Journal

Journal

How to Display a St Luce Textile in Your Home

4th Jun 2016

Cultural Cloth turned to a customer and expert on displaying textiles, Leslie Davis, for advice on how to creatively display the St Luce Embroideries in your home.  Leslie owns Leslie Davis Preservation Framing in Milwaukee.

We asked Leslie How she would display the embroideries in your home if you  were on a budget?

Now if you have spent all your art allowance on the object, (as well you should) and have a tiny budget for display, I recommend mounting the textile on a fabric backing.I will use the Story Cloth Embroideries from Madagascar as an example. These pieces are textural and are beautiful colors.

They are embroideries that you will spend time “reading” so don’t create a distraction, keep the backing a neutral shade.  Click here to see all of the St. Luce embroideries at Cultural Cloth.  

So, with a piece of muslin and a backing of foam core, you could baste stitch the textile to the muslin and stretch the fabric around and tape it on the back.  We use Specialty Tapes Framers II clear tape for these sorts of mounts. The adhesive is archival.  You can have a border or it can be the same size as the embroidery.

Or, Stretch the fabric on a stretcher as you would a painting canvas. Baste stitch the embroidery to the backing being very careful to set you needle between the threads. You only need to do it across the top.

Either hang it in the darkest room in your house or drape a cloth over it during the day. When your budget allows, you can put it in a frame.There is an inherent commitment in keeping original design and art in one’s home. We honor the artist with a little extra effort in keeping the art object safe.

One final thought is that if you are acquiring textiles to display, alternate hanging the objects. Hang a few in the Spring and have fun installing new ones as you ready your house for the cold seasons.

Then we asked Leslie, How would she preserve the piece?

As a conservator’s framer, I usually start the conversation about preservation with the comment that all display is destructive, therefore, we have a presentation protocol from which we begin the conversation about how to display.

If mat boards are being used as a support than they must all be buffered and acid free. The outer backing should also be acid free or stable.  We use corrugated polyethylene sheeting as it is a stable plastic and has good rigidity. The object may not come in contact with the glass, so either spacers to make a “shadow box” or a window mat should be used. (This is not so common with textiles).

If a textile is being mounted on a fabric, such as linen or muslin, that fabric must be washed to remove the sizing.Always use an ultra-violet light filtering material, either plexiglas or glass.Our final step after mounting and assembling the object is to tape seal the outer edges of the glass and backing. It is protection against pollutants, vermin and fluctuations in temperature and humidity.

Finally, you have visited the store for several years, How did you find us?
I went to grade school in Maiden Rock for second and third grades. We lived out on County Road A where we spent time wandering the woods, messing around in Rush River, throwing stones into Lake Pepin. There is magic in that River that holds a piece of heart.

My husband and I used to stop at Swan Song and Smiling Pelican on our way to and from Ellsworth, WI, where I grew up.One day, Swan Song had been replace by Cultural Cloth and we have been stopping when we have time ever since.

This year my visit home coincided with opening day so I stopped in and found my current favorite textile, which is the pair of Tree of Life curtains. I purchased them with the idea of using them in a stairwell landing but decided they are too wonderful to isolate and have them hanging in my dining room, one panel in each of two windows so the tree pattern is fully in view.

I am in awe of the craftsmanship that uses one fabric so sheer and delicate and the heavier fabric that creates such a beautiful design

Visit Leslie in Milwaukee at :

Leslie Davis Preservation Framing 

2018 South 1st Street Suite 404 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53207 

414-298-9830 

preserveart@sbcglobal.net