!
From "Hand of a Craftsman, Woodcut Technique of Gustave
Baumann", p. 14:
"Ranged in boxes, cannisters, and glass vials on shelves lining
the walls of Baumann's studio were raw and mixed pigments, oils,
varnishes, and solvents. Though he used commercially prepared
black printing ink, the craftsman made all his colored inks
himself using closely guarded formulae developed and refined
over many years. He purchased conventional dry pigments from
various art suppliers and mixed them with his own medium, which
was based on printer's varnish. Experience informed Baumann of
the exact proportions of colorant, medium, binder, and
siccative. Each pigment had its own optimal granular or powdery
state for mixing with the medium, and some varied if printed
alone or in combination with other colors. Thus it was often
necessary to grind the colors more finely, an operation Baumann
performed with a hand mill. When mixing his inks the artist
knowingly adjusted their saturation and viscosity so that the
ink would remain on the surface of the paper or superimpose
another color, and he also adjusted opacity and translucency for
each application. Printing inks of various colors behaved
differently; some could not be combined with or overprinted by
some others. The artist prepared his colors immediately
before printing, only mixing as much as he would use. His wife,
Jane, told a story of how he rose from his bed one night to
return to his studio; instinctively, he sensed that an ink he
had prepared earlier would be properly set for use just then, at
one o'clock in the morning.
The artist printed on dry paper, a preference that might reflect
his informal apprenticeships in the letterpress printing offices
of Chicago and Nashville. This procedure demanded much more ink
than printing on dampened stock and also required that it be
softer, with a greater proportion of oil to pigment. With time,
too much oil can separate fromt he color and bleed into the
paper fibers,, leaving a disfiguring tawny halo. This defect is
seldom seen in Baumann's prints, however, attesting to his
command of the media."
He would frequently print his darkest ink first.
I recommend this book, by David Acton. It is well written and
illustrated!
I've always found the photograph of Baumann's gnarled fingers
cutting a woodblock, on the jacket of this book, to be
impressive (and cautionary!)
http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Craftsman-Woodcut-Technique-Gustave/dp/0890132976
Best wishes for a Happy New Year to the list from a snowy Chicago,
Sharen
> Boxing day in Australia is almost past. Sitting in a house in the wilderness, perched on the side of a mountain.
>I have spent time catching up with Baren topics and consequently indulging in all things Gustave Baumann.
> Questions arise. There was mention that he used pigments. Were they used in the Japanese woodblock printing
>style, or mixed with plate oil, or in another fashion?
> I have paid close attention to one particular print, ie the one that appears first on the utube video that
>Julio (thanks Julio) posted. I have broken down the colours he used into blocks, I as yet am not prepared to call
>the exact order of printing, however, the soft, potentially overprinted areas are interesting. Has he hand wiped from
>the outer edges, toward the body of colour to produce the soft edges? If not, then how.
> all the bst from the antipodes, Jenny
Hi, Jennifer,
Your location sounds idyllic! I'm looking out at over a foot of
feathery snow, with more coming down.... It's a 'darks &
lights' print-like world! Quite beautiful!
From "Hand of a Craftsman, Woodcut Technique of Gustave
Baumann", p. 14:
"Ranged in boxes, cannisters, and glass vials on shelves lining
the walls of Baumann's studio were raw and mixed pigments, oils,
varnishes, and solvents. Though he used commercially prepared
black printing ink, the craftsman made all his colored inks
himself using closely guarded formulae developed and refined
over many years. He purchased conventional dry pigments from
various art suppliers and mixed them with his own medium, which
was based on printer's varnish. Experience informed Baumann of
the exact proportions of colorant, medium, binder, and
siccative. Each pigment had its own optimal granular or powdery
state for mixing with the medium, and some varied if printed
alone or in combination with other colors. Thus it was often
necessary to grind the colors more finely, an operation Baumann
performed with a hand mill. When mixing his inks the artist
knowingly adjusted their saturation and viscosity so that the
ink would remain on the surface of the paper or superimpose
another color, and he also adjusted opacity and translucency for
each application. Printing inks of various colors behaved
differently; some could not be combined with or overprinted by
some others. The artist prepared his colors immediately
before printing, only mixing as much as he would use. His wife,
Jane, told a story of how he rose from his bed one night to
return to his studio; instinctively, he sensed that an ink he
had prepared earlier would be properly set for use just then, at
one o'clock in the morning.
The artist printed on dry paper, a preference that might reflect
his informal apprenticeships in the letterpress printing offices
of Chicago and Nashville. This procedure demanded much more ink
than printing on dampened stock and also required that it be
softer, with a greater proportion of oil to pigment. With time,
too much oil can separate fromt he color and bleed into the
paper fibers,, leaving a disfiguring tawny halo. This defect is
seldom seen in Baumann's prints, however, attesting to his
command of the media."
He would frequently print his darkest ink first.
I recommend this book, by David Acton. It is well written and
illustrated!
