{"id":2424,"date":"2019-09-05T19:49:28","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T19:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/thepreservationlab\/?p=2424"},"modified":"2019-09-05T19:49:28","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T19:49:28","slug":"exhibition-prep-for-upcoming-show-real-art-for-young-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/thepreservationlab\/2019\/09\/exhibition-prep-for-upcoming-show-real-art-for-young-artists","title":{"rendered":"Exhibition Prep for Upcoming Show: Real Art for Young Artists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Join us September 15th<\/sup>, 2019 at 2pm as the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County unveils the newly acquired pen and India ink illustrations from Rosemary Well\u2019s Noisy Nora in the beloved nook in the Children\u2019s Library.\u00a0 The illustrations are richly hand colored in watercolor, colored pencils, acrylic ink and gauche pigments.\u00a0 With so much detail, they are a treat to see in person!
\nAcclaimed author and illustrator, Rosemary Wells, has written many endearing children\u2019s books, including Noisy Nora<\/em><\/strong> (a story about a mischievous young mouse) and an entire series about the bunnies Max and Ruby. \u00a0As part of Ms. Well\u2019s initiative, Real Art for Young Artists,<\/em><\/strong> Rosemary Wells has generously offered the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County the opportunity to exhibit more than a dozen original drawings for long-term display in the Children\u2019s Library located in the Main building downtown.
\n\"Exhibition<\/a>
\nSince the spring of 2018, the Preservation Lab has been collaborating with colleagues in the Public Library\u2019s Programming, Digital Services, Cataloging, and Facilities departments, as well as the artist herself, on an exhibition of Wells\u2019 Noisy Nora illustrations.\u00a0 To prepare the materials for long-term exhibition each department lent their expertise to ensure a balance between preservation standards, viewer\u2019s needs, and the artist\u2019s vision.\u00a0\u00a0 This blog post highlights some behind the scenes activities leading up to the exhibition.
\n\"Exhibition<\/a>
\nAbove is an image of the nook in the Children\u2019s Library selected as the exhibition space for the illustrations.\u00a0 The nook is a perfect spot where the light can be controlled, preventing the artwork from fading overtime and it\u2019s a great place to showcase the art at a height children can easily interact.\u00a0 Facilities updated the nook with new paint and wall decals where the artwork will be hung.\u00a0 In addition, to inspire young generations to create their own artwork, seating and tables for crafts will replace the current audio visual shelving and television.
\n\"Exhibition<\/a>
\nAt the Lab, approximately 16 pen and ink drawings and one booklet were received directly from the artist as a group within a folder. Many drawings were attached to illustration boards with translucent overlays wrapped around from behind, taped into place, giving the feeling as though they were just recently mocked up for production.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Graphite notes to publishers were written on the transparent papers to inform the size the images should be enlarged or reduced for printing.\u00a0 While not exhibition ready, seeing the artwork in this preproduction state is a rare glimpse into the creative process of the artist!
\n\"Exhibition<\/a>
\nAfter the drawings were carefully removed from the illustration boards, using conservation tape removal techniques, some unique features were discovered on the verso of two illustrations. \u00a0The drawings were digitized to document their condition prior to exhibition.\u00a0 Digitized images of the backs of two illustrations are shown below.
\n

\"Exhibition<\/a>

Left: Verso of \u201cAnd then she dropped her sister\u2019s marbles on the floor\u201d showing an impression of a Windsor and Newton watermark. Right: verso of \u201cNo Nora in the Mailbox, No Nora in the Shrub\u201d with a prior sketch crossed out on the back.<\/p><\/div>
\nTo visualize how the illustrations would look in their frames, mock up window mats were created to experiment with how the drawings and captions should be arranged.\u00a0 Below, the frame on the left centers both the artwork and the caption with a small margin around the art; whereas the frame on the right centers mostly the artwork with a much larger margin around the art.\u00a0 Ultimately, our aesthetic preference was the extra margin around the art since the artwork itself was not square.\u00a0 We also decided that no matter what option we chose, we wanted the bottom of the caption to line up throughout all of the frames, whether there was a single or double line of text.
\n\"Exhibition<\/a>
\nNext, the artwork was measured to estimate material costs for matting and framing. \u00a0Following exhibition preservation standards, Rising rag museum mat board, UV filtered glazing, and wood frames were selected by the Preservation Lab.\u00a0 We choose using glass over Plexiglas glazing so there would be less concern of harming the glazing surface with cleaners.\u00a0 Because the artwork will be displayed a children\u2019s height level, we also took into account how the artwork will be hung. \u00a0With the aid of security locking devices, the frames are not removable from the wall by the public, therefore there will be no danger of the frames falling.
\nTo mimic how the artwork was mounted on the original presentation boards (preserving the artist\u2019s intent), the work was matted with captions from the children\u2019s book added below the art.\u00a0 The artwork was mounted with Kozo (mulberry) tissue v-hinges that were pasted to the back of the artwork and then adhered to the back mat with with Zen Shofu wheat starch paste.\u00a0 To maintain a 45% relative humidity environment, the matted artwork was housed within a sealed archival framing package.
\n

