Posted by Dave Bull on February 13, 2011 [Permalink]

Continued from the previous post in the thread | Starting point of the entire thread is here

OK, this stone is now beginning to roll ... although still pretty slowly! Here's the plan:

• Designer Kaori Seki goes to Toshikazu Doi's home for a 'lesson' in senshafuda : study old samples, and get ideas for how to develop her own images for this project. That is happening this afternoon (as I type, actually) and I also want to attend, but I can't. I am too busy with the Mystique printing work (which is also her design - Urashima Taro). [Update: photos of the meeting have been added to the Comments section below ...]
• Seki-san goes home and begins to prepare some sample designs. When some sketches are ready, she sends them to David.
• David studies the sketch ideas, and selects three for production.
• Seki-san prepares the three ideas in finished form: sen-gaki (outline drawing) and an iro-mihon (colour mockup), and sends these to David, with copies also going to calligrapher Mrs. Yoko Tauchi, the lady who has done all the calligraphy for my recent projects (including the current Mystique series).
• Tauchi-san discusses ideas with Seki-san, and prepares a calligraphy title for each one. Something 'playful' would be good! When they are ready, she sends them to David.
• When David has received the sen-gaki and the calligraphy, he prepares the hanshita (block cutter's drawing), and sends this to carver Tsunehisa Sato, together with the blank woodblock.
• Sato-san begins carving.
• When Sato-san has finished the key block, he calls David. It is time for iro-sashi (colour separation). Because we have no printer chosen yet, David and Sato-san meet to make these, and decide colour blocks. It would be a good idea for Seki-san to also be present for this.
• Sato-san then begins colour carving.
• When the colour blocks are ready, they all go to the printer, for first proofing. Again, if a printer is not confirmed for this project by then, David will do the proofing. He will also run-up a few copies for display on the website, making pamphlets, etc. Seki-san would also learn a lot if she were present for the proofing step, and who knows, extra input from her at that stage might lead to new/better ideas coming out.
• The edition printer - who must be ready-to-go by this stage - then gets busy on making the batch of 200. At this time, the website opens for taking orders. Printing of the packages also gets under way (my laser printing will be smokin'!)
• When the edition is ready, the prints go to David, who prepares the packages. The block set is aired to dry, then carefully wrapped and put in storage, ready for further batches to be printed (hopefully many times, over the coming years ...)
• The prints then begin shipping ...

If they just dribble out the door, well ... that'll be that. But if they begin to sell reasonably well - a good initial burst, and then a nice 'fattish' tail, showing good promise - then I'll tell everybody to mark their calendars for a 'date' about three months from now, and we'll do it all again, for a Summer set!

This thread continues here ...

 

Added by: Dave on February 13, 2011, 5:46 pm

 

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