I've always found the photograph of Baumann's gnarled fingers
cutting a woodblock, on the jacket of this book, to be
impressive (and cautionary!)
http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Craftsman-Woodcut-Technique-Gustave/dp/0890132976
Best wishes for a Happy New Year to the list from a snowy Chicago,
Sharen
Message 2
From: Kristine Alder
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:23:18 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40310] Time for Exchange 44 sign ups already!
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Happy Holidays to All!
I was just sitting here enjoying a special treat from my sweet neighbor, whose family
is from England, although she spent much her life in Canada. She brought us a tin of delicious
shortbread biscuits (cookies) for Boxing Day, one of the traditions that she carries on. It's so
much fun to be a part of traditions from all over the world.
On that note, I realized that in only five days we will be opening up the sign-ups for Exchange 44
right here at Baren. Talk about sharing from all over the world!
To make it official:
We would like to announce the upcoming Baren Print Exchange #44. Sign-ups will begin at 12:00 a.m.
GMT on January 1, 2010. There is no theme for this exchange, but since we received so many suggestions
to do so, we have selected a technique to be used. Details are listed below.
Technique: 3 Color Reduction
Theme: Open
Image size: Any size and orientation within the paper
Paper size: chu-ban -- about 10 x 7.5 inches (25.5 x 19cm)
Paper type: No restriction
Deadline for finished prints: on or before May 1, 2010
And just a reminder to those participating in Exchange 43...we're into the home stretch on this one.
January 1st is the final date to drop out without incurring penalties. If things are going to prevent
you from honoring your commitment to the exchange, please notify your coordinator as soon as possible.
Knives at the ready...GO!
Happy New Year!
Your Exhange Managers,
Kristine Alder and Mary Kuster
Kristine Alder
St. George, UT
Art Educator/Printmaker/Book Artist/Graphic Design
email: alder@pineview.org
imakeprints@hotmail.com
Message 3
From: Jerrick Fulkerson
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:28:02 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40311] Baren question
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I recently came into possesion of a Dale DeArmond oil pencil sketch
done in Paris in October 1975. For those who are unfamiliar with her
work, she is a celebrated Alaskan printmaker. I have woodcuts and
engravings done by her, along with a small journal entry with her
handwriting saying "done in Paris on a trip with Rie Munoz 10/75"
On the actual sketch, it says "small bird EAX/XXV DeArmond". the owner
thought it had to do with edition size. I think not. Anyone know what
this means? It is my only "non print" of hers. Normally, it says "art
title 1/25 Dale DeArmond-imp" which I understand. Thank you.
Sent from my iPhone
done in Paris in October 1975. For those who are unfamiliar with her
work, she is a celebrated Alaskan printmaker. I have woodcuts and
engravings done by her, along with a small journal entry with her
handwriting saying "done in Paris on a trip with Rie Munoz 10/75"
On the actual sketch, it says "small bird EAX/XXV DeArmond". the owner
thought it had to do with edition size. I think not. Anyone know what
this means? It is my only "non print" of hers. Normally, it says "art
title 1/25 Dale DeArmond-imp" which I understand. Thank you.
Sent from my iPhone
Message 4
From: jennifer kelly
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:37:15 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40312] Re: Boxing day in Australia is almost past. Sitting in...
Send Message: To this poster
Thankyou so much for that info. Until a few days ago, I had never heard of Gaustave Baumann.
Since then I found a reference to the Acton book, and upon looking it up, I discovered the following
1. My state library does not have a copy. 2. My local uni also does not have this title, although there
are books by Acton.3. There is one available on Amazon for $709. This is out of financial range.
Enjoy the snow.
I am clouded in today. Its very peaceful. Lots of birdlife, the wallabies and kangaroos are grazing in
the near distance. The only inconvenience is that the solar power is spent, and the generator is noisey.
Jenny
Message 5
From: jennifer kelly
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:38:21 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40313] RE: Baumann
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Thanks,
Jenny
>Jennifer,I think all his work was oil based...I have the book somewhere and will
>look it up for you, it shows the order of printing of lots of his blocks. I think he
>rolled his ink on the blocks or daubed it on, it is possible to get lots of mottled effects
>doing this but you have to be really good to get them the same from print to print if you are
>fooling around with mottled colors. Baumann's work has a great feel to it, he was certainly a great
>craftsman and not a bad artist either. I actually have a small book he did of the seasons from 1914, I
>got it on ebay about 15 years ago. I wish it were more colors, but still, it is very nice and in fairly good
>shape for a book nearly 100 years old. My bestBarbara
Message 6
From: David Bull
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:56:52 GMT
Subject: [Baren 40314] Online exhibition of Japanese work ...
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I ran across this today, and although it seems to be a few years old,
I think it perhaps hasn't been posted to Baren before:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/cwaj/online/index.html
They are prints by Japanese designers from 2004~2005, in various
media, many of them woodblock ... more than 200 of them. Click any
small one to see an excellent quality larger image ...
Dave
I think it perhaps hasn't been posted to Baren before:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/cwaj/online/index.html
They are prints by Japanese designers from 2004~2005, in various
media, many of them woodblock ... more than 200 of them. Click any
small one to see an excellent quality larger image ...
Dave