Boxwood adventures ...

Posted by Dave Bull at 10:40 AM, March 11, 2010

Unlike the previous Hanga Treasure Chest series, the prints in this one will have a 'unified' appearance. In the old days, whenever prints were issued in sets, it was common to include a 'cartouche' as part of the design, in which both the series title, and the title of each particular print, would be written. And so it will be with this series.

But with a slight twist. As has become obvious by now - from the images of the blocks that I have shown - I am making these prints in pairs. Not two copies of the same image side-by-side (which was frequently done whenever a high volume of prints was needed), but two different images from the series. Numbers 1 and 2 are being made together, then 3 and 4 ... etc. etc.

You have already seen the block for the decorative border pattern, and could clearly see the way that the two prints are arranged on the block. The next one to be carved will be for the border outlines, the cartouches, and the series title. But because the print title will change each time, it cannot be included on this block, but will be carved together with one of the blocks for each particular design. The cartouche block with the series title, will leave a blank space where the print title will appear later.

I made my first dummy images (the one for the pamphlet, etc.) using computer text output for the titles, but for the real prints, I am using real calligraphy. Long-time collector Mrs. Tauchi (who appeared in this newsletter story) has come through again with some beautiful work.

It is extremely delicate calligraphy, and contains lines far too thin to be carved on 'normal' cherry wood. I need something harder, and the standard material for this is tsuge (boxwood), the same wood used for traditional wooden combs.

This though, brings another problem. In the old days, the carver would look at a design, figure out what parts of it (if any) required boxwood, and then place an order with his block supplier for a plank with inlays at the appropriate place(s), all planed perfectly smooth, ready to go. But the last traditional block supplier (Shimano Shintaro) died more than 10 years ago, and in any case, he didn't do this kind of work anyway. Each time I have needed boxwood inlays in my blocks, I have had to do them myself.

Let's begin ...


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Mystique Series - first progress report

Posted by Dave Bull at 12:47 PM, March 10, 2010

Exactly six days ago, in the previous post here on the RoundTable, I showed a photo of my 'office', with a woodblock sitting on the desk where I had just pasted down the first of the tracings (hanshita) for the upcoming first pair of prints in the new Mystique series. Since then, I have been completely silent.

Silent - but busy.

Hmm. It's a bit difficult to see the surface of the wood clearly with the desk light on. If I turn it off and leave just the light from the window, it's better: (these are clickable)

And let's move in for a closer peek ... (although at this level, it sure looks messy!)

I kept track of the time spent on this during the week. The 'gaps' are of course for other work ... bookkeeping, etc.

Hours
Thursday evening:4
Friday morning3
- evening4
Saturday morning3
- afternoon2
- evening3
Sunday morning3
- afternoon2
- evening4
Monday morning3
- afternoon2
- evening3.5
Tuesday evening3.5
Wednesday morning4
- afternoon2
Total:46

So there's six days of my life gone ... in a pile of tiny wood chips on the floor around the carving bench! But it has been a most enjoyable and peaceful six days of work - very nice to be 'back at it'!


Discussion [7]

Havin' fun ... keepin' busy!

Posted by Dave Bull at 2:01 PM, March 4, 2010

These periods - the overlaps between the end of one print series and the beginning of another one - are 'the best of times, and the worst of times' for me. As much as I would like to kick back and relax after three years of work on the Solitudes print series, the deadline for shipping the first Mystiques print is just over three weeks away, and there's no sitting still!

When I came back into my 'office' this afternoon after a nice long bath down at the Post Office, I stood there for a minute looking around, and thought it might be fun to share it with you ... Here are three snapshots (click for enlargements), each one with an accompanying list of things you can hunt for, if you are so inclined!

