Framing a picture painted on goat skin

[Tudor Rose]

Customer has brought back a souvenir from a holiday in Africa that needs surface mounting and framing. It is a small painting but it has been done on a piece of goat skin. The back of the skin is very, very hairy and so thought we would ask to see if anyone else has done something similar as we are concerned about the best way to mount it. It can't be sewn as it is not thick enough and there is nowhere to hide the stitches on the painted side.

Any useful thoughts welcome. Thanks.

[silvercleave]

ow about shaving part of the back so the glue will stick

[Tudor Rose]

not allowed! customer wants the hair to stay put

We're probably going to use a very similar method to the one shown on another thread for mounting LP covers, using thin mylar strips across the corners to hold it in place, but if anyone else has done something similar and has some thoughts to share we are more than happy to consider other methods.

[silvercleave]

it was tongue in cheek..............

Use Mylar for anything that requires attaching, Books, Large double spread magazines, flutes from WW1 in fact one of the best investments was buying a large roll. At the time it was expensive but so many uses especially encapsulating

Ian

[Not your average framer]

The back of the skin is very, very hairy

This is just one of those lateral thinking moments and is probably wrong, but I'll say it just in case it works!

Have you checked to see if the hairy side will stick to velcro?

It might be a good solution, if it works!

[prospero]

Is it floppy or stiff? (titter ye not missus etc....)

If it's floppy, it will have been tanned properly. If it's stiff it's just been dried and likely to deteriorate and attract creepy-crawlies and mold ad other nasty ailments.

In the latter case the only way to preserve with it is resin encapsulation.

[Tudor Rose]

velco - definite non starter, it is hairy not fuzzy (this thread is getting more bizarre by the minute)

and to answer your question Prospero it is stiffish and floppyish all that the same time (trying really hard not to titter ) the stiffness may be as a result of the heavy paint on the front more than anything

the whole thing is only A5 in size and so after various bits of advice have been listened to we are going to go with the mylar strips to hold it in place across the corners (it also isn't flat of course)

so thanks for all the suggestions and hopefully it will all go to plan

[Roboframer]

Here's a piece of leather with a couple of invisible stitches - as per how trouser hems are done.

invisible stitches 001.JPG (253.88 KiB) Viewed 3653 times

invisible stitches 002.JPG (236.68 KiB) Viewed 3653 times

Corner straps only provide support at the bottom, the other points just prevent movement, so the item is supporting its own weight. This is probably OK being small and light but some things can buckle and/or the straps can dig in at the bottom points. Plus you can see them.

[pramsay13]

Here's a piece of leather with a couple of invisible stitches

Looks like a winner to me if possible, although not like you John to suggest an invasive method over using mylar

[stcstc]

another option

if you fray the end of the thread to splay it out, can stick it with paste, and then use to lace.

think i saw it done on the grumble

[Roboframer]

not like you John to suggest an invasive method over using mylar

If float mounting is the way to go then there can be a price to pay, like seeing what is securing the item or fixing something to the back of it and if the customer would prefer not to see anything then invisible stitching isn't very invasive, the item is not pierced through the front, the stitches are in place in the first photo.

If it were mine I'd prefer to see it as it is with no visible attachments and that's what I'd suggest to the customer, giving pros and cons of that versus those of visible attachment. I'd also make it clear that if it's of any value then float mounting is not the best way to go, there are methods of mounting something like this with no adhesive etc whatsoever.

[Not your average framer]

How long are the hairs on the back? I think I might have just come up with a fully reversible way of doing this, but it will only work if the hairs are long enough.

I'm thinking about something based on the same ideas as the Newbury (tight fit) method. The mountboard used for float mounting this would need to be stuck down onto a piece of foamboard. Then an aperture would need to be cut out, (which would need to be concealed when the hairy painting was in position).

The painting would then be positioned in place, and the hairy bits brushed out behind the mountboard and foamboard, followed by the cutout being pressed back into the aperture and as a result trapping the hairs in position between the cutout and the inside edges of the aperture.

I hope this makes sense!