Military Medals & Photo Shadow Box

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terrytown

Grumbler
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
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31
Loc
Salt Lake City, UT
Am new to the frame industry (4 months) and this is my first Grumble inquiry. Just had a customer who wants his dad's military medals, ribbons, pins (from WWII thru Vietnam!) along with a 16" x 20" photo mounted in a shadowbox. He also asked if the background couldn't be "clouds and sky" if it would'nt detract from the objects. This is my first shadowbox as well. Any ideas and/or directions (Videos?) will be greatly appreciated.
 
Welcome to the Grumble!
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I've been doing quite a few military shadow boxes lately. If you want some ideas of layouts, you can checkout my "military shadow box" page on my website:

samples of military shadow boxes

In my opinion, the 'clouds and sky' background may make the shadow box too busy looking and distract from the medals, etc. I tend to use suede mats in my shadow boxes, although on one occasion, my customer had a piece of air force plaid that he wanted to use as the background for the medals. Often it is nice to choose a suede colour that goes with the specific branch of the armed forces (e.g. dark blue for navy, green/khaki for army, etc)

An important thing to keep in mind is there is a specific order which the medals are to be displayed. If the medals are already mounted together, then this shouldn't be an issue as they should already be in the right order. However, if they are separate, you should find out the correct order. If you search the Grumble archives, I'm sure there are references to websites that you can check for the ordering of medals.

Using a glass with UV protection is a good idea as well as it will help keep the items in their best condition (i.e. reduce fading of ribbons, etc)

Best of luck with your first shadow box. I'm sure you'll find it very rewarding to work on (although labour intensive). I love to hear the stories behind the items being displayed. Some of them are certainly heart-wrenching. I'm currently working on one that is 2'x3' and has 22 items to be displayed.
 
Nice display of your work on your website. Great variety.

Thanks for sharing.
 
Karen,

You have a very nicely laid out website! I went to every section of it to see what you have done and was very impressed with your variety of framing examples and the general layout of the site. It is very easy to maneuver through the pages and return.

You did a fine job!

Framerguy
 
Clouds (wispy alta-strata almost not there clouds) I don't think would be any more distracting than the crushed velvet which I [IMHO] find extremely UNmilitary.

I think if the guy served long and hard in the Air Force, and he wants clouds and sky... give it to him.

I have accomplished this in two ways. 1) water color wash on water color paper then mount. and my favorite 2) Air brush on silk. [You can get some very etheral looks on silk. Also you can have changing levels without that irritating white bevel which can be VERY distracting.
 
Thanks for the nice comments about my website. It isn't fancy, but I think it gives a good example of my work. The best thing about it is that I am able to make changes to it any time I want so I don't have to depend on a webmaster to make the changes for me. Sue, I certainly don't mind you peeking


originally posted by Baer Charlton:

Clouds (wispy alta-strata almost not there clouds) I don't think would be any more distracting than the crushed velvet which I [IMHO] find extremely UNmilitary.
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Baer, I have to say that I like the idea of whispy clouds as a background. I had a picture in my mind of bright blue sky and big white cumulus clouds, which I think would look a bit overpowering. I have a few watercolours with the whispy cloud look, and that look is very soft and subtle. Since I haven't tried my hand at hand-wrapped fabric mattes yet, I figure the rich look of the Bainbridge suede mattes will have to do for now. But, I just received my copy of your Fabric Wrapping 101 DVD in the mail the other day, so I look forward to being able to expand my mats beyond using the Bainbridge suedes!
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[ 04-28-2006, 07:34 AM: Message edited by: Twin2 ]
 
Paul, Bedford is very close to Halifax - only about a 15 minute drive away. It is located at the far end of Halifax Harbour.

I hope I haven't frankenthread this topic with other grumblers looking at my website and commenting on it. I really appreciate the positive comments, but I didn't mean for it to turn into a 'look at my website' thread. I just thought I would post the link to it so that "terrytown" may be interested in looking at some of my military shadowbox designs. I certainly don't mind others checking it out and giving me feedback, though.


Terrytown, I found that Vivian Kistler's "Framing Collectibles in Shadow Box Frames" to be very helpful and gives a lot of detailed information about shadow boxes.
 
Thanks, Karen for your website. I agree wholeheartedly with everyone else - it is excellent work presented in a beautiful way. I'll be sure to check out Kistler's book as well. You've helped enormously. THANKS.

