Folding Fabric Items Over

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Shayla

Shayla

WOW Framer
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I know it's considered good conservation to fold a fabric item over and keep it
intact if framing, as with a sports jersey or blanket, but sometimes I wonder
about the results down the road. Even with the use of high quality glazing
materials, the exposed areas are bound to be faded over time, whereas the
unexposed sections will be brighter.

An example would be this blanket we're designing right now. The customer
doesn't care if it's cut and sewn down like a needlepoint, or even wrapped
around a stretcher bar like a canvas (although I'm concerned that, since it's
not a canvas, the fabric could continue to relax), but the other option is to
do something like wrapping it around a form and using a really deep frame
to hide the rest in the back. But what's the value of that if, in the future,
it wouldn't look good displayed as a whole, anyway? I suppose with the
blanket, someone could have it bleached and re-dyed, but in general, the
question still stands.

What are your thoughts on this? :kaffeetrinker_2:
 
P.S. I know there's a whole range of approaches to this sort of thing,
from 'whack it up and get 'er done', to 'never, ever altar the original'.
And I agree with the latter for valuable items, but not sure it should
apply to everything.

I'm interested in hearing all opinions about this.
 
Picture (blanket) framing is for display purposes. If preservation were the primary object you would put the blanket in dark storage. Framing it is starting from a compromised position.
For especially light sensitive items (Polaroid transfers for instance) I have been known to fashion an opaque bonnet (AKA foam board) to place over the frame when not being viewed. I have seen frames with drapes that serve the same purpose.
 
If the item has monetary worth, you do not cut it... but there are some things that can be cut.

For example:

Framed t-shirts. We have in our own home 5 shirts where I cut the front of the shirt off, and just framed the image. One was my daughter's first "Princess" sweater. When she outgrew it, she didn't want to get rid of the princesses, so we framed them for her wall. 1 is an old Manatee t-shirt of my daughter's, she out greww it, and loved it. 2 are old t-shirts my husband loved. They are the images of both Baltimore baseball parks. Since we have lots of memories of going to the games, the framed images was a nice gift to my hubby one Christmas. 1 is a t-shirt of Walt Disney walking hand in hand with Micky, in front of the Castle. It's one of Steve's favorite images of Walt.

These are all priceless to us, but not as a shirt. They are priceless for the memories the images bring to our minds. I did not feel bad cutting off the extra fabric, as the fabic was not the important part.

BUT, before you go and start cutting any fabric, make sure you are not cutting a blanket that Great Grandma XXXXX lovingly hand made. You need to know, are they framing the image, or the item. What is the value? In my case, the item of value was the memories attached to the image, not the shirts themselves.
 
You are right to be concerned with a fade line. I would fold it and frame it, advising the customer to make a cloth covering for times when the blanket is not being viewed. Be sure to put this in writing, because the customer probably won't do it, and then may some day discover that it is valuable, and come back to you to make good for the fading.
 
EllenAtHowards said:
You are right to be concerned with a fade line. I would fold it and frame it, advising the customer to make a cloth covering for times when the blanket is not being viewed. Be sure to put this in writing, because the customer probably won't do it, and then may some day discover that it is valuable, and come back to you to make good for the fading.
Click to expand...

I'm curious, is there anyone out there who this has happened to?...being sued for fading of something that had been framed in their shop I mean? I didn't bring this up to be flippant, I'm just wondering if it is a real problem that someone has had experience with?

My insurance man says that once a customer brings a valuable item in to be framed and agrees to pay the price to use all conservation methods to frame it, when it leaves the shop, unless you have done something to devalue the item, such as gluing or using a non reversible method to attach it, there would be no liability to the shop owner after the fact. Once the artwork leaves your shop, if the customer places the art in a very UV exposed area, you would not be held responsible for fading. The fact is that you can give the customer all the advice in the world and if they don't take it, it is their fault if it fades. The only way to get around an issue like this is to advise them not to frame it at all and leave it in a dark place where it will never be exposed to UV light. But most of us can't afford to turn away business like that, so the best you can do is to put a disclaimer on the back of the art work saying that you have used all the most current conservation methods including UV glass and that your shop will not be held responsible for any long term damage such as fading caused from long term exposure to UV light.

If we go on the premise that everything we frame, we can be sued for the mishandling of it after it leaves the shop, we wouldn't be able to frame anything or get insurance. Yes, you can be sued for damage that you may have caused during the framing process that is true. But if all the conservation methods known at the time were used and no damage was done, a customer would have a tough time down the road proving the fading was your fault. That is why we carry insurance.......so we don't have to worry about what may or may not happen in the future.
 
Framing: said:
They ran a whole conference at the Tate about a year ago on Microfading and Anoxic conditions for art….

It was a very well attended conference with people attending from all over the world…..

Yes people do take fading very seriously or at least that was my impression…… which is supported by on-going research into the subject.

http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/video/anoxia-and-microfading-impact-on-collection-care-part-1
Click to expand...

Sorry, I wasn't suggesting that fading may not be a problem. What I am wondering is if anyone has been sued because something they framed faded over time and damaged the artwork. It seems that this is what was being suggested could happen. If it has happened to someone, from what I've been told it should not be the liability of the framer once it leaves the shop. I don't mean to diminish the importance of conservation framing. On the contrary, I'm just wondering if it has been a problem in the past for anyone.
 
Thanks, all, for the comments. And also for that link. :thumbsup:

While we're here, I'll toss in a tangential -reminder that, although
they say 'permanent', Sharpie markers aren't. Many people have
autographs from athletes, actors, etc... that aren't as immortal
as they expected. Pigma Pens are a better choice.
 
All visible light makes things fade eventually; how fast they fade depends on the quality and composition of the materials in the piece. Vegetable-based dyes (and probably some synthetics) will fade more quickly as will certain colors in the spectrum like yellow and green; pigment-based dyes will not (and that is likely the downfall of the Sharpie marker to Pigma pens...Sharpie stays ON but no one said it wouldn't FADE...and it CAN be removed, with alcohol). That said, UV spectrum light makes things fade faster, so it follows to reason that UV-protective glass will slow this process down. I have been in the framing business for 22+ years and have never had a lawsuit or complaint about fading; usually it's an excellent tool to sell UV glass when re-framing things lol. It is up to us as framers to educate our customers about the effects of light on their artwork and to offer them options that will minimize fading and educate them as to where NOT to hang it if fading is a concern. And when you are showing only a portion of the piece like a blanket or folded shirt or jersey, then they need to be aware that the exposed area MIGHT eventually fade in comparison with the rest of it, regardless of glazing type. I think that if people are aware of these things then they are less likely to make decisions that will cause them grief down the road. Most people don't even THINK about the effects of light on artwork and many even think that UV glass makes it ok to hang it where it is going to be hit by direct sunlight.:eek: Educate your customers and hopefully there will never be any liability issues. In particular, NOTHING lasts forever, but you can certainly SLOW down the process...
 
I haven't been sued for framing mistakes. Yet. One of my tenants sued us, but our insurance company took care of our legal defense, and we prevailed, because we had done all that we could to prevent our former tenant's stupidity.

Do the best you can, carry insurance, and try to keep your ducks in line. That is what I have learned over the years. Trusting to luck is not a good long-term plan....
 
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