apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Unfortunately I dont have an answer for you, but that piece is stunning!

Go to Ikea. Get a nice silver frame. Take out the glass. Paint the background of the frame, the "back part" the same colour of your wall (which is very pretty) put your art in the frame, secure it with a tiny bit of tape or clip to the painted back and put in frame.

They are awesome by the way!

Because paper curls with age/humidity, I would try and find glass floating frames to sandwich the paper artwork between.

--HeatherHLP

These are gorgeous, and clearly call for a "floating mount" -- I suggest taking them to a professional framer if you can afford it.

Floating glass frames. Definately.

I too would ask a professional framing place - they may have suggestions you hadn't even considered. Those really are beautiful and deserve the right frame for sure, glass or no glass.

Yup, floating mount or shadowbox w/ glass backing... I really wonder why there's no more cut-paper artwork available in the mainstream, it definitely is cost effective and profitable...

If you want an alternative to the "floating frame" which is an awesome idea...

You can also try a shadow box, a really shallow one... It will keep your art from humidity, dust and everything else... and it will also let the floaty quality of the branches show through....adding three dimensionality to the piece...

There is more than one framing/mounting method described as floating.

I believe the floating mount Mid-C Frank mentions is of this variety -- where the paper work itself hovers in the middle of the frame buttressed by foam core -- but I'm not sure how well this mounting method would actually work for these delicate pieces as it involves securely attaching hinges of archival tape to the back of the piece -- there doesn't appear to be a good place to do this.

I believe the type of float frame mentioned by Heather HLP would work quite well. This variety of frame has a glass backing so that the wall color shows through behind the piece in place of a matting. Frames should accentuate the piece and protect it -- this framing method would do both quite nicely.

If you want to DIY, here's what I would do: buy two frames (white or natural wood?) that are slightly larger than the pieces. Then cut two "frames" out of archival foam core for each piece (so four total) using a very sharp razor blade so the cuts don't fall apart and the edges are smooth. The foam core frames will go up to the paper edges of the work and then extend to the side of the actual frame. Sandwich each artwork between two of these cut "floater" frames and attach with archival tape along the top edge only and only in the two corners (but with enough of a span to support the weight of the paper.) Not attaching all sides will allow the paper to expand and contract with humidity. Then use a full piece of foam core in a dark color to use as a back. This will give nice contrast against the white of the paper and the spacing will allow for cast shadows. Make sure, when you are buying the frames that you get ones that are thick enough to hold 3 pieces of foam core (1/4 inch each) and a 1/8 inch piece of glass. I do recommend having them behind glass because after a while dust will accumulate on them, and there is no way to safely dust the work. You can keep all the glass, foamcore and artwork in place in the frames by wedging in those little metal glass points into the wood.

Or you can have a framer do it for you.

PS - If you frame the work with the top hinge method described above, just make sure you never turn the artwork upside down (when moving) because the bottoms will not be attached.

Wow, beautiful! I understand your aversion to using glass, but this piece looks extremely fragile. Aside from dust and humidity, I would be worried about someone brushing against it or sneezing on it, or whatever else might happen that could ruin, not just damage, the work.

Definitely take this to a custom framing professional. It wouldn't obligate you to do anything, but you'd get some good advice and maybe options you haven't considered.

There's a glass out there called "Museum glass" which is incredible in that it's basically invisible. It's expensive, but it may be worth it in this case.

I would let this piece float on a colored mat, with a bit of breathing room between the mat and the glass provided with invisible spacers. You don't want to literally sandwich it between surfaces without any space, because that could damage your artwork.

Please, please share "after" photos!

Those are really beautiful. Can you share the artist's name?

Ditto on wanting to know the artist.

I frame my papercut pieces in the glass "sandwich" frames mentioned by a few here, mostly to keep the delicate edges protected and to keep the image itself flat.

As for a glass-free look, I've seen pieces like this hung loosely on a smaller version of a laundry line with small clothes clips and a decorative string or ribbon. It might also work well to hang the pieces with a simple trouser hanger like this:

http://tinyurl.com/mqxyoz

Congratulations on some great pieces!

how did we get 13 posts down before someone asked about the artist, those are beautiful.

i would say between glass as well because they will deteriorate if you don't preserve them. It is cool how the branches come out etc, but it will be their downfall too...

I have a laser cut Marian Bantjes poster and have yet to do the double glass thing, so it is jut in a regular frame for now, i don't have an interesting enough color wall behind it for it to matter.

