Adventures in Pastels and Show Prep

In the last couple of weeks I have found myself preparing for a small craft show. In preparation I have had to take stock of what I have and look at what needs to be done to prepare for the pastel works for the show. This has been an interesting process as the last time I did a craft show, I was using more acrylic paint. This time though, the majority will be soft pastels.

Storing, transport, and hanging have been the questions I keep asking during this time. I do not fix my pastel works as i do not want the colors messed up. So preparing works for display has to include ways to mitigate the pastel dust and prevent the smearing of pastels.

For storage, I currently have the pastels wrapped in glassine paper. This is a non-reactive paper that has keep the dust from getting everywhere and has kept the pastel paintings safe. The works are on a mix of pastel paper and paper mounted to boards and it has worked for each.

For the show prep, I have decided to mount the pastels that do not have a backing board on foam board. I then plan to use UV rated acrylic glazing mounted directly on the all the pastel paintings. All of these will then be tapes together with an archival framers tape to seal the paintings and prep them for framing.

Preparing the pastels this way ensures that they are protected and that I can safely display them. This also keeps me from needing a frame, with higher cost, and allowing customers to be able to select the framing they want at a later date. For the framers, it will provide a ready to frame package where they do not have to worry about the dust and smearing. This will be an interesting process. Now to see if the weather will hold out for the show.