Need help with framing for Liquid Light project

So, I have a minor dilemma on my hands and not much time to solve it. Help me APUG, you're my only hope.

Kidding aside, here's the jist of the project. I'm going to be submitting some playfully erotic photography to a mixed media show where all of the work is erotic/playful/suggestive in nature. To this end, my model posed with some very sheer shiny organza fabric draped around her. The effect looked very interesting through the lens, suggesting curves and shapes behind an interesting translucent texture.

I feel that for maximum effect, I want to try and use another sheer fabric and Liquid Light instead of photo paper, but I'm having trouble coming up with ideas for how to mount the fabric before applying the Liquid Light. I was originally thinking of doing some kind of metal frame and epoxy gluing the fabric to it, but I don't know how viable that is. Should I just treat it like canvas and stretch it over a wooden frame? The effect I hope to see in the end is a translucent print on a translucent material of a shot with a semi-nude model wrapped in a translucent material. Then I'd setup the frame so it can hang several inches away from the wall and possibly even be backlit with an LED strip. Does this all sound viable, or am I crazy at this point?

If it doesn't come together in time, I'll probably just end up making prints for the show on high-gloss paper and doing something interesting with the matte, but I'd still prefer the fabric if I can make it work.

brokenglytch said:

Should I just treat it like canvas and stretch it over a wooden frame?

Click to expand...

That is what I would do.. Wash the fabric first just in case it is likely to shrink when wet, then staple it over a well varnished stretcher frame. Two points to bear in mind:
a) The staples may react with the developer/stop/fixer chemicals.
b) The wood will absorb moisture & chemicals during processing - Not a problem if you are not expecting an archival print.

That's why I was initially leaning towards a non-wood solution. I think whatever I end up doing, I'm going to have to redo it later with all proper time and care taken to make it archival quality, but this initial one is just to get it on the wall in a show if I can.

Have you thought about gluing the fabric to vellum, then attaching them to a piece of mat board, for developing? I think you need a stronger base to keep the emulsion from cracking. I think it would hold up to development using sponge brushes. Also, the vellum could make a nice, diffused background for your back lighting.

Hadn't thought of that one eddie. I have a roll of Duralar that could keep the translucent nature of the fabric in tact but be a really sturdy backing material. Any suggestions for the kind of glue to use that wouldn't interfere with or be destroyed by the photo chemistry? I'd probably use the clear Duralar as a backer and use some vellum directly over the backlight LEDs to get the diffusion effect. I'm hesitant to use vellum directly behind the fabric because it's sheer enough that I could probably manage to get 2-3 shots in a single shadowbox kind of frame and vellum will obscure the second or third shot a little too much.

Good idea though, thanks.

If you're thinking of using vellum as a frame diffuser, what about just mounting your fabric to plexiglass? You'd get the required rigidity that way.

hi there brokenglytch:

one thing you might also think about is polyurethane .. or fiberglass resin.
back in the day when i was learning how to stick emulsion on glass it was suggested
by the good folks at rockland colloid to put polyurethane ( minwax i think was the brand recommended ) on the glass
it gives the emulsion something to grab onto ... while you are not using glass, you are using a fabric that is not rigid. i'd
go one step further than eddie and get your fabric to be the shape you hope it to be, and put polyurethans ( or even fiberglass resin )
both substances will make your fabric more rigid even HARD so you can paint it with emulsion and it will stick to it .
i haven't worked with resin for projects like this, but to fix wooden sinks and it dries clear and rigid, i've used polyurethane and it will
turn kind of yellowish in hue after a while ... and with both you can dunk the fabric in it if you want, and form it and sculpt the fabric until it is hard.

sound like a fun project !

good luck
john

I had intended on using an archival epoxy resin to protect the piece once the print had been made jnanian, but I need to do a little more research into which best fits my needs as there are quite a few on the market, none of them are carried locally, and they're all somewhat expensive. Gelatin base seems to be the preferred method for glass adhesion from what I have read as it is less likely to peel from the glass than polyurethane is and won't discolor with time/UV. I suppose I could go get a piece of glass for each print, stretch the fabric over it and clamp temporarily with clothespins or something, then do a gelatin pour as per Rockland instructions, paint with Liquid Light as normal, and sometime before the show take the time to apply the archival resin to lock everything in. Properly set, the gelatin might be sufficient adhesive to keep the fabric stuck to the glass as well...

soumds like a plan -

good luck with your project !

ps. the good folks at rockland colloid are very good
at helping people with their product. so if you run into
problems / questions you might ask them what they might suggest.

I think I might have run out of time to actually get this project done in time, but I think I might print the image(s) that I want on this media on paper for my submissions to the show and just include a note that I'm exploring putting the same image on another material with an alternative process and just wanted to make sure the image was submitted by the deadline. Thanks for the assists guys; I might have come up with that on my own eventually, but bouncing ideas off of you and listening to your input definitely brought it about faster. If I do actually end up with sufficient time to get it done, I'll make sure to post an image and show you how it turned out.