John Cook
17-Jun-2005, 06:23
This summer I have been going throughout the house, repairing all the things my bride has been hinting about for the last decade (or two). There is the small 2" crack in the corner of the dining room storm window, the kitchen cabinet door with the broken latch, the loose stair tread and many more.
In so doing, I have become aware of a phenomenon which I call the “homeowner’s blind eye syndrome”. Essentially, it states that anything around the house which is not repaired within a month or two becomes invisible to the male head of household.
The element of this which is pertinent to this forum is that it also (for me) applies to artwork. Pictures on the wall become invisible if not rotated or replaced on a regular basis. Even my computer desktop seems to need a new image every week or so.
In the past, I have traditionally framed everything under glass. But this method is beginning to get expensive. And recycling the frames requires all prints to be the exact same size and aspect ratio. Not a good thing.
So I got thinking about the apartment we had when I was in art school. Absolutely awash in photographs. All dry-mounted to regulation double-weight white mat board. A stack here waiting to be spotted. A pile there ready to turn in for some class project. A row along the baseboard, six deep, because the closet was already full. It looked like a real, active, working photographer lived there.
My thinking is to return to that look. Perhaps hang some ledges ala The Pottery Barn for a start:
http://ww1.potterybarn.com/cat/pip.cfm?src=schi1%7Cp1%7Cwledge&pkey=sa1s00ledge&gids=p5255
Then for boards, use something waterproof like Gatorfoam:
http://www.dickblick.com/zz132/01/
Seal now charges for a dry-mount press about what I paid for my new VW beetle in art school. So the prints will instead be wet-mounted with either pre-mixed wallpaper paste or archival equivalent.
To protect the prints from household grime and make them cleanable, I’m thinking about either Renaissance Wax from Light Impressions or a protective coat of mod podge:
http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/servlet/OnlineShopping?DSP=50000&PCR=30000:120000:123000:123200&IID=8282
http://www.dickblick.com/zz029/16/
The goal is to create a large volume of washable display prints, inexpensively and easily mounted, which can be rotated, trashed or recycled without major fuss.
The question is whether anyone here has used any of these materials and has tips, warnings or recommendations.
And I suppose the really big question is: with all these pictures lining the walls, will my living room begin to look like the cold cereal aisle at my local supermarket?
In so doing, I have become aware of a phenomenon which I call the “homeowner’s blind eye syndrome”. Essentially, it states that anything around the house which is not repaired within a month or two becomes invisible to the male head of household.
The element of this which is pertinent to this forum is that it also (for me) applies to artwork. Pictures on the wall become invisible if not rotated or replaced on a regular basis. Even my computer desktop seems to need a new image every week or so.
In the past, I have traditionally framed everything under glass. But this method is beginning to get expensive. And recycling the frames requires all prints to be the exact same size and aspect ratio. Not a good thing.
So I got thinking about the apartment we had when I was in art school. Absolutely awash in photographs. All dry-mounted to regulation double-weight white mat board. A stack here waiting to be spotted. A pile there ready to turn in for some class project. A row along the baseboard, six deep, because the closet was already full. It looked like a real, active, working photographer lived there.
My thinking is to return to that look. Perhaps hang some ledges ala The Pottery Barn for a start:
http://ww1.potterybarn.com/cat/pip.cfm?src=schi1%7Cp1%7Cwledge&pkey=sa1s00ledge&gids=p5255
Then for boards, use something waterproof like Gatorfoam:
http://www.dickblick.com/zz132/01/
Seal now charges for a dry-mount press about what I paid for my new VW beetle in art school. So the prints will instead be wet-mounted with either pre-mixed wallpaper paste or archival equivalent.
To protect the prints from household grime and make them cleanable, I’m thinking about either Renaissance Wax from Light Impressions or a protective coat of mod podge:
http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/servlet/OnlineShopping?DSP=50000&PCR=30000:120000:123000:123200&IID=8282
http://www.dickblick.com/zz029/16/
The goal is to create a large volume of washable display prints, inexpensively and easily mounted, which can be rotated, trashed or recycled without major fuss.
The question is whether anyone here has used any of these materials and has tips, warnings or recommendations.
And I suppose the really big question is: with all these pictures lining the walls, will my living room begin to look like the cold cereal aisle at my local supermarket?