Suggestion Framing thin rice paper

[alacrity8]

A customer brought a framed piece of art on rice paper.
It is very wavy.
We are looking to reframe this print, as well as two others in the series.
Can the waves be reversed?
Can they be prevented?
The customer does not want any matting.
What are our best options?
DCO?
Mounting?

 

[neilframer]

A customer brought a framed piece of art on rice paper.
It is very wavy.
We are looking to reframe this print, as well as two others in the series.
Can the waves be reversed?
Can they be prevented?
The customer does not want any matting.
What are our best options?
DCO?
Mounting?

I have mounted rice paper and paper rubbings in the past.
DCO might work but the customer needs to understand that, as the old saying goes, "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear"..
If you do the DCO it needs to be done with Acrylic and not glass.

It could be dry mounted, the waves don't seem to be that bad and they might flatten out, but then it may not work and it may just mount the wrinkles and there's no going back.
The paper is usually so thin though that if you mount it and there are wrinkles they become so flat when mounted that they just become a part of the image.
It's a judgement call that needs to be discussed with the customer.

Good luck with this, other folks might weigh in with ideas.

 

[artfolio]

Sooner you than me. Those thin rice paper pics and calligraphies are the very devil because the ink or paint always causes cockles and the best result you can get is by hinging them with a matt. Squishing it between glazing and backing is hopeless and will only make the cockling worse and mounting is dangerous because of the fragility of the paper - once you start you can't go back and if it creases there is nothing you can do to remedy it.

I would tell the customer that matting is the only way to go and if he thinks he knows someone with a magic technique for defying the laws of physics then let that magician carry the can for the inevitable stuff-up.

 

[Rick Granick]

I agree. Explain to the customer that the moisture in the ink used to create the art pulls the fibers of thin paper in multiple directions, so the waves are an inherent part of the art, just as the texture of a canvas would be for a painting. I would not frame it without hinging to a larger background and providing space between the paper and the glazing. Doing so can only cause worse rippling. Remember Vivian Kistler's admonition that "We are framers, not magicians", and that just because a customer has a certain idea how how something should or might be, that doesn't make it realistic or achievable. This is when your hidden talents as an educator and diplomat come to the fore.
Rick

 

[wpfay]

Not only does the process of creating the art cause cockling, but the framing, in this instance, is probably equally to blame. The pattern of the cockling with closer frequency toward the perimeter, and wider toward the center tells me that this was under glass while some of the cockling occurred. Straightening/flattening the art (best done by a conservator) won't solve the long term problem if the pieces are reframed with no matting. They will simply cockle again assuming they will be hanging in the same environmental conditions. What would keep them flat is wet mounting in the traditional manner (also best done by a conservator or an expert in the process).
The picture appears to be a block print which is a little more stable than a sumi-e watercolor. It's the weight of the paper that is the real challenge. Consult a paper conservator.

 

[charming]

A customer brought a framed piece of art on rice paper.
It is very wavy.
We are looking to reframe this print, as well as two others in the series.
Can the waves be reversed?
Can they be prevented?
The customer does not want any matting.
What are our best options?
DCO?
Mounting?

If the customer doesn't want matting, then consider floating the paper onto a AF foam core backing, but leave 1/8" all aroung. Then use 1/4" - 3"8" acrylic spacers. The spacers will rest around the art on the foamcore and be hidden by the lip of the frame. DO NOT MOUNT.