Well, as an artist, I would urge you to go to a frame shop so that they are sure to use archival materials. I think they could use foam core of archival quality and create a thin open frame that they could glue to the back of each piece, which would give it some stability and also something to pin or glue to your base. I would encourage you to put it in a large shadow box-type frame system with a dark background, that would allow it to be protected under glass. if there is enough depth, it should still be able to create shadow and remain somewhat flexible and organic seeming (not flat and straight). This will allow you to have it for years to come. Otherwise I might be concerned about dust, humidity, someone walking by and brushing up against it, etc...Beautiful though!

I'm thinking if you get some delicate pieces of wood at the hardware store and glue them together (or cut an old frame to size) such that it would fit directly behind the paper, lined up with the edges and the edges only (not spilling over onto the cut/tree areas), leaving the entire middle free floating and see through. I imagine the depth of this frame to add up to an inch or inch and a half. So they would protrude out from the wall that far and cast a shadow behind themselves if the light is placed correctly.

You can even play with incorporating them into a light. Crating a box, placing a light source inside of it, some velum and the paper on top or behind the velum.

http://www.modernests.com

I'd do magnetic tacks; something like this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Magnetic-Poster-Holder/

Except with screws as the metal base, so that the head could be offset from the wall a bit. And a small bit of paper or plastic sandwiched between, to protect the art from any rust/other degradations. With innocuous magnets, it could really look like the art was floating.

I say between two panes of class. The glass can have four corners with aluminum/stainless posts that keep the two pressed panes of glass raised away from the wall to appeciate the see-through look of the cut paper. It will give a better feel of space/dimension.

those are so reminiscent of the Marimekko 'Tuuli' design..

I'm a ditto on wanting to know the artist..I actually have a panel of the tuuli (black on white) stretched above my bed (tricking the eye into not realising i don't have a headboard!) and the same design (white on white) as a curtain on a window opposite the stretched canvas....those would be Perfect elsewhere in my apartment..

please let us in on your secret!!

Have you ever looked at Fog & Thistle? She does papercutting and uses shadow boxes to frame. Her work is a little more 3D but it would still give you the look of the artwork coming off of the background that you want. She also does alot of backing with color which looks amazing in my opinion, it really makes the white pop. Her artwork is a little more kid oriented but she has some good ideas. Here is a link to her Etsy store. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10495681

I'm going to chime in with everyone who suggests sandwiching the pieces between two pieces of glass in a frame that has no opaque back. If you want the look of no glass, go to a good framer and have them use glass with a non-reflective coating on it

That is BEAUTIFUL!! I work at a frame shop and this is what i'd suggest. Get it mounted on a piece of matboard - they can basically hang it on the mat. Tell them you want it 'floated' a bit - giving it some dimension, and to preserve some of the glorious shadowing. I'd basically suspend the top of the paper (using the top panel) from a piece of foam core (or something else, keeping it about 1/2" from the mat) and anchor the bottom in the same way. You can match the matboard to your wall color or use a wonderful deep, vivid color.

Framing is another great option, though pricier, that'll preserve the pieces - seems like dust would wreak havoc. Ask for Museum Glass - you will be glad you did! Get them to float it in a shadow box type frame. The possibilities are endless....

Hello, I made that! Thank you for all the nice things everyone said. I made these paper-cuts after coming home to Park Slope from art school and spending a lot of time staring out my window. These are my trees on Union Street. I have always just made them and then stored them away. I am very excited to see them here!

dianevadino>

Do you have a website or an etsy shop???

I do have an Etsy shop, which is currently stocked with a paper-cut cover for a book I wrote: dianevadino.etsy.com.

Here is a link to the image of the cover: http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.88158327.jpg

The trees are so time-consuming - each one takes about a month! - that I have lately only been making them on commission. I hope anyone interested will be in touch either via Etsy or dianevadino--gmail.

What MODERnestS says.

Ideally, you want the piece set out from the background so that the shadows create a sense of depth. I would try having just the borders mounted on foam board with the center of the foam board cut away to the exact dimensions of the tree art, and then float the piece in a shadowbox frame.

Definitely go pro for framing. I always suffer some sticker shock when I go to get something framed, but a piece like this is worth it.

I would be worried about the amount of dust/dis colorization.

You could always beef up the edges with foamcore and mount it on plexi-glass allowing it depth then sandwich another piece of plexi on top.

It also might be neat to put an led light behind.

I make cut paper pieces and hang them in layers on t-pins or straight pens.

If mounting on foam core or matt board before framing in a shadow box, another way to get lift away from the surface behind is to use small dabs of silicone sealant on the back side of the piece -- distributed around the edges and also across the middle -- to adhere the piece to the backing surface. Silicone doesn't shrink appreciably as it dries, so if you just press it down lightly it will keep the papercut elevated off the board.