Standoff? Stalemate?

A curator was looking at my collection of paintings to fit into a upcoming exhibition. One of my pieces garnered attention. 

This work was done on cicada skin Xuan mounted on clear plastic and housed in a homemade black frame.  I designed this look to present the black and white painting as a float, hoping to entice more of a wandering thought process.  I sort of wanting the austere appearance to force the viewer into thinking and ruminating what this painting was about.

While the curator liked the painting itself, it was the presentation that received a less than enthusiastic nod.  The comment was that some paintings are better off presented without a frame, and the use of standoffs were suggested.

My limited understanding of the English language told me that standoff meant stalemate, and it did not make sense to me.  The selection process was over Zoom Meeting, and we had a short window to cramp everything in.  I thought I heard the word standoff mentioned through the tiny speakers of my laptop but since it didn't make sense to me and we were in a haste to cover other paintings, I just remembered the word "stand".

I took my piece to the plastic shop where I bought the plastic pieces and asked for advice.  I was hoping to get some pointers as to how to fabricate braces out of clear plastic and what kind of cement would work.  I told them I wanted to present my painting without a frame and make it like a float.

The first words out of the shopkeeper's mouth were " why don't you use standoffs?"

I heard it loud and clear this time. I heard it right from my Zoom Meeting. 

"Standoff?" I asked.  Still very much confused.

I was then led to a bin with these little metallic posts with a screw top.  Immediately I knew what everybody was talking about now.  The metallic posts act as legs to prop up the painting, away from the back wall or backboard.  I had seen them used on many occasions, but it never dawned on me. 

"I thought standoff meant an impasse, or someone being standoffish.  I never would have thought it referred to this little gizmo."  I quipped.  

I therefore bought 4 such posts and secured myself a piece of plywood and painted it white to make my backboard.

I drilled 4 holes on the clear plastic where my painting sat and transferred the locations to the plywood backboard.

The standoffs were then secured to the backboard,

Next step was to mount the painting onto the standoffs and secured the bolts.

It looked professional, I must admit.  I learned something!

Framing my fishes

Instead of the traditional paper on paper mounting, I shall be mounting my painting on clear plastic pane.  The gist of this painting is to play with light.  Had the painting been mounted on paper and presented in a regular picture frame, the work is denied the interaction with any light from behind the painting and therefore defeats my purpose.

Dry mounting with silicone paper shall be the chosen method this time. This is done by using heat to attach silicone paper to the back of the painting.  The silicone acts as a bonding agent in this scenario. 

A mat cutter is used to trim my painting.  This setup assures a straight line and square up cut. 

The exact placement of the painting on the plastic pane is marked on blue protective film that came with the plastic.  This film will be peeled off and discarded after the mounting is done.  It is a convenient way of marking the lines without defacing or having to clean the clear plastic afterwards.

I have remnants of silicone paper that I can piece together to cover the entirety of my painting. Hate to see them go to waste.  My hobby heating iron supplies the heat needed to melt the silicone.  The protective wax paper is removed after the heating process.  A thin film of silicone is revealed on the back of my painting. 

With the silicone ironed onto its back, the painting is now placed face up onto the plastic pane, using the marks that I made on the blue film as a guide.

My heating iron now goes over the top of the painting to melt the silicone that's on the backside.  The discarded wax paper is a used to shield the painting from the iron.  

A couple coats of spray urethane are applied to the mounted painting to help protect it from the elements and also make the transparent border translucent.  My painting will not have a cover glass.

I have made a frame with a slot such that the plastic can be inserted.  It should assume the appearance as a float.

With a light source from behind the painting, it reveals what's behind its back.  Otherwise, it is just a painting of water with a hint of something beneath the surface.

Now you see it, now you don't.

Do you see what I see?