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Archival issues
I often get asked about how archival my work is. I have worked with newspaper for 30 years and it isn't the newspaper that I question. My work from the beginning is still intact. There is a reason newspaper clogs our landfills. What decays newspaper is light and air, which really isn't an issue when newspaper is stacked. The bigger issue for me is the binder. I have used everything from fiberglass resin to boat building epoxies. All these are great and create different surfaces. But they all have to be ventilated and are nasty to work with. My personal favorite is either punching holes in the paper and binding it together with all-thread or glueing it all together with Elmer's glue. Elmers is non-toxic, I don't have to wear a mask or have all the windows open with fans blowing when I am working with it. I have heard that the more rigid a glue is the less archival it is. I tend to agree. I took down a piece in my studio that had been nailed to the wall over 20 years ago. This piece was completely covered with dust. It was so intact (of course, the newspaper had changed color) I was blown away. The paper and glue felt like it had been made yesterday. On this particular piece I had layered a piece of window screen into an Elmers and newspaper dust mixture on the back. It is still supple and strong. |
| © 2008-2010 Kate Hunt |