A PIECE OF WALL BOARD - Well preserved

I get to see the most interesting things: keepsakes and pieces of history from all over the world. We all want to hold on to something tangible that keeps us in touch with places and people from our past. The sentimental value of these items cannot be counted in any kind of currency.
This piece is a beautiful example of a rare family keepsake.
It is a piece of fibrous wall board that comes from an old farmhouse in NAALDWIJK, The Netherlands. The customer that brought it in for framing grew up looking at these little Dutch girls that adorned the walls of the kitchen. Her mother had stencilled them. The house is now gone, so is her mother.
A little piece of both will keep on living in this shadow box frame that we crafted to house the remaining piece.
It now has a place of honour in my customers country kitchen in Southern Ontario.



Since the piece itself is a true folk art item with genuine country charm we opted for a very simple arrangement. The board itself was float mounted on a delft blue archival mat board and shadowboxed in a stacked wood frame. The cap moulding "Straw Bandana" by Larson-Juhl beautifully reflects the weathered appearance of the item itself.

A piece of conservation quality glass was inserted in between the two frames.

This will not only protect the keepsake from environmental hazards: dirt, dust and soot, but it also keeps the piece from further fading and discolouring. A generous amount of spacing will keep the glass well off the artifact. It is good to keep in mind that even when only the best quality materials are used in the framing , a piece like this should always be hung away from direct sunlight. A picture frame is like a greenhouse...or a car...a closed space behind glass where heat and humidity builds up in seconds! Direct sunlight will cause condensation and any moisture could activate the growth of mildew. A piece of old wall board is a prime candidate for that! Mould does not only mean a death sentence to your art work but it also provides a serious health hazard to you and your family.

So, here we have it again: putting an item into a frame does not necessarily preserve it,

in fact, a well-meaning but uneducated do-it-yourself job will most likely destroy it.

Framing a family keepsake is paying homage to people that are/were important in your life.

Respect your past, trust your treasures to a PROFESSIONAL picture framer.

A frame within a frame..

in that kind of frame of mind

I will remain ,

Outi, your FRAME DAME

THE FRAMED ALBUM , the whole thing, not just the cover!

This is the ultimate baby boomer sentiment: THE VINYL RECORD AND THE ALBUM COVER! So many of us are still holding on to the very special ones that remind us of important times and events of our lives. Those times that will never, ever return. Like the vinyl records themselves....I mean, hey,-let's face it:even CD's will soon be obsolete!

Don't you just miss the excitement that you felt when you got to open that new album! To me it was almost a sacred ritual: there was a very special order how to remove the shrinkwrap and unfold the album notes, lyrics and photos! A close , personal moment with my idol; something tangible to have and to hold.

The customer who brought in this album gave it away as a 50Th birthday gift.

(Do you remember where you were when Dancing in the Dark came out?:))

Just for fun ask yourself : If I had a chance to decorate a music room and hang up the twelve most important albums to me...which ones would I choose? Go ahead, -claim your space!
This frame is designed to display and protect. The beauty is that THE ALBUM IS 100% REMOVABLE! You can take it out, play it, fondle it and then put it back on the wall. In the second picture you can see what the back of the frame looks like: by tilting the little turn buttons you can open the back and take out the cover. No glue or tape is attached to it. Conservation quality Tru Vue glass on the front of the frame will keep Bruce from fading away. A neat way to "eat your cake and keep it too."

Thanks to all for for great comments and encouragement. The interest has been overwhelming!

The blogs that I have in the works include artist Greg Hindle (teacher, painter extraordinaire) and photographers Rosemary Hasner (poet, mystic, storyteller) and Ron Pitts( wilderness man, observer by nature, phenomenalist). All superstars!

I will also be babbling about framing needle art and mapping out my adventures in the world of pigments. If there is an issue that you are interested in, please throw it my way and I'll see what I can shake out of it!

Meanwhile,
leaving you in a SOUND FRAME OF MIND,

Outi, the Frame Dame

Trophy Rosettes

AN ATHLETE IN YOUR FAMILY?

