Framing books?

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ian_sharpe

Grumbler in Training
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Oct 9, 2006
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My wife is an artist and has decided to produce work for sale which will be sold ready-framed.

I've been volunteered to do the framing. I don't mind - I'm pretty handy as a woodworker and can craft to a high standard. This will be an opportunity to buy toys and extend my skills.

The net has given me a good overview of what needs to be done and the equipment I need to start regular low-volume framing.

What I really need now is to flesh out and refine that knowledge to a practical and professional level.

Can anyone recommend excellent, reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date books on framing? Is there a book regarded as the pro framers' bible?

I need to start with the basics, but not stop there. I am particularly interested in precise construction details of conservation/museum grades. To begin with, the frames will not be elaborate in style - simple, elegant, high quality.

Courses not an option at the moment.

Seen plenty of framing books on Amazon, but don't know which, if any, are the picks of the bunch.

Ian
 
Ian,

First of all, welcome to the grumble!

It sounds like you want to do things the right way, and this is a good thing.

The trade organization which is there for our industry is called the PPFA (Professional Picture Framer's Association). The PPFA certifies framers at the CPF® level, and the MCPF® level. The study material for the Certified Picture Framer test is regularly reviewed and updated to stay current, and would be a great place to start - in my opinion. You may also want to consider taking this exam further down the road, as your business grows. Here is the info and suggested reading list: http://www.ppfa.com/pdf/CPF_Study_Guide.pdf

You may want to see if there is a local chapter, which you could attend to network with other framers. The guest speakers they bring in are fabulous.

In the UK, there is something similar called FATG (Fine Art Trade Guild) http://www.fineart.co.uk/

Another great technical reference site is F.A.C.T.S. http://www.artfacts.org/

Industry trade shows are a great source for education and equipment. WCAF in Vegas is a top notch show, at the end of January. The PPFA has a show in March, also in Vegas(mostly for photography, but with some great framing classes). Decor Magazine has shows in Baltimore (April) and Atlanta (Sept). If you are outside the USA, there are similar trade shows in the UK, Australia, and many other places.

Again, welcome to the grumble!

Mike Labbe
co-moderator
Get The Picture
Lincoln, RI
 
Mike,

Thanks for the welcome and those links. I will study them. (I am in the UK by the way).

I am definitely the 'get it right' type. I like to research things in depth, know why things are the way they are, and learn best practice. I need to be confident that anything with my name on it lives up to its description and will stand up to informed scrutiny.

We'll be selling products that aren't by any means bargain basement and customers deserve to have them produced with integrity.

Ian
 
Welcome to The Grumble, Ian.

I might as well get this out of the way. Books and references are valuable and a reasonable way to start, but learning framing techniques will require lots of hands-on practice and some trial-and-error. Some foraml training or mentoring will shorten the learning curve. Good framers only make it LOOK easy.

Years ago, I decided to learn to play golf from books and videos. That didn't work.
 
Welcome, Ian.

The complexity of picture framing is not in the woodworking, but in the assembly of dissimilar materials. Successfully combining wood, glass, paperboard, plastic (foam center board, for example) and metal components gets tricky. Expansion/contraction cycles and other natural occurrances come into play in strange ways.

Most fundamentally, preservation framing is about: 1) non-invasive methods/materials - no changes to the item; 2) complete reversibility - all framing processes may be easily undone; 3) protecting the item from chemical reactions within the closed-up frame package - all chemically inert and long-term stable; 4) protecting the item from anticipated environmental hazards - light, slowing the rate of temperature/humidity change, dirt, insects, mechanical damage.

There is no single book that covers it all, and there is no absolutely final authority on any aspect of what is considered to be the "best" framing. I guess most would agree that mounting of the art is the most difficult area of expertise.

I suggest you learn about framing the particular kind of artwork your wife creates, which should narrow your field of concerns. For example, if she is a watercolorist you will need to learn about hinging.

If she is a pastel artist, learn about spacing away the glazing, and learn about glazing products. For example, glass is probably best. Acrylic may be used, but static charge is a problem unless it is optically-coated anti-reflection type. The coatings reduce static charge on acrylic to levels lower than ordinary glass.