\"Exhibition<\/a>

Kozo hinges were adhered to the verso of the drawings with Zen Shofu wheat starch paste.<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Exhibition<\/a>

The hand colored drawings were then attached to the back mat using the kozo v-hinges, also adhered with wheat starch paste. The hinges were lightly pressed under weight to dry using pressing stacks.<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Exhibition<\/a>

Landscape window mats were hinged along the top edge with P90 Filmoplast tape.<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Exhibition<\/a>

View of the v-hinges after they are dry.<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Exhibition<\/a>

Drawings are float mounted so the rough cut edges of the drawings are visible.<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Exhibition<\/a>

Recto of sealed framing package.<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Exhibition<\/a>

Verso of sealed framing package.<\/p><\/div>
\nThe framing package contains:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. UV filtered Tru View Museum glass (purchased from our local art supply framing store).<\/li>\n
  2. Float mounted artwork with two Usu gami hinges applied with wheat starch paste inside matting system. Window mat hinged to the left edge of back mat with P90 filmoplast tape.<\/li>\n
  3. Blue corrugated cardboard used as a backing board to the matting package.<\/li>\n
  4. Conservation note loosely set into place for future reference on the back of the corrugated backing board.<\/li>\n
  5. Sheet of Polyester film added behind the corrugated board as a moisture proof barrier.<\/li>\n
  6. To fully seal the entire package, the edges of all the materials were first sealed with pressure sensitive P90 filmoplast tape. A second foil backed framing tape from University Products (part of the Perma\/Seal label line) was applied as a barrier to prevent moisture and gas exchange.<\/li>\n
  7. A Dove Gray dust cover was attached to the back of the frames with 3M 415 double stick tape. Barcode labels and an additional conservation note were added to the dust cover.<\/li>\n
  8. Lastly, Three security hangers were attached to the back of the frames; two at the top and one at the bottom.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    With the exception of one frame, the original metal prongs were reused to secure the matting packages within the frame.\u00a0 The one exception includes the booklet mounted with a sink mat, this thicker package required nailing brads secured to the inside of the frame rabbet to hold the matting package in place.
    \n

    \"Exhibition<\/a>

    Booklet was mounted within a sink mat to account for the thickness of the object.<\/p><\/div>
    \nBefore exhibit prep:    \"Exhibition<\/a>During exhibition preparation:
    \n    \"Exhibition<\/a>
    \nAfter installation (the art is hung at children’s height!):<\/p>\n

    \"Exhibition<\/a>\"Exhibition<\/a>\"Exhibition<\/a><\/p>\n

    During Will Hillenbrand and Rosemary Wells visit on Sept. 15th, they discussed inspiration for books such and Max and Ruby (who are modeled after Ms. Well’s own children!) and delved into the subject of creating a “noisy” book. Mrs. Wells explained her process of conveying sound through illustrations – which by nature are a silent, quiet experience.<\/p>\n

    \"Exhibition<\/a><\/p>\n

    You can view the treatment report and treatment documentation for this original artwork on the Preservation Lab’s Digital Resource Commons site\u00a0here<\/a>.
    \nAshleigh Ferguson Schieszer (PLCH) – Book and Paper Conservator<\/strong>
    \nPhotographic Documentation by\u00a0Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer, Jessica Ebert & Sidney Gao<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Join us September 15th, 2019 at 2pm as the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County unveils the newly acquired pen and India ink illustrations from Rosemary Well\u2019s Noisy Nora in the beloved nook in the Children\u2019s Library.\u00a0 The illustrations are richly hand colored in watercolor, colored pencils, acrylic ink and gauche pigments.\u00a0 With so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[37,56,105,123,125,128,132,160,191,199,211,253,257,269,337,338],"class_list":["post-2424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ashleigh-schieszer","tag-childrens-library","tag-drawings","tag-exhibition-preparation","tag-exhibits","tag-fine-art","tag-framing","tag-illustrations","tag-main-building-cincinnati-library","tag-matting","tag-noisy-nora","tag-public-library-of-cincinnati-and-hamilton-county","tag-real-art-for-young-artists","tag-rosemary-wells","tag-watercolor","tag-watercolors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/thepreservationlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/thepreservationlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/thepreservationlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/thepreservationlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/thepreservationlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/thepreservationlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/thepreservationlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/thepreservationlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/thepreservationlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}