>  If you wrap the wooden frames in either small bubble wrap, or just  
> cardboard to keep them from rubbing against the next, bind them up  
> tight to prevent a lot of rubbing. pack them in a box.... It would  
> make a larger box,

For the show I just had in MS, I used the StrongBoxes for shipping my  
15 paintings. I was able to get 3-4 in each 8" wide box if I packaged  
properly. Generally this meant wrapping each painting in a plastic  
bag, putting same size paintings together with a sheet of cardboard in- 
between, and then wrapping the group of paintings together on the ends  
and in the middle with the stretchy, clear "shrink wrap" type of tape  
that sticks to itself. This was so that each stack of 3 or 4 paintings  
was like one unit and would shift in the box as one painting rather  
than several rubbing back and forth against each other.

On the paintings with wooden frames I also put a strip of the thin  
foam sheeting around both ends for further protection outside the  
plastic bag. (When space is at a premium the small bubbles are still  
too big. And they pop too easily.)

It took 6 boxes to get all 15 paintings there - 4 large with 3-4  
artworks each and 2 small boxes with 1 painting each. Don't know if  
this method would be best for an international show, but I feel  
confident that I shipped with the lowest weight, the smallest sized  
boxes possible for framed art, and with no damage. (As far as I know,  
anyway, as the unsold pieces arrive back tomorrow. There was no damage  
incurred on the trip *to* MS.)

As for other matters, I remember when the Guild had an exhibit in  
Europe - was it Portugal? - I sent a painting. Followed all the  
directions and even went to downtown San Francisco to get an official  
stamp on some customs paperwork. Then a few weeks after return of the  
art saw a charge on my AmEx bill for some other charge that I'd never  
heard of before - something to do with my art entering the foreign  
country or leaving it (memory fades). And it was a hefty fee, too.  
AmEx disputed it and apparently never got any answer, for it was  
finally removed from my bill. But I was aware that there was still  
some bureaucracy that expected another fee to be paid. This is a long  
way of saying to do your homework in this area.

Lynette

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