If you are an art lover and the day has come when you move your house, you will definitely need to take special care of important artworks that give character to your home. For some people, ensuring that valuable items come safely, is just as important as moving all other furniture. We understand how difficult moving your art across the state can be. Therefore, the best choice is to hire a professional that can help you move your art in a safe manner. But, you can make sure that you pack everything the right way.
We will show you how to pack your artwork in the best manner possible.
What will you need for moving your art across the state?
All your paintings and statues can be packed in a so-called mirror box or box for artwork. For larger, heavier items, you may need a wooden box. You can pack smaller items in a cardboard box of your China. They have two layers of cardboard, so that your artwork is safe.
In principle, there are three main stages of moving your art across the state:
- protecting the piece
- protecting the box into which you place it
- and the actual task of moving your art across the state
Moving framed art
Investing in a flat box will help keep your pictures and prints safe. They will cost more, but they are worth it. Try to find something that is larger than your piece by about 3 or 4 inches on each side. If it is larger, you will have to use additional materials to fill in. And if it is smaller, you will not have enough space for protective materials, and you risk getting damage.
Packing steps
Now, it’s time to protect your work and pack it properly.
Mark “X”
If your painting or print has a glass cover, take some masking tape and place X across the glass. This will prevent the glass from moving if it breaks. Naturally, if your picture does not have a glass, you will skip this step.
Plastic or palette wrap
If your photo does not have glass, it is important to protect the painted face. An excellent option is to wrap a picture in several layers of plastic wrap from your kitchen. You can also buy sheets of the palette wrap, which is basically the same thing. The wrapper will remain in place and prevent friction damage if the product moves slightly inside the box.
This is also an excellent option for watercolors and prints with glass
Cardboard corners
If the picture frame is valuable or unique, you can purchase or make cardboard corner protection for your piece.
Protective wrap
The next step is to provide additional protection. Several layers of bubble wrap will work. Do not save on it, cover both horizontal and vertical dimensions, and seal the bubble wrap with tape.
Prepare the bottom of the box
Place the cotton paper on the bottom of the box. Then you can put the artwork in the box and you can work on filling the sides and the top.
Test
Close the box, but do not seal it. Carefully move the box back and forth and see if you are feeling something off-set. If you are, you need to open the box and add an additional protection until everything is placed.
Tape and label
Once you do this, you can tape the boxes and mark them as “fragile items” and “artwork”. So your movers know that they need to be extra careful.
Packing sculptures
Protection
The task with any large or small sculpture is that any parts that stick out or holes are vulnerable. For example, if you imagine a swan sculpture, the neck and head are vulnerable to snap. To fix this, you will need to first cover the sculpture in a wrapper to protect the finish. Use smaller pieces and go inside and around all corners and cracks to provide support.
Then you will fold the strips of the bubble wrap and wrap them around the vulnerable parts of the sculpture. After you have protected fragile areas, use more bubble wrap to wrap the entire sculpture. You must end up creating a sphere or egg shape that you can place inside the box, and pull up with the padding.
Large Sculptures
If you have a sculpture that is several feet tall and has a weight to match, you will have more problems with moving your art across the state
Find out the approximate weight of the object. This will help you determine how to cope with this, and whether you need a wooden box or cardboard box. Most single-walled boxes can hold up to 40 pounds or so while moving. So if the weight exceeds this, you will need a wooden box.
Many modern sculptures are made of plaster forms, which means they are hollow, and their weight is not so bad. If this is the case, you can work with one cardboard box of the right size with enough pads. But you need to be sure of its strength while moving.
The safest and lasting way to care for larger objects is to use wooden boxes. You can buy them online or even from delivery vendors.
Wooden boxes are not only a solid solution for moving your art across the state. They are also very visible in the sea of cardboard boxes. This means that they are less likely to be dropped, inverted or damaged. If movers handle them improperly, they will also have much more chances to survive in the process of moving.
Insurance
If your art is very valuable, ask your movers about additional insurance. Make sure that it is based on value, not on conventional weight-based insurance.
Make no mistake, moving your art across the state is a delicate and important work. If you care about your art and cannot take proper care, it is better to hire professional movers who have experience working with artwork.