Framing Rice Paper

[SteveJH]

Hi
I’m a newly into framing, which I’m really enjoying
A neighbour had asked me to mount and frame a piece of artwork. It’s on the thinnest rice paper and was written by a Japanese relative.

It’s not something I have done before and told them so, they were suggesting I simply glue it to some mount board. But I’m hoping you guys may have something a little more professional. I did toy with the idea of mounting it between two sheets of art glass, but if I’m honest I’m not sure how that would affect the artwork long term.

If anyone has any suggestions/ guidance I would really appreciate it, massive thanks in advance

 

[Ylva]

Never permanently mount anything that you cannot replace. (so no, no glue)
Sandwiching between glass is not a great idea and will damage the piece in the long run. (moisture gets trapped, wrinkles, mold and so on)

If a float mount is requested, do a search for hedgehog mount on here. I would not do it with thin see through paper though as it might be near impossible to hide the hinges.

I would frame it with a window mat, Japanese rice paper and paste. You might be able to hide the hinges behind the mat. Do not hinge to the mat opening, always to the backboard with the window mat then placed on top.

 

[Rick Granick]

I would echo Ylva's advice, but I would add that hinge mounting items like this is a challenging undertaking, even for experienced framers. I encourage you to practice hinging on some replaceable items of a similar type and weight of paper before attempting it on something someone cares about. Read the hinging articles HERE.

Rick

 

[glamorsidhe]

Hi
I’m a newly into framing, which I’m really enjoying
A neighbour had asked me to mount and frame a piece of artwork. It’s on the thinnest rice paper and was written by a Japanese relative.

It’s not something I have done before and told them so, they were suggesting I simply glue it to some mount board. But I’m hoping you guys may have something a little more professional. I did toy with the idea of mounting it between two sheets of art glass, but if I’m honest I’m not sure how that would affect the artwork long term.

If anyone has any suggestions/ guidance I would really appreciate it, massive thanks in advance

Steve, this may not help your particular framing situation, but you should be made aware that the "rice paper artwork" as you've described it, is technically unfinished as regards its "ready-for-framing" status --- this Sumi-e rice paper painting, by Oriental standards, needs to be adhered to a heavier/thicker rice paper via a wheat-based watery adhesive via a certain type of soft goat/sheep wide beaver-tail brush, smoothed-out removing air/water bubbles with another identical clean-of-glue brush, & allowed to fully cure/dryout before slitely cutting down the superfluous waste edges; at that stage, it's "ready" for framing. (This information is available online, with the added advantage of visual video to aid comprehension of exact procedures.)

My advice would be to pass on this information to your neighbour-clients, who seem to be oblivious to these rice paper painting details as exemplified thru their comments regarding framing same, before actually doing anything yourself. Just a suggestion, obviously the final choices will be yours & their's.

 

[SteveJH]

Never permanently mount anything that you cannot replace. (so no, no glue)
Sandwiching between glass is not a great idea and will damage the piece in the long run. (moisture gets trapped, wrinkles, mold and so on)

If a float mount is requested, do a search for hedgehog mount on here. I would not do it with thin see through paper though as it might be near impossible to hide the hinges.

I would frame it with a window mat, Japanese rice paper and paste. You might be able to hide the hinges behind the mat. Do not hinge to the mat opening, always to the backboard with the window mat then placed on top.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated

 

[SteveJH]

Steve, this may not help your particular framing situation, but you should be made aware that the "rice paper artwork" as you've described it, is technically unfinished as regards its "ready-for-framing" status --- this Sumi-e rice paper painting, by Oriental standards, needs to be adhered to a heavier/thicker rice paper via a wheat-based watery adhesive via a certain type of soft goat/sheep wide beaver-tail brush, smoothed-out removing air/water bubbles with another identical clean-of-glue brush, & allowed to fully cure/dryout before slitely cutting down the superfluous waste edges; at that stage, it's "ready" for framing. (This information is available online, with the added advantage of visual video to aid comprehension of exact procedures.)

My advice would be to pass on this information to your neighbour-clients, who seem to be oblivious to these rice paper painting details as exemplified thru their comments regarding framing same, before actually doing anything yourself. Just a suggestion, obviously the final choices will be yours & their's.

Thank you