Trophy ribbons and rosettes are worth displaying with pride!

A framed rosette is great gift idea for the athlete in your family, a form of support and an encouragement for future accomplishments.

It can also serve as a customer confidence tool:

if you are in the field of training or breeding dogs, horses or livestock, a framed rosette will show your customers that you are brilliant at what you do.

These are some simple examples of shadow boxed trophy rosettes.

A SHADOW BOX is basically a deep picture frame that is designed to hold and display an item. You can frame jewellery, clothing, seashells, cutlery, coins, stones....you name , we frame it! I have framed baby teeth and christening gowns...the most exotic (or the scariest ) piece that I've mounted into a frame was a piece of a missile for the Armed Forces. We all have our stories to tell.

If you are hanging on to a special item that is memory of a happy event in you live, why not have it put in a frame so that you can enjoy it every day?

PROFESSIONAL PICTURE FRAMING MATERIALS are designed to protect art and objects from environmental hazards, dirt and light that could fade and discolour.

Conservation quality picture glass is only available through a professional picture framer and I cannot emphasize enough the importance of using nothing but that . The intention is to protect the piece from light. ANY LIGHT. And your items WILL be exposed to light when they are hanging on the wall, even if the room has no windows at all.

It is important that the right kind of adhesives are used, -using the wrong kind of clue or stapling can do a lot of irreversible damage, so it is the best to trust your treasures to a professional.

However,

I am more than happy to give free advice should you want to frame your pieces yourself, and I am always ready to cut mats and glass for creative people who take pride in their own creations. Framing a bunch of keepsakes from a family holiday could make a nice weekend family project, a gift that just keeps giving!

Now, let's see what we have stored in that shoebox behind the photo albums...maybe it will make a nice, one of a kind art item for the family room?

Wishing you creative day dreams,

your picture framer,

Outi, The Frame Dame

ISABELLA 1860? 1767?

Fancy finding this is your barn!

This happened to a customer of mine.

A dust covered, mildew infested oil painting

wrapped in spiderwebs......crying for help.

All we know that it was painted by his great, great aunt in c.1860 who probably copied it from another painting dated on the verso 1787. The painter would have not personally met the model and at that time there would have not been any photographic reference. This leads us to think at the artist either used another painting/drawing as a reference, or used her imagination as a source. Not knowing who the model is, we are calling her "ISABELLA" , which happens to be the name of the frame we ended up choosing

to enhance her beauty.

It took me a couple of weeks to clean off the surface grime and mildew. All the dirt, dust, soot and dead insects were removed from the back of the canvas and the little pockets under the stretcher frame. We decided to keep the original stretcher since it was in a fair condition and featured hand-made nails. The canvas itself turned out to be in the better condition that I originally expected, beautifully aged, tight weaved European (?) linen. The paint film responded well to light emulsion cleaner and after two layers of new varnish ISABELLA was truly beaming! The painting has a couple of small puncture holes and some surface scrapes but we elected not to restore those at this time.

For now they will remain as souvenirs of ISABELLA's journeys.

We are still gathering more information on the artist and the model, trying to establish what the value of this piece would be.

Cleaning an oil painting is a job for a professional. You can gently brush off dry dirt, -try using soft, fresh white bread. Applying water or soap could ruin your painting: it softens the paint film, causes layers to separate and activates the grown of mildew. So: don't do it! Leave it to a professional.

For the frame we chose a traditional cassetta panel frame which would have been highly in fashion in the 17Th century. And still is today. The word "Cassetta" means "a little box" and refers to the moulding profile that features a flat section flanked by a raised back edge and sight edge. It think it beautifully brings out her complexion and the golden highlights in her hair while the antique black panel balances the solid, dark form of her outfit. And matches the somber atmosphere of the sitting. What do you think?

So, this was my meeting with "Isabella".

It was very nice to meet her.

And I am happy to know that she does not have to live in a barn anymore.

In a splendid FRAME of mind, wishing you all a great weekend,

Outi, The Frame Dame