Many times we receive a project and when we tackle it, it turns out to be a multifaceted endeavor.  These paintings turned out to be one of those cases.

An enclosure that has seen better days!

Originally they came with a request for new stronger enclosures, but after further evaluation additional attention seemed much warranted!  First… old tape and adhesive had to be removed and remounting had to be done before they could even be fitted for new boxes. I will use a newly developed enclosure design to complete this task (see blog post for more details http://blog.thepreservationlab.org/2013/09/created-in-the-laboratory-aka-its-alive-a-new-type-of-enclosure/).
We just had a prosthetic ear come through the department (see blog http://blog.thepreservationlab.org/2013/03/an-earie-object-to-have-in-the-lab/) that also needed to be reattached to the backing board. Holly used a roll of 1” polyethylene strap that is very strong and flexible to reattach it after the original adhesive had failed. She suggested it would be a great solution for attaching these paintings to the boards and it works great! We also were able to find some great acid free mat board in the back room that can be used for the mounting boards.
                   

After I decided the largest image size I cut enough blanks for the whole set- the blanks are the same size to help with uniformity once boxed. I then began the tape and adhesive removal.
Having prepared the images I am now able to begin the mounting. Choosing one randomly, I will begin to problem solve the best and fastest way to complete this batch. I am lucky there are about seven in this batch that are approximately the same size. That will cut the time down because I can prepare the measurements for multiple blanks at the same time. The same with the lengths of polyethylene strap, double sided tape and tyvek tape.
After all the mounting is done now I am able to start the enclosure. We recently had a project come through where we had to create an adaptation of a two part corrugated box with a banker’s box lid.  [Thanks to Veronica and Jessica for their hard work creating instructions for the world to use]. I will capitalize on their hard work and use their design for this solution. Again, having two more batches of paintings to do, I will look for the best and fastest way to make the box … maybe I can make the next two boxes together we’ll see…
All finished!

The new enclosures are slimmer/better sized, have a drop front, and are stronger…all adding up to a more protective enclosure!

Chris Voynovich (PLCH) — Conservation Technician