Ice Box

These hockey pucks were brought in by a client who CAUGHT them as a spectator over her many years of fandom.  I have framed tons of sports memoribilia in my career--baseball bats, footballs, uniforms, etc, but somehow I hadn't encountered pucks before.  They are surprisingly heavy.  I was sure to use gatorboard backing to support the weight and managed to use an adhesive-free mounting technique.

The mat is a shimmery rice paper board from Bainbridge.  Suggests ice in a subtle way, methinks.  Overall, I like the bold graphic look of this box.  A perfect square with 4 circles inside, with like colors arranged on diagonals. The scale of this moulding is just right for the objects.  I can barely take credit, this thing practically designed itself.

All Of It

I am so glad I could make it in an 11th hour, race-to-the-closing-of-the-show, dash to Gallery Aferro in Newark, NJ to see Dahlia Elsayed's All of It.

Dahlia uses text and maps, among other things, to create personal histories and isolate moments and emotions.  Hers was an untraditional display of over 100 pieces, arranged in such a way that an interesting narrative emerged.  Items were tacked to the wall in various ways, and where there was framing, it was white-on-white.

and good for you, Dahlia, for appearing in the NYT recently as being a finalist for the Guggenheim Museum's "YouTube Play, A Biennial of Creative Video."  (winner to be unveiled soon)

Go, Dahlia!

Wordless Wednesday

Object Lesson

I had a series of phone calls from a prospective client who wondered if her idea for a framing project was possible.  Once she described it, I was really enthusiastic about it--very unusual and it involved 3-D objects (yay!) --and I assured her she called the right place.

Her idea:  a display of eyeglasses in a shadowbox.  A gift for her boyfriend who just had lasik eye surgery.  Very clever.  Here they are just laying in the box to help me visualize the layout and spacing.

The client coordinated with her bf's mother and located the very sweet Harry Potter eyewear from his youth (uppermost), through the ages of wire & half-wire ovals, to the recent very mature designer specs by Armani and Face à Face (lowermost two). 

I decided that this project could and should be done adhesive-free.  I first tried sewing them down to the matboard using elasticized thread for its great gripping ability.  I would only need to sew in two key places.

But then I hated that it was so visibile.

So I used clear monofilament which required each pair of glasses to be attached in four places.  But it looked so much better.  For spacing, I set my topmost and lowermost glasses in place first.

And then spaced the others between.  Since the Harry Potters were so much larger than the other lenses, the interval is greater for those to the one beneath, and all the rest are evenly spaced. 

 

I love the look.  Hunter green with a burl frame always connotes a gentleman's study to me, and this was the intention of the client (with a bit of a wink ;).  Museum glass perfectly completes the exercise. 

Street Cred

(Don't I look tough?)

My clients are some pretty cool cats.  First, there was that limited Steve Powers print from a few months back, then some wonderful lady brought in TWO Dr Lakra prints (and I suck because not only did I neglect to photograph the finished frames, but I am also about to miss the exhibit), and this week yet another client has brought in an oversize printed canvas emblazoned with a Banksy image.

Banksy is a very well-known (ok, nobody knows his true identity) London street artist who in 2008 curated The Cans Festival, an abandoned London tunnel which over the course of one evening was transformed into an amazing gallery of stencilled street art by Banksy and a handpicked group of other talented folks working in the same milieu. 

The "shop" section of Banksy's website states: 

"Banksy does not produce greeting cards or print photo-canvases or paint commissions or sell freshly baked bagels. Please take anything from this site and make your own (non-commercial use only thanks).

Banksy cannot be found on facebook/twitter/myspace etc."

And hence, a large format photo of Banksy's contribution to the entrance of the Cans Festival tunnel exists, and was printed on canvas.  Below is the finished gallery wrap in the shop.

Oh, and the client for this particular piece happens to be a celebrated Philadelphia Eagle.  Go birds!  : P

White-on-White

Design Trend

I wouldn't quite categorize this phenomenon as a coincidence, but several unrelated customers came in during a short period requesting similar designs:  white-on-white.  A white mat and white frame.  Sure, I've sold this design several times in the past, usually on color photography, but never so frequently and on such diverse art.

Below is this clean look on oversize Massimo Vitali photographs from from an interior design site, Coastal Style Living.

I spotted these design images (above) while researching Vitali photos that came through our shop (below), framed in a similar way.  Note that Vitali photos are generally beach shots from above with deliberate washed-out color.  Beautiful.  

This look is very modern and used often in conceptual photo exhibits.  I always warn clients hanging this type of design in their homes that white-on-white looks best on a contrasting color wall, and not nearly as well on a white or off-white wall.  

Below are some recent white-on-white designs on items that are not color photography.

original watercolor 

contemporary artist print

original pencil in distressed white frame with coordinating fillet

Flag Waving

A Celebration of Philadelphia Innovation

This unique (and well-timed!) object found its way into the shop this season.  It is paper ephemera from the Centennial Exhibition, the 1876 world's fair marking our nation's 100th year, held in our great city.

fan front

detail

The Framing Challenge:

The fan is double-sided.  Handpainted.  Very fragile.  Object must be viewable from both sides.

fan back

detail

Oh, and the fan is to float in the center of the frame, with glass margins on all sides.  No mat.  And adhesive-free if possible (as always).

This was a new one for me.  I took the job in, assuring the customer that I'd figure something out on the worktable.  He trusted me to find a solution.  I talked about it some to framers and other problem-solving types, but ultimately, I went with my own minimalist invention.

The fan is lashed in 2 places to a solid mahogany dowel with monofilament. 

Dowel is fitted into sidewalls.

finished frame (rear view)

Normally, a framer's job is to show no visible attachments.  Here this was not possible.  The mahogany dowel is similar in color to the fan spokes, and I think the simplicity makes for an elegant solution.  Especially when viewed from the front.