Kathe Kollwitz (1867-1945)

Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz (July 8, 1867 April 22, 1945) was a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor whose work offered an eloquent and often searing account of the human condition in the first half of the 20th century. Her empathy for the less fortunate, expressed most famously through the graphic means of drawing, etching, lithography, and woodcut, embraced the victims of poverty, hunger, and war.Initially her work was grounded in Naturalism, and later took on Expressionistic qualities.

911 Barenforum.org Portfolio

The Artist's Registry at the National September 11 Memorial Museum, is a gathering place and virtual gallery for art created in response to the events of 9/11. The artists range from seasoned professionals to novices inspired to express their reactions to 9/11 through painting, drawing, writing, music, and more.
It was John Center's idea that the Baren group undertake the creation of a portfolio theme "Remembering the Firemen of 9/11". The portfolio traveled across the U.S. in 2002 and thanks to the efforts of Carol Lyons it was included in the 911 Artists Registry above and also in the permanent collection of the New York City Public Library.
Image by Lezle Willliams (2002)

Social Networks & sharing info...What's the fuzz all about ?

Although our members come from all corners of the world here at barenforum.org we have always prided ourselves in being a very close-knit community of printmakers, a real family. The latest forum threads about the Baren group expanding to Facebook and the real need to upgrade our way of sharing information has brought some really animated discussion to the group.
These very short and to-the-point videos from the folks at Commoncraft explain some of the new ways people and groups are now sharing information online. While the examples given may be off-topic, think of how we as printmakers and artists can use these new tools to share & promote our cause.
What if some of these same tools and concepts were available to us here at Baren ? Some of us here are of the opinion that the future of Baren lies somewhere in this direction. The Baren experience grows !

Social Media in plain English....


Social Network in Plain English......


Blogs in Plain English.....


RSS Feeds in Plain English......

Tom Killion Workshop

As I mentioned last week I had an opportunity to visit with Tom at a woodblock printmaking workshop offered by Columbia College in downtown Chicago. Tom was gracious enough to invite me to attend the workshop and although scheduling conflicts would not permit me to attend the two day class I was able to drop in for a few hours on Sunday morning talk with Tom and take some photos.
The workshop was preceeded by a Friday night lecture/slide presentation at which Tom talked in depth about his printmaking technique and his passion for the California landscape.

"Mt. Tamalpais from Bulkley Ave., Sausalito". Multi-block reduction cut with 13 color-layers, printed Fall 2008 in edition of 165, image size 13X14.5"
You can read more about Tom's technique (mix of western/oil/reduction and Japanese traditional moku-hanga) and see his extraordinary prints at his website. Tom Killion's website is at: http://tomkillion.com/
(Click on any photo to bring up a larger image)
Friday night presentation...woodblock print step-by-step from sketch to final color impression.


The photos below are pretty self explanatory as Tom is mixing ink, registering and proofing student's blocks on a large motorized Vandercook press.

More photos below.......

2009 Chinese New Year OX prints Gallery now up

The 2009 New Year Ox prints are up on the online gallery. Many thanks to Carole Baker for scanning and uploading the images to the Baren website.
You can see the prints received so far at: http://barenforum.org/new_year/index.html
You can also go to the participants list to see who has delivered prints (name/info in green). Approximately half has sent prints so far. The rest of us better get going and get the Oxen prints done and mailed asap.
Prints by Lynn Starun and Joseph Beery.