Things I'm Tired Of

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Framing Goddess

Framing Goddess

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Jul 18, 2000
Posts
4,318
Loc
Cleveland, Ohio
So, I've been around long enough to do the framing for the now adult children of my customers, so I somehow think that gives me the right to indulge in a Minor Rant. (I think that includes many of you out there, hehe!)

Gosh, these framing trends just keep going 'round and 'round. Usually they have little to do with the how it suits the artwork, let alone the well-being of the artwork.

Right now we have three large gorgeous iris prints on decent but not pristine rag paper that are to be float mounted, that is, with edges exposed. These prints would look rich and timeless overmatted- no, customer thinks they 'should' be floated. These prints will never lay flat, they have been rolled. But float we will. I'm tired of the look of floating- I dislike the way the print just magically dangles in the frame, I see no virtue in showing all of the margin of the paper. Frankly, I think they usually look "plopped" in there. Deckled edge does not a piece of fine art make. I also really dislike the way the art is supported only by the hinges on the back, I think overmatting lends so much more support to larger pieces. And never mind even thinking about shipping the thing! I think matting looks so much neater and I like that we can hide our hinges underneath the mat. Some papers show the hinges behind no matter how little water you use in the paste mix.
I find it generally to be overused and I'm sick of it.

Okay, I am a big fan of natural wood, hardwoods especially, but dangit, I am sick of plain maple being used as a default on institutional framing. Yikes, every contemporary piece is indiscriminately housed in what-will-be-a-dated-looking natural maple. And that tall stem maple moulding version, sheesh. Can someone tell me what makes that a better choice than a flat wide maple around a matted artwork? Do ya'll remember how precious we all were about white washed maple? Can anyone say 90's?
I'm sick of it.

My newest irritation is this business of using matte white on white on contemporary art. This might actually replace natural maple. Doesn't anyone realize what a nightmare white is to haul around? Nope, I can't do anything about those marks, scratches and scuffs on your perfect white frame. Yep, it was perfect and only works if it stays that way. One ding and it is no longer perfect. No, we can't match that white frame to the white paper which of course shows because it's *floated* to the rag board backing behind. Yep, the glass/acrylic WILL indeed alter that white. It will have to be a delightful symphony of whites.
I'm already sick of it.

And I have always been sick of sandwiching art between glass. This is such a tricked out technique that simply does not work visually. And it's bad for the art. Who cares about the blasted wall behind? We usually try to isolate the art from its surroundings with matting, NOT try to upstage the art with it. Will showing the wall behind *really* enhance that art somehow? Really?
And I am still sick of it.

Anyone?

edie the andstilltiredofsilveraluminumpuhlease goddess
 
I hate shiny anything....... and goood God...... dont get me
started on TACKY BEVELED MIRRORS!!
HELLO... the 70's called..... they want their KRAP back! :p
 
You'll get no argument from me on those issues, Edie. Only exception for me would be on certain pieces done on handmade paper, where showing the edge treats the print, a multiple original, as an object above and beyond the image itself. Sometimes this can help tell the story of its creation... as long as it does not detract from the appreciation of the image itself.
:cool: Rick
 
Amen, sister!

Floating. Okay sometimes, when the art extends to the deckled edge, but when you have a square image, with 2" of white around it, that deckled edged has got to go!

Maple. On black and white photography no less. I never thought I would say this, but please, can we use a white mat with a black frame instead? Blonde is not helping this at all. I think what people are doing here is replicating that look of 1/4" lattice wood nailed to strainer bars.

Oak. This is done. Maybe a nice rustic shaley oak or some quarter sawn, sure, but your frame doesn't HAVE to match your cabinets. I have oak cabinets. I didn't pick them, I don't mind them, but they do not enhance my pictures.

Furniture store framing. Yes, these six patterned mats and two fillets will cost you an arm and a leg even though you bought something just like it at Slumberland for $100. Your house WILL look like a furniture store, I'm just warning you here.

Pink mats. Just don't. On really rare occasions, okay, but typically don't.

Cutouts on everything. Good for you, you have a CMC. Those elk antlers, they just say "I bought this off the wall." I expect some disagreement here, but I'm just not a fan. A cutout in the mat always draws my attention there first. Decorative elements I like quite a bit, especially deco or nouveau debossing or v-grooves, but that chili pepper is not doing it for me.

"I was talking to the photographer about this picture of my dog and she suggested I use a tan mat to match his nose." Artists always recommend white and photographers always want tan. Talk to me, I do this all day. I could make you a lovely tan mat that will always remind you of the color of your dog's dried pee, but how about we pick something that doesn't compete with him, hmmmm?

This leads me right into..... "your friend the designer." Bring her or don't. Let's not spend all this time picking out something only to hand it over to someone later who says "tut tut tut, I'll come back with you and we'll find something better, " because that designer would have totally used MY choice if we hadn't presented her with something to automatically reject.

Aaaaand finally. Black is not by default inexpensive or "simple." If you have black in your picture, fine, but if it's yellow and pink.....well, I'm not putting my sticker on it.

Rant off.
 
Oh yes, and one more thing...

Hey, moulding designers, this is Montana. It's not helping me when you keep discontinuing all the nice rustic burls and shipping me carp tons of new gold samples.

How many kinds of antiqued patina gold do you need? Me, just a couple.
 
I'm just tired, I'm old, I'm tired.

The easiest way to float any picture is to just cut a piece of four ply rag one half inch smaller than the picture on all sides. Lay the picture face down, put the rag board on top, then stick your hinges on all sides. I like that Japanese rice paper hinging tape.

Then put some Yes Paste or other acid free glue on the rag board and stick it down.

Remember, we are custom picture framers. That means our customer gets to customize their framing the way they like it, it's what we do, or at least supposed to do.

