Matting and framing pastels

[Elizabeth Schott]

Administrator's Note: This was split off from a thread about fixing pastels.

learn how to properly mat a pastel so as to leave a space at the bottom of the piece where any fallen particles can drop and not accumulate in view.

Steven how do you do this? I just took a couple of my pieces in for frame molding, I had matted and put archival glass on one with a fast frame but needed it to look more "finished" for a show. While we were picking out the molding I noticed a lot of dust had gathered on the matte. I do not fix my work because I do notice a color change and it always seems to give a little splatter no matter how careful I am.

The other piece I chose an inside matte with a black "cut" area on the bevel edge. Is there anywhere I can find information to print out and take to my framer to make sure they are using the right "pastel" technique?

Thanks!

[Steven Sweeney]

Beth,

No mystery, your frameshop would know the techniques, for those who care to employ them. (Not everyone will think it necessary.)

In framing a pastel, you would always use a mounting that kept the glass away from the artwork. This is done with a thin strip of wood or mat, hidden within the rabbet of the frame moulding, separating the glass from whatever the next layer is. If that next layer is the original artwork, then any loose particles will drop down and lie "invisibly" behind the rabbet of the lower moulding.

If you mat your artwork and still wanted this protection against unsightly accumulation of dropped particles, you would put those spacer strips between the glass and the mat, so that the fallen particles will not be trapped by the glass on the lower bevel cut of the mat opening.

[Elizabeth Schott]

Steven, I almost always use a double mat, would you put the slats between the art and the first mat? The glass is never near the art, but the dust had settled on the bottom mat corner before the bevel of the second (outside) mat.

[Steven Sweeney]

There's going to be a diminishing rate of return as you frame up the pastel ever more creatively to try to avoid the problem. With the double mat you're providing twice the "shelf" for pastel particles to land on, and, sure, you could put a thin spacer (perhaps even the thickness of illustration board) between the mats, but that's going to have its own visual and aesthetic effect. In addition, you'll run into problems exceeding the depth of the frame moulding rabbet, with glass, two mats, two spacers, artwork, backing board, and whatever else.

If you can't gently tap the particles loose from the lower mat, to fall down in behind the glass, and if you really can't abide leaving them in sight, I don't know that there's anything left but to dismantle the package and blow the particles off. (Careful about rubbing -- it's still pigment, after all, and can "paint" your mat bevel. Then you are in a fix.)

[Mike McCarty]

A friend just loaned me a copy of "Pastel" by Daniel Greene. On page 151 it says: "I consider mats an extension of the background which can add area and continue color, or produce an enclosing color contrast. My inclination is to omit mats altogether, since the frame can do these beneficial things as well."

There is an entire chapter at the end of the book which discuses frames, mats, glass etc.

[Elizabeth Schott]

Steven,

I didn

[Sophie Ploeg]

I know this is an old thread, but it was very helpful anyway. Just one little question:
what do you use for spacers?

I've heard you can just put in another mat which has a wider opening than your outer mat. Would that work? Or is another mat too thick? Just some acid free material of a few mils thick?

Thanks for any advice.

Sophie

[Chris Saper]

Sophie,

The innner, hidden mat will work great, as long as you are using acid free material. I often just tape strips of acid free board (with acid free tape) on each side of the mat, just a little narrower.

For the outer mat, get the Crescent black core boards; even if a little dust falls, it won't show on the beveled black edge to nearly the degree it would on a white core board.

Alternatively, if you want the look of an unmatted framed piece, you can buy long strips of extruded plastic spacers (a framer's supply). They have adhesive on one edge, and you can just cut them to the right size. They go betweeen the glass and the image.

[Sophie Ploeg]

Thank you so much Chris! That is very helpful. I thought of sticking some strips in too. Not sure how to make them stick though - so your tip on acid free tape is great.
Thanks again!!

Here are some additional methods and pointers that are helpful with the issues discussed below:

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