25 February 2012

Done

Well, the BIG SHIBORI project of 2012 is finished. Boy, did I learn a lot from my mistakes so I'm here to share my angst so you can take a lesson.
Did I mention I used felt (above) on top of the Styrofoam? I used 505 basting spray to adhere the felt to the Styrofoam. I started in the center and smoothed it down with my hands, getting all the ripples and looseness out. The I used the spray adhesive again to attach and smooth the shibori piece down securing it with pins to the side edge of the Styrofoam.

I took the painted lath and cut one end on a 45 degree angle.

                                                                    Drying on my table
I drilled three holes in the lath on the ends and in the center to ease the dry wall screw through the wood and easily into the Styrofoam. Any force might tear up the Styrofoam and lessen the grip. I then applied construction adhesive made especially for use with Styrofoam to help adhere the strips to the sides along with the screws.


          I used the bottom screw - 2" long. The wide sharp threads on the screws helped grip the foam.
Mistakes made were using lath JUST big enough without any wiggle room. One corner had to be butted instead of beveled. The bevels didn't meet like the would if I had constructed the frame first and then seated it around the piece. I was left with poorly made corners. I used black "Gorilla" tape to mask the joints which were VERY evident. It might not look perfect but it was  a massive improvement and not that visible from a distance. The gaps WERE very visible when looking head on.
The other big lesson was that I painted the outside and edges of the wood but not the inside of the wood. I just didn't think it would show. Think again. I had to carefully go back and touch up the exposed inner edges with paint. On the first side, I used blue painters tape but THAT was mistake #3. It was pulling the fabric away as I tried to remove it. For the other 3 sides I used freezer paper folded in half, waxed side out and slid it between the fabric and frame while I applied the paint.
Here is the finished piece with Meagan by the table. We had to attach eyes and wire to a wooden strip I will apply to the back for hanging. The show opens March 2 from 5-8pm. Meagan and I will be there for pictures. I'll post them.


                                                                               Our hanger
And a bonus picture of my backyard. Sunrise over the church. The plastic on the ground will be a garden my neighbor is planting to grow food for our town food pantry. I just donated the garden plot.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, what an ordeal! Thanks for sharing your process with us and the end result is spectacular!

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  2. It may not have gone smoothly but the result is stunning!

    ReplyDelete

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