Susan asked "What is the best medium to use for under glass? I do a lot of under glass and often get those spots that detract from the final product."
When dry, those "spots" are shiny areas where there is not enough glue. Either you left a pocket of air in the glue OR you worked out too much glue as you were removing the pockets, aka bubbles of air in the glue.
The steps to a flawless application under glass are:
1) Use a lot of glue. It's white and opaque but all you need to do is spread it evenly (using your fingers) and then with glue between the art and the glass and with extra glue on your fingers (and on the back of the paper) gently press and move the pockets of air out from between the glass and the art. But, be careful not to press too hard. If you push or scrape away too much of the glue, it might look great while wet but, when dry, it will leave behind those ugly spots. Aim to get an even distribution of the glue between the paper and glass without leaving behind any (even tiny) air bubbles.
2) Some papers with "breathe" air. Yes, your bubbles are gone but, until its dry on the back, they might reappear! You can avoid this by accelerating the drying by leaving the glass in an open window or placing it in front of a fan. If its a decorative plate, put it face down on a coffee can with the rubber lid on top. You can also choose to copy your artwork onto a heavier bond paper (I recommend a 28lb weight). Some authors recommend "sealing" the paper with a spray sealant before gluing however, I think it's just an extra step to sell you a product that is not essential to your glue success. Yes, I've glued just about every kind of paper on the planet successfully without ever sealing one! Plus, if you craft a lot, you should take care not to inhale too many products with too many alien chemicals.
3) Sometimes "found" papers have colored ink on both the front and back of the paper. These papers are prone to wrinkles. You can pre-empt the wrinkles by soaking them in a basin of water until the artwork "relaxes" wrinkle free. (Or photocopy them onto 28lb paper.) When soaking, the paper gets extra delicate and prone to bubbles. You can counterbalance the problems by using extra white glue on the backside of the paper and still get good results. I'm not saying its easy but it can be done. Until you practice, practice, practice and get to that level of glue skill you are probably best advised to photocopy these images.
The best glue is whichever glue works best for you. I get best results with all the white craft (PVA) adhesives. Elmer's Glue All is the most famous. Do not try to substitute Elmer's School Glue or even their "decoupage" medium. And that advice holds for Mod Podge and Martha's decoupage medium, too! These "decoupage" glues have limited applications. More about that later.
And there you have the glue basics but after teaching hundreds of students and also after training several "glue experts" in my studio, let me offer this one last bit of advice.
If a nuance to this technique works for you, you should (excuse the pun) stick with it! Nobody plays the piano exactly the same and no two gluers end up gluing exactly the same either. So, you now know the basic principles of what you are aiming for but exactly how you get there is really up to you.
Next, let's hear from all the glue experts out there! What works best for you?
And there you have the glue basics but after teaching hundreds of students and also after training several "glue experts" in my studio, let me offer this one last bit of advice.
If a nuance to this technique works for you, you should (excuse the pun) stick with it! Nobody plays the piano exactly the same and no two gluers end up gluing exactly the same either. So, you now know the basic principles of what you are aiming for but exactly how you get there is really up to you.
Next, let's hear from all the glue experts out there! What works best for you?
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