nori paste and Aboriginal bark art

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YooperFramer

YooperFramer

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
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Jul 28, 2004
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marquette michigan
I may have asked this before...
But I have a 48x96 piece of pounded bark art that needs to be float mounted.
I am in the process of seeing how strong the Nori paste would be to hold this baby. Does anyone have any thoughts on this method?

Well, I just tested my Nori and it did kind of tear... not where it was adhered (the sticky part stayed stuck on the art), but tore at the part that wasnt stuck...
So, now I'm trying the gummed hayaku hinging paper... seems like a stronger paper to begin with...

How about sewing little bits along the top of the art with some sort of thread/line?
Do you think that would eventually tear the bark art? The art seems pretty dense and condensed that it wouldnt... but maybe somebody had tried it and it didnt work. Also, I worry about sewing if it will give a puckered apearance when humidity comes and goes...

thanks!
 
Oh no. Just get a stronger Japanese (mulberry usually) paper. Most art stores will sell it or you can get a roll from United.

The paste is pure wheat starch, which is the best alternative. The Hayaku is actually a vinyl (I think) based paste. In any case it's synthetic.

And, sewing will "damage" the art by putting holes in it.

Use the Nori, but make a stronger hinge.
good luck.
 
Paste is only part of the bonding process.

If I ready that correctly, your experiment failed due to the hinge paper, not the paste.

Any adhesive bond depends on three things:

1. The adhesive
2. Surface A.
3. Surface B.

Most modern adhesives are plenty strong enough to bond the materials they are intended to bond. Nori is pure starch paste, and it will bond by penetrating the fibers of the bark. But that's OK, because its composition is chemically simple; it contains nothing that would react with or degrade the bark over time. The starch paste bond would be reversible at any future time with a minimal amount of pure water.

That cannot be said for nearly any other adhesive.

Cliff's right. Find a suitable hinging paper (or fabric) and use the Nori paste.
 
ok, cool.
so, jim, your'e saying that I could use actual FABRIC as my hinge?
I hadnt' thought of fabric. a thicker hinge would be a good good way to go.
good idea!
How about Cotton Duck canvas as my hinge?
I will be cutting slots into backer board for my hinges.
 
I'm not sure about using fabric. My understanding has been that the hinge after all, is supposed to tear instead of the art, which is why the hinging paper is supposed to be slightly thinner than the art paper. Has this changed?

Jim, please advise if you really meant using fabric as the hinge, and if so, what the reasoning is for this. I'm just curious.
 
YooperFramer said:
How about Cotton Duck canvas as my hinge?
Click to expand...

The cotton duck is way too strong of a fabric. It is thicker that the art you are hinging.

You didn't say how many and how large the hinges are. You could always increase the size a bit (width) and or add more hinges. Only a small tab of a hinge(approx 20%) should actually be attached to the art, even with a piece of art this size.

Yes, a pass through hinge will give added strength.
 
I was thinking my width of hinges will be about 1" to 1 1/4".
with about 12" in between each hinge. this done all along the top.
Maybe a few below that first line in a staggered way.
kind of like this:
_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _

and then a few at the very bottom ,done so that there will be still room for explansion...

oops, it's not letting me show you my dashes correctly.
anyways, i think you might get what I'm saying... hopefully :)
 
Hinges are often used as a "limiting factor" in mounting. As Amy said, hinge paper weaker than the art paper may be purposely selected to fail first, in the event of impact. It makes a sort of mechanical 'fuse'.

Fabric hinges may be suitable if the art were made of even stronger fabric, or if it were strong enough that damage to the artwork would not result from impact. I was thinking about a fine fabric of limited strength. In any case, I can't imagine using cotton duck.

Hinges stronger than the art may be still be installed so that the hinges would fail first. For example, fabric hinges could be perforated to create weakness at a certain point. Also, the bond between the hinges and the art, or between the hinges and the mount board, may be engineered to fail under certain kinds of stress.

Another alternative is to laminate several layers of Japanese hinging paper together, to increase hinge strength with good predictability. That's probably what I would do in this application.

Yooper, what would happen to the art if the frame fell off the wall and hit the floor? Keep in mind that something has to "give". One way or another, a preservation mount makes sure the art is protected.
 
I have demonstrated Nori paste at the shows and using the Sekishu medium weight paper that comes in the Nori kits I have witnessed very strong bonds.

With a hinge about 3/4 inch wide wiith only 1/4 - 3/8 inch engagement on the back of the art - I have pulled 5-7 lbs before the hinge paper broke.

Very rarely has the bond broken. You should see the framers eyes when I have them pull on the hinges. I have to tell them pull harder several times until the hinge finalyy breaks. They are astounded at the strength.

It is important to use the paper with the fibers going the length (vertical) to the hinge. The paper is strong this way - verrrrry weak tearing across the grain.
 
I think it's equally important - especially on a piece this size - to attach slack "Safety Hinges" along the sides and bottom to protect the primary (top) hinges from going into the "Peel" mode when the frame is turned sideways or upsidedown. Check out the hinging tips on our web page www.frametek.com or call me if you want to chat.
 
Greg--Are the Nori packets completely gone?
 
Linen tape

What about using a/f linen tape? The linen would be strong enough to hold the bark. Could be a simple solution. Alice
 
Minnann said:
What about using a/f linen tape? The linen would be strong enough to hold the bark. Could be a simple solution. Alice
Click to expand...

Minnann, I am guessing when you say "a/f" you are referring to the most common pressure sensitive linen tapes. Pressure sensitive adhesive is subject to heat and humidity changes MUCH more than water based products. The adhesive itself can release with time. In addition, it is a "non-removal" chemical that gets into the fabric of the art. -- Not a good preservation technique.

Even the "water activated" Linen tapes have a synthetic adhesive. Same problem. (Although they shouldn't(?) have the release problem.)

In general, using a natural starch based adhesive is preferrable. (Although, "throw-away" art might be treated in some other fashion. :shrug: )
 
My understanding is that the water activated linen tapes use a very aggressive vegetable starch that penetrates deeper into the fiber of the object being hinged and the support creating a very strong bond.
In any event the linen is not likely to fail as Japanese papers would and would likely result in damage to the art.
 
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