Sunday, April 08, 2007
Meanwhile, At The Framing Table...
Been framing again.
Only this time, without last-moment hysteria.
My two paintings are hanging in our new group show (reception April 13th, and y'all are welcome to attend), nicely matted and framed and looking good.
Now I am on the roll. About to be done framing three other paintings, in order to get juried-in as an exhibiting member at another art association, which is much smaller than the one I'm active in for the last two years. They go for all kinds of media, not just watercolors, which opens a door for photography and drawing and pretty much any form of visual art.
It's quite tedious, to frame your own paintings.
Actually, the framing bit is extremely easy, if you're using metal frames: just assemble 3 sides, insert the sandwich (made of Plexiglas, foam core backing, and in-between the painting which is hinged to the mat), add the fourth side, garnish with a hanging wire attached to D-rings, tape the ends of the wires, and - voila!
But the matting!!!
The matting takes forever.
First, I need to decide on the size of the opening (as in, exactly how much of the painting do I want showing?), the color of the mat, whether or not I want a colored inset (and if I do - what color? and how wide should the inset be?).
Then come the mind-boggling calculations of sixteenth of an inch and forty-seventh of an ounce, which commences the edgy stage of speaking fidgety Inchish to myself and to the miraculously-patient The JohnnyB. I can't quite explain it, but once I need to add and subtract in the diaspora of the non-metric system, my left brain goes numb and I become a complete idiot, while The JohnnyB watches in awe. This transformation never ceases to thoroughly amuse him.
Once all the numbers have been checked three times and audited by the somehwhat-less-patient The JohnnyB, it's time to mark the lines on the back of the mat (in the good case that I remember to do it on the back).
And then, finally, cometh the moment of truth, done with awesome reverence: the cutting of the mat.
This stage involves a lot of debates between me (yes, me!) to make sure the crucial cut is correct, and plenty of theological and existential questions arise:
Is the mat cutter aligned?
Am I aligned?
Will I remember to put the production-stopping thingies at the right place, or will I screw up (yet again) a perfectly good piece of matboard?
Will I leave an inked fingerprint on the clean mat after I am done cutting it? (yep, of course it happened. Yes, I had to cut a new mat from scratch. Yes, I screamed my lungs off).
This time, by sheer grace, the mat cutting went just fine. I actually enjoyed it.
And yet, that grace was limited and temporary.
As today I found out that I am talented enough to screw-up things even at the very last second.
There I was, about to complete the framing of one of The JohnnyB's favorites paintings (he even made a beer label using part of it), meticulously hinged to a beautifully cut double-mat with a glorious inset, the foamcore in the back, the clean Plexiglas in the front. I held the sandswich with confident hands, and carefully inserted it into the frame with one swift motion.
It felt so good I almost needed a cigarette. (only we don't have dem 'tings in the house anymore)...
But - - -
Something was a bit odd.
Something did not look quite right.
In my eternal wisdom, I have inserted it so that the Plexiglas was facing the back, with the foamcore gazing at the front of the frame, blinking its foamy eyes with confusion. Of course, nothing wrong with doing it this way, but it's not highly recommended, if you actually want the painting to be seen.
Muttering to myself some constructive criticism about my diminishing IQ, I shamefully took the sandwich out of the reprimanding frame (after a short pause for some passionate multi-lingual cussing) and redid it the right way.
Not a big deal, Eh?
It's not like The JohnnyB witnessed it and will be on my case from now on.
Looking with sheer pride at the framed art, I . . . suddenly . . . saw . . that the Plexiglas got decorated with two perfectly straight, parallel scratches along the sides, reminiscent of the previous misinsertion.
If you look closely, you can see it, so please don't.
Labels: Art, Faux Pas, Major Achievements
# posted by Nava @ 2:23 AM 
Comments:
I'd like to look closely but I can't because both of the images seem to be gone at the moment! :(
Thanks for visiting my blog today! So sweet of you! So you're an ex-engineer, aye? I'd love ot be an ex-engineer. You see, I'm an engineer. And since I like to eat, I'm still not an ex-engineer. But maybe one day. Perhaps you will inspire me!
