The Framers Forum

This a new one for me, I have two bars of soap which I need to attach to a mount to go in a box frame! I know it sounds daft but they both have an artists etched drawings on them, ideally I would like the fixings to be hidden, I've been trying to use fine screws through the board into the back of the soaps but they're quite crumbly.
Any ideas please

Do you have two show the edges of the bars of soap? If not you could sink mount them.

BTW, I really don't like the idea of screwing into the bars of soap, because it's not a reversible mounting method and now these original artworks are no longer in the same condition as when the artist created them.

I wouldn't get in to much of a lather about reversibility/altering original condition because whether they are stuck, screwed, fastened or whatever, they are going to self-destruct over time by either drying out/cracking or melting/softening, amount of time depending on where they are hung (etc).

One of those extremely expensive micro-climate enclosures might work but they'd still need mounting; that's life, buoy.

Epoxy resin encapsulation would work, sure they could never be returned to their original condition but at least they'd last like that 'forever' - sub that out or get the customer to get it done, then you can wash your hands of it and when they are returned you can stick them down with anything you like - no nails, whatever, no need for any old flannel at all.

one of the few things I would recommend mylar for, should help prevent drying out if done right.

Which would be how, exactly?

Well yet again I post at wine o'clock, Mylar would not stop it drying out and shrinking, it would probably start to come loose as it shrinks.

How about a slip over type frame pop your soap on a shelf, when it self destructs the customer can stand something else in there.

Ever seen an antique bar of soap?





Hmmmm....What would be a good long-lasting medium for carving? I know, a chunk of animal fat mixed with the stuff they use to strip paint.

How about metal rods with a plastic coating over them?
Something like this http://www.haxnicks.co.uk/garden/soft-t ... l-soft-tie
Bend them into a claw shape and pass them through the back.
Might be worth having a chat with customer about longevity of item, although I imagine in a sealed frame it is going to last way longer than it would out in the open.

Rope

Yet another example of an artist not thinking about what they are applying their art to. Perhaps if they had a collective brain they would see that soap, fax paper, grains of rice etal are not suitable for pieces of art.

Actually perhaps those buying such carp are the stupid ones for not realising that a bar of soap that they payed a few hundred quid for (and probably the rest as well) won't last very long.

Climbs of Soap Box

Maybe AG's statement should be qualified: Not suitable for pieces of art intended for framing...

Maybe part of the artist's concept is the fact that the pieces will deteriorate.

See. I can bullsh*t with the best of 'em.


I'm entering my compost heap for the Turner Prize.

Thanks everyone especially for the soap gags.

Confused? You have every right to be.

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