Tapas cloth mounting

[farmgirl1]

Customer wants to preserve a very beat up tapas cloth (she described as bark that was beat to paper thinness and then decorated; from Hawaii) that has been in her family for 50 years or so. It is in bad shape with holes and folds and creases, so she wants to frame it to preserve what is left also wants to cut it into 4 pieces to give to other family members. I was thinking of using water soluble adhesive (suremount) and rolling it onto 8 ply rag and weighting it for a couple of days. One piece is large, 52"x34" and would be quite heavy to try and hinge and I'm afraid it would tear from it's own weight, when hanging. Again, not a museum piece that needs to remain in it's original condition. Any other recommendations? Thanks.

 

[Rebecca]

I don't know your piece of course, but tapa cloth can look weaker than it actually is - the thin areas and holes might be from how it is made, not wear. The folds can be reduced by lightly pressing on a padded surface (like an old mattress cover) using low steam and a pressing cloth. You don't have to go overboard here as 3D is part of a tapas character.

A textile conservator in Hawaii who mounts a lot of these things uses Velcro, heavy Japanese paper, wheat starch paste and Beva. The soft side of the Velcro is Bevaed to heavy Japanese paper and the Japanese paper is then attached with wheat starch paste to the reverse top edge of the tapa cloth. The hooked side of the Velcro can be Bevaed to whatever you choose to hang it from, in or out of a frame.

If the piece really is extremely fragile you might interest the client in a washed fabric covered slant board to distribute the weight over the entire piece.