Wedding Song Shadow box
The parents of the bride had this shadow box made as a gift for the happy couple. Friends of the bride and groom had written a song for the couple on a piece of birch bark saved from a trip they had taken. The parents chose a wedding photo that they thought best reflected the personalities of the newlyweds. The father Photoshopped the photo to soften the edges around the couple, which blended perfectly with the soft grey tones in the birch bark.
A wood veneer moulding was chosen to complement the rustic look of the birch bark. However, due to the wavy nature of the birch bark, a frame had to be constructed to accommodate the depth of the waves. Since the chosen frame moulding wasn't deep enough by itself to provide the necessary depth, an extension box was built from the same moulding turned on its side. The extension box and face frame were attached with glue and screwed together with angle brackets, making a solid, one piece frame.
The birch bark was float mounted to the archival backing matboard by first mounting it to a piece of 4-ply archival matboard cut slightly smaller than the piece of bark. It was hinged to the 4-ply matboard with light-weight Japenese paper hinges and wheat starch paste. The mounted birch bark was then attached to the backing matboard with dots of ph neutral glue on the back of the 4-ply matboard.
To maximize the visibility and provide the best available protection against damaging UV light, Tru Vue's Museum glass was chosen for its anti-reflective properties and 99% UV protection.
