As well as thinking about exactly what prints I want to make I've been giving a lot of thought to how I might present my piece. The opportunity to hang it opened up lots of trains of thought so I bought some materials and have done a little testing. The results are recorded in my workbook.
I tried stretching each material two ways and stitching it in two directions. I used nori paste glue to attach the samples so it will be interesting to see if there are any issues with that.
I have tried out several things which will not work: interfacing, crepe paper and bandages. Several of the bias bindings and the herringbone tapes seem to be suitable. The final choice between these would be aesthetics and price.
I feel particularly drawn to the idea of the wool. I regularly find clumps of white animal hair in the forest when walking. I don' know exactly where it comes from but presume it's likely to be deer. It's always white so I winder whether it's from their tails. It's one of those mysteries I'm probably not going to solve! It's gorgeously soft whatever it is and seems far too long to be rabbit fur. The wool is not unlike it in both colour and texture.
I was thinking about the possibilities of having a slightly wider support so that larger prints could be included and wondered whether knitting the wool might work. I have very limited knitting skills but can manage a straight 'scarf'. This is rather chunky wool and the needles are normal sized so I wonder whether this would have looked looser and better with larger needles. It is really rather solid which would be great to give the support real substance - it won't blow about in a breeze for example - but I'm not sure how easy it would be to attach the prints and it would take lot of work to make which I'm not sure I have.
I think for the interim show this isn't suitable but I would like to experiment with thicker needles and thinner wool for the future.
The final thing I have invested in in a roll of archival gummed paper tape. I thought I had bought the linen one but apparently not. This could be very useful for attaching the paper to things and hinging etc.