| Subject | : | Mounting and display |
| Author | : | Wendel Swan |
| Date | : | 03-19-2000 on 03:48 p.m. |
| wdswan@erols.com It may be a little off point, but the thread about hanging Robert's huge kilim horizontally caused me to think how little attention most collectors give to the way their objects are hung and illuminated. This suggestion will do little for Robert, but it may help others. I have always had my own, perhaps peculiar, way of displaying textiles. For the last several years, I have used a system that enables me to rotate pieces on display with relative ease. I buy 4' x 8' sheets of pressed Homosote (an insulating construction material) and have it cut at the lumberyard to the dimensions I need. I drill holes (2 sets of 2) in the Homosote through which I pass light nylon rope to hang the mount on conventional picture hooks on the wall. I now also attach a second rope through another set of 2 and 2 holes that permit me to hang the object either horizontally or vertically. With the hanging "wires" in place, I cover the face of the Homosote with appropriately cut cotton muslin, curl it around to the back and simply stretch and staple it to the back side of the Homosote sheet. I then lay the panel down on the floor and put as many stainless steel T-pins (available at craft stores) into the object as are necessary to distribute the weight evenly. I use extra pins and the top and fewer on the sides. For especially fine and lighter textiles, I use finer stainless steel straight pins in lieu of the T-pins. Homosote accepts pinning almost as cork might, but it can be broken or dented (almost like Styrofoam) if dropped or bent. When the textile is fully pinned, I hang the contraption much as one would a painting. This saves of the expense of having each object mounted separately and makes it easy to store the textiles when they are not "up." I use low voltage Halogen lights (with various spreads) on a dimmer system. I decided some time ago that I wasn't going to buy anything that I couldn't display properly and I want the lights ON. My enjoyment of what I have has increased enormously. Some of the stress on the vertical threads can be reduced in any situation by having the bottom of the mounting board extend out a bit from the wall, thus putting at least a bit of the weight on the board itself. Regards, Wendel |
| Subject | : | RE:Mounting and display |
| Author | : | Steve Price |
| Date | : | 03-20-2000 on 08:27 a.m. |
| sprice@hsc.vcu.edu Dear People, Wendel mentions, almost in passing, that using a fabric covered board and tilting it a little takes some of the weight off the textile itself. Actually, it takes very little slant to almost fully support the textile, especially if the fabric covering the board has a fairly rough surface. Boards of this sort are used regularly for Saturday morning talks at the Textile Museum (in DC), and many textiles don't even have to be pinned to the boards to stay in place. Steve Price |
| Subject | : | RE:Mounting and display |
| Author | : | Marvin Amstey |
| Date | : | 03-20-2000 on 08:50 a.m. |
| mamstey1@rochester.rr.com Dear Wendel and/or Steve, It would be helpful to all if you could take a photo or two of the "system' and post it here for all to learn. Best regards, Marvin |
| Subject | : | RE:Mounting and display |
| Author | : | Stephen Louw |
| Date | : | 03-25-2000 on 06:10 p.m. |
| Wendel mentions he uses low voltage lighting with a dimmer system. I set this up myself, but the problem is that the transformers in the low voltage lights dont interact with dimmers well, and one gets a small but annoying hum in the dimmer switch. Stephen |
| Subject | : | RE:Mounting and display |
| Author | : | Jerry Silverman |
| Date | : | 03-25-2000 on 08:47 p.m. |
| Dear Stephen, Around here we take the hum of the dimmer switch set to low voltage as the approving murmurs of the Photon Gods. Or it could be something electrical. -Jerry- |
| Subject | : | RE:Mounting and display |
| Author | : | Patrick Weiler |
| Date | : | 03-25-2000 on 11:24 p.m. |
| jpweil00@gte.net Stephen, You have a real Hum-Dimmer of a problem! There was a discussion on a rug newsgroup a couple of years ago about lighting. With concerns about spectrum, UV, IR, humidity, insects and wear, it is a wonder that some of these weavings have survived for so long! Patrick Weiler |
| Subject | : | RE: Lighting |
| Author | : | Wendel+Swan |
| Date | : | 03-26-2000 on 07:13 a.m. |
| Dear Stephen, I also get a hum from the dimmer when I turn down the lights. Because of my sense of pitch, my wife often mistakes the dimmer hum for my humming a tune. We have other dimmers that do not hum. Just like the sound of a CPU, I think the dimmer hum becomes less and less noticeable. Probably violating the safety codes of every county with electricity, in our living room I have 20 fixtures on two tracks (a total of about 11 feet) that are all controlled by one dimmer switch. I have one 50-watt bulb, but the others are all only 20 watts each. When all 430 watts are cranked up, the room is very bright. I normally have about 10 small objects displayed. I mainly use narrow spots, but I also have some very narrow spots that are a little more difficult to find. Wendel |