Once a wooden sculpture has been dehydrated cracks will appear, where even exposure to high relative humidity will not make the cracks close up entirely. However, conservators can fill the cracks with a variety of materials to create a unified visual impression. What should I ask for when matting and framing works of art on paper? Mat board should be made from 100% rag or lignin-free cellulose. Sometimes those labelled as "museum board" or "conservation board" are not of the highest quality. Alkaline buffered boards are not sufficient if the board contains wood pulp. Photographs should not be matted with alkaline buffered boards as some prints are adversely effected by alkalinity. Hinges are used to attach the work of art to the backboard of the mat. They should be made of Japanese paper, and should be adhered with wheat starch paste. Pressure sensitive adhesive tapes and pre-gummed tapes should not be used. Photographs are often attached to the mat with photo corners.

Glazing can be either glass or acrylic. Only glass should be used with any friable media such as unfixed pastels, charcoals, or graphite, never acrylic as it can damage the work by attracting these materials. There are many brands of acrylic glazing to choose from; one with an ultraviolet filter is recommended. The frame and the mat should be deep enough to prevent the artwork from touching the glazing. A stiff backboard behind the mat protects and supports the matted artwork. It is best to use non-acidic boards. A dust seal with paper or tape is also recommended. What damage results from using poor quality mat board? Avoid mat boards containing wood pulp which causes "matburn"--a darkening of the paper under the mat or at the bevel cut of the window mat. This type of stain permanently weakens the paper fibers and is not easily removed or lightened in conservation treatment.

Currently our site is international, representing over 100 artists from around the world. We have poets, musicians, painters, sculptors, digital artists, performance artists, animators and much more. We are always open to adding artists in new areas. To reach the artists here, you can visit their studios and see their email address. If you would like to reach the site webmaster, our email address. Art on the Net came into existance in June of 1994. The idea of having such a site came to Lile while she was involved in an open studios event in April. She was displaying many of her new oil paintings in her studio when a friend and young entrepeneur came through and wanted to purchase an oil painting entitled "Art on the Net". They talked about how wonderful it would be to have art up on the Internet for viewing and he offered Lile internet access for a WWW site that would help artists share their art. So like many things in the art world, the site began with a barter with Lile trading the oil painting, "Art on the Net" for an Internet connection for one year.

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