If she paints on canvas, learn how to line the frame's rebate with metal of glass, and pad the lip with special material (such as Volara foam tape or strips of 4-ply alphacellulose board) to avoid sticking the paint to it. Always provide a solid backing board.

There's more to framing than meets the eye. That is, appearance is only the beginning.
 
Hi Jim,

I find that with many subjects - what looks simple to the outsider actually takes a wealth background knowledge and appreciation to do well.

My wife is producing art from dried plant materials. Sort of collage, but not quite.

The first ones are being done on acid-free commercial art papers. In the longer term, she plans to make her own paper (which opens up issues on the conservation front, so we're postponing all that for now.)

I understand and agree with what you say about becoming an expert in framing her work and branching out from there.

I shall probably be coming here regularly at the start.

Ian
 
Why only at the start? I've been framing for years, and learn new things here all the time. Technology changes, and we must change with it, as new techniques and products develop and discoveries are made.

And welcome to the Grumble, Ian. this is a good place to start.
 
Welcome to the Grumble, Ian.

I thought you wanted to talk about the best way to frame a book - must now regroup.

Ron's right about learning by doing. Where in the UK are you? There are many Grumblers on your side of the pond.

The Grumble archives is another good resource. Try looking for keywords 'dried flowers' and 'shadowbox'. Those will get you started.

Framing dried plants is a tricky thing. They're biodegradable by their nature. You can end up with bits of crumbled vegetation in a pile at the bottom of the frame.

Do some reading and c'mon back when you have more questions.

Kit
 
Ian
I would also like to echo our welcome, and encourage you to visit often with questions, frustrations and comments. In our ever changing world we face many challenges, you will find the resources of many talents right here, willing to help. Again, welcome to the 'Grumble'.
 
Thanks for the replies and encouragement everyone.

I'm going to take a trip into town to see what the libraries and bookshops have to offer. I have also seen a couple of books on Amazon that look promising.

I will digest the basics from whatever I obtain along with some more 'net reading and come back with the questions I am sure to have.

I shall certainly start with a limited range of techniques and styles suitable for the material on hand. I will also practice until I know I can produce properly costed quality work to schedule when/if the orders start coming in.

Best wishes

Ian
 
Ian,

Welcome to this great place - wish I'd found it as early on in my framing life as you have.

The Grumble has made me both a better framer AND businessman and has even inspired me to get my rear end over to The States (I'm from UK too - in fact I'm the UK's SENIOR Grumbler, don't you know) to learn things that we just do not do over here.

I started off by reading books, some were useful, others less so, trade mags were also useful, but if I ripped out the most useful pages for framing tips it would be a very small pile!

The search facility here is one great book - just today I got a pair of boxing gloves to frame (Thigned by Chrith Eubankth) - I knew I had seen a gobsmacking design here, searched and found this ...

http://www.thegrumble.com/showthread.php?t=7067

Also register on the UK Framers' Forum , where you will meet me again. It's kicking off right now.... http://estlite.scenes.biz/phpBB2/

BTW - where in UK ARE you from?

To all - the UK framers forum IS kicking off - I kicked it off !!!Dermot is helping - spoke to him on the phone today - he really is such a nice guy. Check THIS out ....

http://estlite.scenes.biz/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=702
 
...but back to the question at hand. Yes, there are good books out there. Buy the whole set of Vivian Kistler's framing books. I think there are 11 or 12 of them. Go to www.columbapublishing.com There are a lot of books on the market, but most of them are no good. They will be right about this or perhaps about that, but I always turn immediately to the mounting part and that is where the cheese gets holey. I have yet to find a consumer-aimed book that we would carry in our art supplies store.
You may think that you won't need all of the books, but when the word gets out that you 'do framing' then you will be dragged into our ranks and you might as well have all the information in the first place...
 
I agree, reference books are invaluable. In addition to Vivian Kistler's, I highly recommend those authored by Chris Paschke. They are available through the PPFA bookstore as well as directly from her website: www.designsinkart.com

Also, if you visit the PPFA bookstore, there is a list of reference books recommended for those contemplating taking the certification exams. If you create a library of those, you'll have a great start.

Welcome to the grumble and have fun.

Amy
 
Ellen and Amy - THANK YOU. Some good leads/advice there.

John: thanks for those links. The UK forum has been bookmarked for attention later. I am in Bath.

Ian
 
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