Also thanks, Baer for the airbrush on silk idea. Way cool.

Will be sure to include a photo when it's completed.

Terry Sebastian
Sagebrush Gallery
 
You're welcome, Terry and thanks for the compliments on my website. Glad to be of some assistance. I'm fairly new to the Grumble and I can tell you that you'll find a vast amount of information on the Grumble website. I look forward to seeing a picture of your finished shadow box in a post on the "Picture Frame Design" section.
 
Yes, Karen -- very nice designs.
And yes, Vivian Kistler's books offer good ideas about layout and visual composition.

We have more than a dozen posts on this thread, and not one mention about mounting methods and materials.

In a perfect world, all picture framers would realize that items like these have significant sentimental value, and would take care to preserve them as much as possible.

How about some protective, non-invasive, completely reversible mounting suggestions? Of course it's a loaded question...but we can't let Terrytown think mounting is not important, can we? After all, everything about visual appearance can be changed in the future, but destructive mounting may be forever.
 
I'm not sure it's worth anything, but I didn't read a Museum Glass suggestion,(maybe I missed it..) and I think that's really important whenever shadowboxing..

To make it a little more conservation minded, you could use a PH neautral fabric to make it a little less damaging, and pedestal raise all the important stuff off the fabric.
I love the whispy watercolor cloud idea of Baer's, (especially if his Dad was in the Air Force!), and think there would be a very subtle way to do that that would read as clouds but not be distracting. Look on Google Images for some cloud images, and then use that as inspiration. Wet the watercolor paper first a little, start with very light washes and build gradually, the colors will blend nicely!
Have fun
 
originally posted by Jim Miller:

How about some protective, non-invasive, completely reversible mounting suggestions? Of course it's a loaded question...but we can't let Terrytown think mounting is not important, can we? After all, everything about visual appearance can be changed in the future, but destructive mounting may be forever.
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You are absolutely, 100% correct, Jim. It is extremely important to mount items as archivally as possible. Even if the item doesn't have a high monetary value, the sentimental value of it can be priceless and thus is worthy of protecting as much as possible.

Terry, I did a quick search on the Grumble and came up with the following link on a post that Jim wrote on how to mount medals in a reversible method using Melinex 516. I'm sure if you do further searches of the Grumble and the archives of the Grumble, you'll find other posts on archival mounting methods.

grumble archive topic on how to mount medals using Melinex 516

Here is another link to an article written by Jim in the Picture Framing Magazine on mounting with clear film. It is very informative as well:
article on mounting with clear film in the Picture Framing Magazine

I guess one shouldn't assume that Terry knows the best materials to use and methods for mounting. I hope the above links will help with the mounting methods (at least for the medals). I'm sorry that the majority of the posts were commenting on my shadow box designs rather than giving Terry concrete information on how to complete his shadow box.
 
Thanks for the links. and yes, you shouldn't assume Terry knows the best materials and methods for mounting.

Tried to understand the Melinex 516 and the little "legs". Ran out of time and had to "just do it". (For some reason I didn't see the PFM link until just now. Wish I had seen it sooner! Good stuff.)

The customer just picked it up and was thrilled. I'm happy with the outcome for my first time. Was a neat project. The final size is approximatel 31" x 28". Hopefully, I'll figure out how to attach a jpg. for you to see.

Karen and Jim, Thanks for your good input.

Terry
Sagebrush Gallery, Salt Lake City
 
Glad to hear that you and your customer were pleased with the shadow box.

If you do a search of the Grumble, there are other posts that describe how to post a picture. Here is one such link:

link to help on how to post photos

I know I would love to see a photo of your finished product.

Using the Melinex 516 is not too difficult once you practise with it. I found it very helpful to practise mounting coins on scrap pieces of mat. For my last shadow box, I had to mount a small whistle and was able to do so using 2 narrow strips of Melinex. You couldn't even tell that they were there. Again, I practised on a scrap piece of mat first so I knew where I wanted to place the strips. It is much easier to make adjustments on a piece of scrap mat than it would be to make on your good piece of mat.

By the way, did you end up using a cloud motif as the background?
 
Pretty nice job for your first shadowbox! That's a great collection of medals, too. I just had a customer in a few days ago with his collection of medals from his 20 years in the Naval Reserve. Military memorabilia is one of my favorite things to frame, it makes you feel good that your helping someone display something that means so much to them.