  • wood swatches with sample wood stain colours for the Mystique box
  • 'To Do' list
  • first wood block for the Mystique series, with hanshita pasted down
  • trusty Canon printer, loaded with paper, ready for the first invoicing for the Mystique series (probably later tonight)
  • small white box with Your First Print CDs, now getting empty, and waiting to be refilled from the stockroom upstairs
  • another 'To Do' list
  • Zoom recorder, waiting for the next 'A Story A Week' recording session, probably tomorrow evening, if I get the story done by then
  • one volume of the large 16-volume Kodansha encyclopedia, waiting to go downstairs to the scanner, for preparation of the hanshita for the second Mystique design
  • stack of Edo and Meiji e-hon, being mined for image ideas (these aren't mine, but belong to young printer Ueda-san)
  • bill clip (getting fatter by the day)

Now if we turn around ...

  • pile-of-junk Epson printer, spitting out another one of the hanshita, ready for pasting down
  • box of woodblocks for the Mystique series, just arrived from Matsumura-san the other day, and eagerly opened right in the entranceway, because he had promised me 'special hand planing by an expert!' ... [comment censored (save it for another post later, Dave ...)]
  • stack of moistened newsprint, containing the small slips of paper for the cover labels to be glued onto the 'Seacoast in Spring' books
  • batch of paulownia boxes for Solitudes books (five of them, from the first carton to be cracked open), waiting for 'touch up' sanding and general 'fixing' - as much as is possible, anyway
  • stack of sample alternate paulownia boxes for the Solitudes books
  • stack of 'art boards', within which the Seacoast in Spring prints have now finished drying, and are waiting to be checked, signed, sealed, trimmed, and FIRED OUT OF HERE (sorry 'bout that ...)
  • stack of pale yellow washi sheets for the covers of the Seacoast in Spring books, just brought upstairs after having been printed with the silver pattern
  • the first few 'returns' from the 500+ pile of exhibition pamphlets sent out the other day (whenever there are than many pieces being mailed, some of the address are bound to have 'expired')
  • tissue box, and associated garbage bag (earlier this week, the 'hinoki' pollen hit this area ...)
  • embossing press, ready for action on the Seacoast in Spring prints

And turning a bit further ...

  • stack of about 100 sheets of Iwano's hosho paper (not for me, but being sent to the [Baren Mall])
  • severe ripples in stack of 100 sheets of paper, due to completely incompetent sizing from Misawa-san, who is obviously coming to 'retirement time', whether by his own choice, or that of the market ...
  • sheet of blank 'hanshita' paper - laminate of extremely thin gampi and a thicker base sheet - ready for feeding into Mr. Epson
  • clear plastic folder containing completed tax returns, ready to be run down to the local tax office and turned in
  • calculator; hopefully soon to be put back in the drawer and LEFT ALONE FOR A WHILE (sorry 'bout that ...)
  • remnants of breakfast: coffee cup, and small cup that held some granola ... (I always know exactly where to find these, when I start hunting for them each morning ...)
  • second wood block for the Mystique series, with hanshita pasted down

But that's enough for now ... I think I had better choose a waiting job, and get to it! :-)


Discussion [2]

[Seacoast in Spring - 11] - Proof variations ...

Posted by Dave Bull at 12:08 PM, March 2, 2010

I mentioned that I would show some of the proof stages, so here they are. A couple of notes:

  • most of these were not intended as 'finished' (possible) prints; they were made to experiment with some particular feature (or with something 'left out' so that other parts would be clear)
  • they were made in pairs, as you see them here, and in this order. The first pair was the very first 'run-through' with the blocks






If you have comments about any particular image, you can refer to it with by number - which you can see by rolling over an image (or clicking for an enlargement).

Discussion [1]

[Seacoast in Spring - 10] - OK, we're done!

Posted by Dave Bull at 3:17 PM, March 1, 2010

The print is finally done!

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[Seacoast in Spring - 9] Yet more printing ...

Posted by Dave Bull at 12:26 PM, February 28, 2010

Four more colour tones ...

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[Seacoast in Spring - 8] - And more printing ...

Posted by Dave Bull at 12:11 PM, February 27, 2010

The next two colour blocks ...

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[Seacoast in Spring - 7] - More printing ...

Posted by Dave Bull at 12:43 PM, February 26, 2010

The next two colours ...

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