>>>A customer has just brought in a chalk drawing done by an
accomplished South African Artist. She was advised by the artist to use
hairspray as a fixative. The artist apparantly always uses hairspray as a
fixative for chalk.
I
nitially I threw up my hands in
horror - especially when I saw marks on the paper where it had been sprayed -
but, am I missing something? Because hairspray comes
into contact with our skin is it considered acidfree? <<<
No, don't use hairspray as a fixative. The truth is that
we don't have any way to know the ingredients. Maybe some include
chemicals that could react inside the closed environment of a frame, and show
damage later.
Products made for skin contact are not necessarily acid
free. Indeed, our skin contains acids, as do many of the soaps and
detergents, and other things we put on our skin -- maybe including
hairspray.
I suggest using *no* fixatives, because (A) They change the texture and
color of pastels, charcoal, chalk and other fugitive media; (B) They work only
marginally at best; and (C) They are only temporary in any case.
Look at it this way: Spread a pile of sand on a board, then spray it
with a heavy coat of any fixative, paint or varnish. Let it dry
thoroughly. Then lift it up vertically and see what happens. There
will be a crust on the sand, caused by the coating, but the media beneath will
still be loose. The crust will crack or flake; the media will still
move and disintegrate.
James Miller, PPFA-CPF; GAFP Committee Member
Suburban central Ohio,
USA
www.ARTFRAMEit.com