Today's postings

  1. [Baren 45007] Response to Ruth Egnater's note on Jan 12 about Northern Ontario (Lawrence H Pinto)
  2. [Baren 45008] Year of the Dragon Exchange (Carole Baker)
  3. [Baren 45009] the Tsunami fundraiser (Barbara Mason)
  4. [Baren 45010] Re: the Tsunami fundraiser (ArtfulCarol # aol.com)
  5. [Baren 45011] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification (Blog Manager)
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Message 1
From: Lawrence H Pinto
Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:34:13 GMT
Subject: [Baren 45007] Response to Ruth Egnater's note on Jan 12 about Northern Ontario
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Dear Ruth,

I'm so glad to hear that you were able to do a 5 mi portage in Northern Ontario and worked in, and liked, the bush! Me, too. I have been doing a mouse ecology project up there (I've done mouse research for decades, on the eye at Northwestern in Evanston, IL) and came to realize that conservation of the area is important. Where else in the middle of North America do you have a large wilderness within a day's drive from 3 major metropolitan areas? I'd like to use prints to help with this effort, and I'm committed to two print exchanges. I am trying my beginner's best to submit prints that are along these lines. I have had a chance to show the proof prints to the (few) local people who live outside of towns (they help with my field work) up there and it is remarkable to me how important it is to them that someone from the big city places value on "their" wilderness. The local people constantly have to do battle with short-sighted projects that will industrialize this wilderness (Gravel pits on the shore of Lake Superior, wind farms in the middle of the lake instead of off where they are out of sight, both sited for reasons of stinginess), and it seems to me that print might be of help. I'll try. Let me know when you head north again. I'm headed north in a few weeks to draw ice!

Thanks for asking, Larry
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Message 2
From: Carole Baker
Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:17:01 GMT
Subject: [Baren 45008] Year of the Dragon Exchange
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One more day to sign up for the Year of the Dragon exchange.... I'll
close the signup tomorrow (Monday) night. Here is the place to go
to : http://barenforum.org/new_year/index.html

Andrew and Linda, I'm glad to see you both signed up, as well as
several others in the last week. There are 44 participants so far.

Yes Linda, there is wishful thinking involved expecting all the
prints to get sent at the beginning of the NY, but most people are OK
with some of them being late and enjoy them coming throughout the
year, and later. I'm definitely wishing that there will be lots of
dragons arriving in the next month of so.

Carole Baker
Gustavus, Alaska
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Message 3
From: Barbara Mason
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:42:21 GMT
Subject: [Baren 45009] the Tsunami fundraiser
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Hi all,
I am remiss at getting this out...Carol Lyons lost her computer to evil magicians or whoever takes them when they self destruct...
the show at the Irvington Library in the Martucci Gallery is up and open soon. The New York Times printed a small blurb with a photo, the Japanese Consulate saw it and is attending the exhibit...amazing what goes on with our fundraiser. I personally got invited to the home of the Japanese deputy consulate for a small luncheon as well as invited to the big party in the Hilton Hotel Grand Ballroom for the Emperor's Birthday...how fun was that?

Can those who exhibited the work let me know what you sold dollar wise? I want to keep some kind of all over total of prints sold..
I am so lazy, I should go look it up to see where it all happened but I think I have brain fog tonight...
We have sent over $3500 to Mercy Corps here in Oregon and much to the Red Cross in South Africa, but I don't have numbers from the other venues in the USA

McClains has it on her website and in the catalog so we will continue to sell the prints for another while...one woman saw it in a link from a class on the Smithsonian website and went to McClains and then to us and bought 10 prints...so you never know who will see it and how they will find us.

I just saw photos from Japan from a friend who has visited and it still looks bad...very bad.
Thank you Baren, for your care and thoughtfulness and hard work
My best to everyone
Barbara
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Message 4
From: ArtfulCarol # aol.com
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:42:27 GMT
Subject: [Baren 45010] Re: the Tsunami fundraiser
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One thing is for sure---one never knows, does one...
Carol

Digest Appendix

Postings made on [Baren] members' blogs
over the past 24 hours ...

Subject: Glue and Alum, sizing paper at home; round two
Posted by: Andrew Stone


Emboldened by encouraging words (and detailed instructions) from accomplished printmaker Paul Furneaux (who sizes his own paper) I decided to give it another go.

I'm using his Winter recipe; 14grams of animal-skin glue (rabbit) and 5 g of powdered alum to 1L of water. I soaked the glue in 1/2 the water overnight, then added another 1/2 liter of boiling water in the morning, stirred it all up (it dissolved nicely) then turned up the heat and added the small amount of alum, that I had already dissolved in a small cup of very hot water. I kept all this on a warm stove/flame in a make-shift double boiler to keep the glue mixture from getting too hot.

The interesting advice I got from Paul was to use an old blanket under my work station to act as a size catcher--and to move the brush slowly across the width saturating the paper with warm size (it will soak thru to the blanket). He doesn't stack it but then picks it up carefully and hangs it up to dry sheet by sheet. He urged to leave the last few centimeters unsized so as to have a dry, strong edge to lift it up.

I'm trying to size a fairly thin paper but that was available down the street at the local art-supply store and was practically the heaviest they had, the rest of their stock is used by bookbinders and for restoration work.
It is a handmade Japanese washi, 45g/M2 weight and 90%Kozo(mulberry) and 10% wood pulp.


Here's the table. Blanket is down, sheet of paper on top, smooth side of the paper (the printing side) is UP and will receive the size brushed out.


[Long item has been trimmed at this point. The full blog entry can be viewed here]

This item is taken from the blog Lacrime di Rospo.
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Subject:
Posted by: Renee A. Ugrin

A Full Set of Pocketbook Prints!




It speaks to my optimism that this One-Year project turned into a Two-Year project.  I loved the idea of printing and distributing a Print-of-the-Month.  Here they are, all twelve, and they have evolved as the years presented different ideas, attitudes and insights.  At the beginning of this series, I thought I would comment on the financial aspects of living in a strained economy but there is too much negativity in that.  I have always been more interested in what we can do as individuals. 

Each pocketbook print began as drawing of the genuine article.  Many are handmade, some from famous designers, some are simply delightful in their shape, texture, the way they close and open, the way they are carried or embellished.  I tried to choose them by seasonal interest and selected an alternating pattern of 'rounds' and 'rectangles' so that if they were hung together they would have a good graphic presence.  I thought of the purses that were made from animals.  I am not promoting the use of the good creatures who share the planet with us, but when these were made that was not the general attitude.  In using the old time phrase for the title of two purses at the bottom corners "see you later alligator" and "after a while crocodile" , I am hoping to evoke an era from long ago.

There are formal and informal purses, good for all of the occasions that life brings.  I really enjoyed creating this series and look forward to sharing it. 

 This first bag is made of rayon cloth, with many pleats which makes a nice design and texture.  The next is lizard.  The third is a sparkley beaded bag with a long beaded strap.  A snake skin is next, which was once thought to bring prosperity.  A round ribbon woven bag with hard sides,( really fun to carve).  The next is a little suede bag which reminds me of a sexy bustier.  A straw bag for the summer time with flowers of course.  A corded bag with a great design.  A so shiney satin bag with a sparkley clasp.  The next is alligator.  Then, a wild west hand tooled pruse.  Finally, the crocodile, this purse fascinated and frightened me as a child, but I felt I should honor the poor creature all the same.

  My Mom loved style, interesting, dynamic, feminine, fearless and of fine quality, much like her! 


[Long item has been trimmed at this point. The full blog entry can be viewed here]

This item is taken from the blog Mira Vista Studio Arts.
'Reply' to Baren about this item.