Christopher Lowell and the shadowbox

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J

Jana

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Aug 12, 2000
Posts
2,396
Loc
Mansfield, Ohio
Good grief, it's my day off and among other things, including reading the Grumble, I watched some of the Christopher Lowell show. I just can't seem to get away from picture framing. I even noticed bad and out of date picture framing at my doctor's office.

Anyway, Lowell showed how to make a shadowbox and threw the term archival around a lot. He wanted it to be "archivally nice". Then he proceeded to use luan covered with polyester batting and cloth as a backer. He suggested mounting the objects with straight pins (which is probably ok depending on the type of pin) or double stick tape which is not ok, especially since he was handling a scarf when he said it. He recommended spray glue when covering the side pieces with cloth.

He said make sure the plexi, if you use it, is acid-free. What? He didn't seem to be concerned with th acid in the wood.

Oh, and he constructed the box and used some homemade looking moulding that we would refer to as a 'my-son/husband-made-the-frame' moulding.

It was about a five minute segment that was confusing and ill-informed. All so that the viewer could save some money. I guess I should give him some credit for trying, but he simplified the steps so much and gave lots o' wrong advice. Maybe I should check out his website to see if he elaborates more or digs the hole deeper.
 
I watched him on Monday, and I have come to the conclusion that he has good idea, but bad advise. At least you were not watching Martha.
 
Whenever I'm in the room my boyfriend is watching TV it's CNN or MSNBC, but coincidentally whenever he's watching and I'm in a different room he seems to happen upon these segments.

Him: You should see what this lady's doing to this picture!
Me: Can't right now.
Him: But she's making the frame out of wallpaper glued to corrugated. You've gotta see this!
Me: Really I can't. I'm right in the middle. . .
Him: Oh Lord, here comes the rick-rack and the glue-gun. Honey, how come I never see you using rick-rack?

;)

I don't mind when they're using pictures cut from calendars to decorate the mud room. When it disintegrates they can just make another one. What gets me is when 95 year old pictures of Great Aunt Edna are glued, taped, or soldered in, usually right up against the glass. Uggh.
 
Jana,
I wouldn't fret to much over Robert Lowell to much. He serves two purposes;
(1)He keeps cheap bored housewifes, with a million ideas and a dollar for budget, out of your store and your hair. Thats why he's bald in the first place, they made him pull all his out.
(2)He makes people find out the hard way how much training and purpose built equipment framers have.
I love going to craft stores and seeing people with a sheet of mat board and an X-acto blade. You just want to laugh because you know that they will be back with Band-aids on all thier fingers and thier pride in their pockets. The $20.00 for a 16 x 20 mat winds up being a fair price after all.
It just makes you wonder how many fingers and families have been split open since Trading Spaces on TLC has become popular.
 
Trading Spaces was filmed here in Knoxville. Friends of ours were the first "guinea pigs" for the first show. She's an art teacher at ahigh school and he works for the county. Trust me, their makeover is drop dead gorgeous. They live in a section of town that was "saved" from deterioration and theirs is a 1920s Craftsman bungalow. But, she is an artist and a good one at that.

Who's this guy y'all talking about? Lowell? Should I really be watching TV to see this clown? ;) ;)
 
Originally posted by tnframer408:

Who's this guy y'all talking about? Lowell? Should I really be watching TV to see this clown?
Click to expand...
Mike, for a long time I thought they were talking about the guy from "Back to the Future", but I finally figured out that was Christopher LLoyd!

Betty
 
He's got a show on Discovery channel.

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/christopherlowell/christopherlowell.html

When people horse around and say they'll cut their own mats, I ask them if they have a mat cutter. When they say they will use an Exacto or utility knife I basically tell them it will look bad and raggedy and will not have a bevel (unless they're Brian Wolf!). I tell them I know because this is the way I cut mats (white pebble board, yum) in art school in the dark ages. They then proceed to have us cut their mats!
 
I am fondly remembering a gentelman who was going to cut his own multiple opening mat a few christmases ago.

I sold him everything he would need to do this, explained how to use the hand-held mat cutter, the whole nine yards.

Two days later he came in with his matboard a box of candy and a poinsetta, AND paid me to cut the mat.
He was a sweet guy, ;) and bought great chocolates.

Jill Hennes
 
Jill,

Thanks for the mat and I'm glad you enjoyed the chocolates. Hughes <u>does</U> make good chocolate.

I had no idea multiple windows were so hard!
 
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