Rhonda - I'm pro-ing from one framing to the other. Framed another one today, as we had a 4-hour power outage (makes no sense on a nice warm April day), and the mat cutter is about the only thing that does not operate on electrify, so - we now have another painting hanging on our living room wall. This is getting to be so much fun!
Dan, welcome to my blog - have a seat. Care for some coffee?
No idea where the images went. They tend to get shy when new readers visit my blog, but they get over it.
Yep, ex-engineer. Sounds like you're an ex-painter.
Have we switched karmas at some point?
Nava, this coffee is excellent! And the chair is so plush! I may have to stop by frequently. :) (Shy paintings indeed! HA HA!!)
Switching karmas? No the painting was a hobby, which I really enjoyed but then I got interested in something else. I still have all the paints and canvasses!
I was going to e-mail you but I couldn't find your address to tell you how funny I thought that Van Dyck Green comment was that you left! You are so funny!
another on your living room wall eh?
well, my living room wall is kind of bare.
:)
# posted by 
: 4/09/2007 7:52 PM
Just letting you know that I look forward to the day that I can place with the utmost care the piece of art that you've created on my wall.
# posted by : 4/10/2007 9:25 PM
It's easy to see why, in so many cases, the framed version of something costs so much more than the unframed.
You could have just left the thing with foam-core showing and put it some modern art exhibit as an artistic statement.
As for the scratches, if they're noticed, tell you meant to do that! Or if you get tired of framing, you can use it as an example of why you shouldn't be expected to do that job ever again.
Blueberry, I guess I should try and adopt the cat-like behavior of the "but of course I meant to do that", whenever I do something bloggably wrong.
The frustrating thing is that even if you do a perfect framing job, using Plexiglas means you are bound to get a scratch.
And why Plexi?
'cause most shows require (and not of glass).
Hi, Nava:
Can't write a response I'm too busy doubled up with laughter - you should be on radio comedy.
Ron and I know JUST what you mean.
# posted by : 4/16/2007 11:08 AM
Can't do radio comedy.
People here will give me these tortured looks and ask each other "What did she say? Say that again??".
Better stick to writing.
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Thanks for visiting my blog today! So sweet of you! So you're an ex-engineer, aye? I'd love ot be an ex-engineer. You see, I'm an engineer. And since I like to eat, I'm still not an ex-engineer. But maybe one day. Perhaps you will inspire me!
No idea where the images went. They tend to get shy when new readers visit my blog, but they get over it.
Yep, ex-engineer. Sounds like you're an ex-painter.
Have we switched karmas at some point?
Switching karmas? No the painting was a hobby, which I really enjoyed but then I got interested in something else. I still have all the paints and canvasses!
I was going to e-mail you but I couldn't find your address to tell you how funny I thought that Van Dyck Green comment was that you left! You are so funny!
well, my living room wall is kind of bare.
:)
# posted by : 4/09/2007 7:52 PM
: 4/09/2007 7:52 PM # posted by : 4/10/2007 9:25 PM
: 4/10/2007 9:25 PM You could have just left the thing with foam-core showing and put it some modern art exhibit as an artistic statement.
As for the scratches, if they're noticed, tell you meant to do that! Or if you get tired of framing, you can use it as an example of why you shouldn't be expected to do that job ever again.
The frustrating thing is that even if you do a perfect framing job, using Plexiglas means you are bound to get a scratch.
And why Plexi?
'cause most shows require (and not of glass).
Can't write a response I'm too busy doubled up with laughter - you should be on radio comedy.
Ron and I know JUST what you mean.
# posted by : 4/16/2007 11:08 AM
: 4/16/2007 11:08 AM People here will give me these tortured looks and ask each other "What did she say? Say that again??".
Better stick to writing.