Nice job, Terry.
 
Very impressive Terry.

Sorry you had to scrap the clouds.. next guy..

unless he's a jar head. Then you just have to slap a bunch of mud on it untill the guy says "yea, that's the way it was!" :D

Had a lifer dog face who had busted his chops on Porkchop Ridge in Korea, then 6 full turns in VN. The guy was a Gunny through and through, and loved the dirt and mud.
We had figured out what we were going to do and we had even located some faded worn-out cameo material for the mat. Did I mention the 3 years as a Lurp [LRRP Long Range Recon Patrol]? Only a photo of him and his 54" long 223 sniper rifle that looked more like a Kentucky Long Rifle was going in the box. Nine photos, 7-1/2lbs of medals 5 purple hearts, . . .

He came in almost in tears. His wife has insomnia and saw the box of dirt tarnished medals that he was having framed in the morning.... did I mention that she was borderline OCD?

Those medals would blind a deadperson they were so clean and polished.

We spent about three hours and some stuff from the hobby store making them looked worn-out like him.
 
Very impressive, Terry; especially for your first attempt at a military shadow box.
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There certainly are a lot of medals in that one.
Thanks for sharing the photo with us.
 
that's a great looking shadowbox, Terry! You have a good balance of medals around the photo and I like the fillet around the portrait opening although I prefer a reverse bevel for mounting fillets but that's what makes us framers so different, eh?

If I am seeing things correctly, this man started out in the enlisted ranks, possible Army or Marines, rose to Staff Sergeant status before switching over to the Air Force and working his way up to the rank of Major or Lt. Colonel!! That is some military career!!

He looks hauntingly like Gene Hackman to me!! (with more hair on the sides).

Again, good job on the presentation.

Framerguy
 
Very nice Terry!

Lots of medals for this gentleman - And he does look like Gene Hackman!

PS: I am not sure if size / space was an issue, I would have shown a bit more suede around the borders.
 
framinzfun, Karen, Framerguy & Paul,

I appreciate your encouraging words. THANKS.

Couldn't quite put my finger on it but, now that you mention it . . . he does look like Gene Hackman!
Baer - any chance we can see the final outcome of the Gunny Guy project? What a story!

Terry
 
Terry, Sorry, I wish I had pictures. I wasn't taking pictures in those days.

Something about a poor attitude about travel ["Pictures are only for those who didn't go."]

Some days I think that I need to find a "way-back machine" and go back and silly slap that smug idiot about six times around the block. [there are other things too...]

I'm with Robo on this one..
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Nice!~ Framing was fine but the order and respect for the medals lack. It is just a Cluster Funn box!~ Sorry my two cents!~ If you are going to frame things of Honor!~ You should at least know what they are and how they should be placed. It is like flying the American flag lower than another countries flag!~
Again I think your frame, mat, even layout are pretty good!~
Sorry I will not yield on this!~
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USMC 1970-76
 
Gumby,

I am ex forces too and have had, on several ocassions, sets of medals that I know should be placed in a certain order, but have bowed to the customer's requests - their choices were informed ones, so that was fine.

Also have had to frame medals with the backs showing instead of the sovereign's head, which is how they are worn. To anyone that knows about medals, the ribbon says it all. The customer may not know about medals.

There have also been customers that really want medals laid out correctly and I have had to research what 'correctly' is.

We don't know these situations with Terry.


First Battalion The Royal Welch Fusiliers [formed 1689] 1970 - 1993)
 
Are these the kind of medals with fabric and pin-backs? To make them removable, place a 3/4" wide strap of clear film through the mount board, so it makes a loop for attachment of the pin-back.

For easier access, you could add a spacer of 8-ply board under each medal, to make it stand off the background.
 
Medals

G'day Alex ...

Assuming they are court mounted (or even swing mounted), use a pair of canvas stretcher clips to hold the brooch bar at the back. You can also add a couple of felt bumpons behind the bottom of the medal mounting board to keep them off the mat.
 
What wonderful designs! I do a great deal of this type of framing (working on an Army base and all) and these are just wonderful. One of my techniques is to sink mount the coins and medals and double mat using a black core bottom mat and a suede top mat in unit colors. It gives a very dramatic presentation.

Sherry
 
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