Phil Bivins Collection

   
The passive and active sides of Legacy Mini Halfwood Press No. 63

Ritchie's comment: Phil was an early adopter of distance learning, I think, because he ordered all our woodcut videotapes in the 1980s. As Phil and I both participated in www.barenforum.org - the great online relief printmaking network - we knew about each other's art, too. He ordered a Mini, and then expressed a desire to teach and demonstrate printing so we agreed that he should be the tester of the printmaker chest - the first prototype of my idea for "everything you need to be a printmaker" (and maybe a teacher, too). After Phil received the press, he sent me a gift - a hon-baren made by the Japanese master Kikuo Gosho! I was amazed and thrilled. He sent a letter with it, explaining that he purchased two, and wanted me to have one.

Phil Bivins' gift of a hon-baren made by the Living Treasure
craftsman, Kikuo Gosho, and Phil's letter.

Specifications: 2010. Mini Halfwood Press. Serial No. 60063. Rollers are 1.5 x 5.75 inches top and bottom. The bed is 1/4 x 6 x 17 inches in polycarbonate (the standard); overall length is 17.5 inches; overall width is 9 inches; overall height is 10 inches; weight, 12 lbs.; drive wheel is 8 inches diameter in stainless steel; the woods used are black walnut base with ipe cladding steel, walnut hood capped with ipe. The instrument box is poplar and baltic birch trimmed in ipe. Included are felt blankets, copper plate, Allen Wrench, User's Manual (including an excerpt from, Halfwood Press-The Story (available at amazon.com on paperback or Kindle) and DVD. I did the test prints at our daughter's coffeeshop to show how portable is the press and printmaker chest. You can see the results, below, on YouTube.

You can see the YouTube video of the test of his press and his printmaker chest here: