Ahh, Spring!

And a young(ish?) framer's fancy turns to...

Mounting, of course!

But first, the fever took hold when my toddler and I made bunches of construction paper flowers together. They adorn my dining room table at home and have made their way to the shop as well. Just in time for the Flower Show and a new window display. Just anticipating the milder weather inspired me to change up the coif a bit, too.

And because my mood is so great, I am now compelled to reveal simple mounting secrets to the DIY crowd as a public service. I am doing this because I see a lot of talented struggling artists trying to make money in this town, and attempting their own framing to conserve funds. To see art handled improperly makes me weep. Truly. And also, I think of families struggling to get their treasured photos into an Ikea frame and and doing more harm than good. A brief tutorial is the least I can do in these uncertain economic times.

• Mounting 101

In general, a framer's job is to do no harm. Wherever possible, no adhesive should be used on any sort of art. Here's how this is accomplished using acid-free photo corners.

This is a technique that can be used if your art has margins that extend 1/2" or so beyond the image. Center art on the backing board and get it as flat as possible, using a weight if necessary. Slip photo corners onto each of the four corners and press firmly to adhere.

Apply acid-free double-sided tape, here shown being applied by a special gun, (but craft stores carry inexpensive disposable ones for the home framer) around all four sides close to the image on the backing board. Lay mat on top of the art, position into place and press firmly to adhere. And mounting is really as easy as that in an ideal situation.

Here's how it should be done when you don't have 1/2" wide margins to work with. Here, the client wants to show the margin around the image, so if photo corners were used then they would show under the mat. As before center the art on the backing board. Place a piece of single-sided acid free tape under one of the top two corners, only allow 1/8" tape onto the back of the art. Next, put a second piece of tape across the first, forming a "T." This is called a T-hinge and you'll need 2 of them. Just at the top two corners.

Do not do anything else to the art. Do not attempt to tack the bottom corners, it will look better is allowed to hang behind the mat naturally. As before, run a line of double-sided tape around the backing board on the outside of the art and press the mat down firmly on top. The image on the right is the completed piece. Oh, alright, I guess if I'm giving away free information, I might as well get the job done. Let's go back to the first image as it goes into a wood frame. I think most readymade frames are wood and probably a little easier for the home framer to work with.

Clean glass and fit mat package into frame. Readymade frames usually have flex-tabs that bend to hold the art in place. On the back of the wood frame (metal frames have an entirely different fitting procedure) run a line of the same double-sided tape near the edge of the moulding. Lay kraft paper (ours is fancy black paper at the shop) neatly over the frame and crease. Trim excess with a razor blade. This will give you a professional-looking dustcover on the back and prevent the casual insect passer-by from entering at will. Apply hanging hardware and you're done!

The art here is a silver gelatin print by great Philly photographer, JD Dragan.