Raised Panel Frames

Awaiting paint and other yummies!

More Frames

Raised panel frames 3x9 inches that John made for me for a new series.

A stack of deep faced frames for my textile work ready to recieve glass, bumpers/spacers, and artwork!

The master and his craft!

Coat number one of black stain now applied to the framing stock.

Frames in Progress

A new batch of deep faced frames for my textile pieces in progress.  So far the framing material has been cut out and sanded multiple times, now for the staining process, these will be black.  I'm truly blessed because my husband is willing to make these for me.

Paint Layer No. 1

In progress new deep face frames for my artwork.

New Frames - In Progress

John set up some stations for me, with lots of clamps, so that I could sand the frames and quickly.  Tomorrow they will be painted, right now he's sanding them with 220 grit paper for the final finish, I sanded them earlier with 120 grit.

11x14x2.75 inches each
Poplar

Blood River Canyon No. 4 Framed

Blood River Canyon No. 4 Framed

Encaustic Frames

Prairie Potholes No. 15

The quilt needs to be stitched to the canvas base, however I've decided to add some beads and other embellishements to the surface first.

I'm thinking of adding a treatment to my base canvas, well the edges anyway, like the canvas in the above picture. I started the above piece two years ago and got wrapped up in moving the shop and never finished the thing. It has vintage paint by number pots glued to the surface, somewhere I have around here I have the images and collage items to add to the surface and then it gets placed inside of an altered clock body.

The thing about hanging onto a piece long enough is eventually you realize that it needs more and in this case PP No. 15 needs dimension, dimension in the form of beads etc. The base canvas covered frame needs more paint, I missed a few areas on the edging where it's most likely to be seen.

For some reason Blogger is really bent on loading all of my photos up sideways today, arrrghhhh!

Prairie Pothole No. 15

I was never happy with the way PP No. 15 & 14 looked hanging flat against the wall they just looked ackward like something was missing.

So while at Hobby Lobby today and saw that they sold pre-stretced 14x14 inch canvas'
So decided to purchase on to see how PP No. 15 would look stretched, needless to say the canvas is drying right now I painted it and I plan to stretch the quilt to the frame later tonight.

To Frame or not to Frame

I’ve noticed a rush to stretch quilts around stretcher bars/frames of late and am seeing a good many of these go up for sale on etsy.com. Not all pieces are meant to be stretched, maybe it needs to be matted and framed, maybe the piece needs a shadow box, or MAYBE it actually needs a sleeve sewn to the back and hung on the wall like a traditional wall quilt.

What I am noticing is a bunch of quilts that have been stretched and it does more to detract from the piece than it does to help it. I remember my screenprinting professor, Tim McIllrath, coming unhinged at one student who stretched what “was” a lovely hand stitched screen printed piece, unfortunately it distorted the stitching – which is something I’m seeing in a lot of pieces, and when the student removed it from the frame the damage had been done and was fairly permanent.

When deciding how to finish a piece one must really step back from their baby and ask themselves does this piece stand on it’s own merits with or without a border/matt? How will stretching this piece affect/effect the stitching, pattern, piecing, embellishments, etc?

There is no easy answer to this dilemma expect to experiment with scraps, stitching techniques etc. this will give you your answer. It is, however, very disconcerting to see what would otherwise be a gorgeous piece stretched around stretcher bars and I suspect the artist doing so believes that the pieces will sell better in doing so – and this couldn’t be further from the truth especially if you are looking for collectors for your works.

Also sometimes a piece simply needs a large plexi frame, this would include the sides, expensive yes but your beloved creation may find a home much sooner in doing so.