John
 
Okay, I have to say I do like decorative mats, I really do.

What I object to is a cutart plunked down in the bottom corner. Hey, I'm a cat, here's a random cutout of a sillouette of a cat for some reason.

To me, it's like putting a single dandelion in a jelly jar on the table. Why is that there?
 
I am reminded of an old science fiction title: We are not alone! Here I thought I was the only one.

I'll do what they want to pay for within reason, but geez. Enough already.
 
A little passion is a good thing, but is some customer's weird design preference worth getting excited about? When it comes to appearances, my job is to give customers what they want. If they're happy, I'm happy.
:beer:
 
Oh please.
You all know I'm a big suck-up when it comes to customers. I'd even cut a chili pepper on a mat if they asked nicely enough. AND make them think it was the best framing idea I'd ever seen in like forever.

I save my rants for you all, cuz I know how much you appreciate them! And I'm a little cranky today. :smileyshot22:

And I do not dislike 'floating' wholesale- it is indeed appropriate many times. I just dislike it turned into a moral choice- that it's BETTER for the art somehow to show the whole piece of junky paper, the margins of which were chosen based more on what the heck was available or cheap or what the printer guy happened to pick out. It's not precious, for cryin' out loud. But I'll float it if you ask me to float it. But it is indeed a trend- and I am wary of trends. I've seen PLENTY come and go and come back again from the well-deserved dead. But I reserve the right to have my own very educated and experienced opinion about it... :shutup: and I guess I am getting used to having my perfeshunnil opinion heeded.

Bron, it was worth it to have my curmudgeons acknowledged and appreciated! And thanks for your kind words about my mats. It means a lot coming from you.

edie the andanotherthing goddess
 
Jim Miller said:
If they're happy, I'm happy.
:beer:
Click to expand...

I'm with Jim. I want my customers to leave feeling satisfied and happy that I understood what they want. Their art will not hang in my house, so why should I care if I don't like it? If they like it, they'll be back.

I learned an important lesson today: as a lark, I was going to frame up a Carl Valente ( he's a member of the TK School of Bad Taste). I showed it to a new employee, intending to make a joke about all the cliches in it. Turns out, she likes it. Glad I kept my mouth shut. She's the bookkeeper, not in the art biz.
 
MabSadie2 said:
Oh yes, and one more thing...

Hey, moulding designers, this is Montana. It's not helping me when you keep discontinuing all the nice rustic burls and shipping me carp tons of new gold samples.

How many kinds of antiqued patina gold do you need? Me, just a couple.
Click to expand...

YES!

I'm definitely with you this one since I have the same problem! I'm in a rural area with lots of lakes that have cottages on them. Anything rustic sells. I used to have half my samples in styles that fell into that category but after my recent clear out of discontinued mouldings, it's down to only about a quarter. Problem is, there isn't much out there to replace it with other than the antiqued patina golds and the contemporary black styles, neither of which looks good in a rustic cottage by the lake.
 
Today I'm working on a series of three shadowboxes of a good customer's son's high school medals. This guy loves cutouts and I try to use them in a thoughtful way. I like to take the "stagelights" template on the Wizard and then hook it up with a couple of 505 fan points flipped 180 so it looks like spotlights shining down on the newspaper article about this kid placing first in a state drama competition. So it's not like I don't do it.

This isn't about denigrating choices as much as expressing exasperation with trends. I mean, a trend is not a rule of thumb, mate. And when over used it just looks bland. Artists come at us with these choices because they think it doesn't "compete" with their vision.

Case in point of trends I don't get: the signed mat wedding guest book. I know some of these look so great and you can use the aluminum mats and all that, but I think they look messy. Not into this trend the same way I was not into feathered bangs. And when you combine that with a matchy-matchy personality you wind up still doing trends long after they've passed, such as plain oak frames. And sometimes my soul cries in agony.

That being said, I've done dozens of signed mat guestbooks and I make them look as good as possible. I'm certainly not going to turn away the business. I did one recently where the bride calligraphied the info with a portrait and then drew pencil lines in three columns for guests to sign. That looked great! The little kid signatures were especially darling.

I think we're no different than a hairdresser who sighs a little before freshening a middle aged lady's Dorothy Hamill wedge. She likes it. Maybe it even flatters her, but in sales, we don't always get to lay our opinion out there when someone knows what they want.

Happy customers are what we're all after. It's amazing what makes some people happy, though, I tell you what. Thank goodness for Grumbles, eh?
 
MabSadie2 said:
Okay, I have to say I do like decorative mats, I really do.

What I object to is a cutart plunked down in the bottom corner. Hey, I'm a cat, here's a random cutout of a sillouette of a cat for some reason.

To me, it's like putting a single dandelion in a jelly jar on the table. Why is that there?
Click to expand...

That causes me to think "Yeah, no *****, it's a picture of a cat. I needed a cutout on the mat to tell me that?"
 
MabSadie2 said:
This isn't about denigrating choices as much as expressing exasperation with trends. I mean, a trend is not a rule of thumb, mate. And when over used it just looks bland. Artists come at us with these choices because they think it doesn't "compete" with their vision.

...And sometimes my soul cries in agony.

...Happy customers are what we're all after. It's amazing what makes some people happy, though, I tell you what. Thank goodness for Grumbles, eh?
Click to expand...

Bingo, bingo, bingo!
 
Edie, it has been many years since I made a lot of my living from mats; I was water gilding and burnishing paper, with all of the gooping, splattering, scumbling and swirling to make the decorative elements that were not available commercially, stuff I learned as barely a teen wandering the Prints and Drawing galleries at the AIC; anyway, that appreciation for the skill, artistry, focus, and discipline involved in doing mats that enhance, rather than "announce their prescence" has not diminished. You honor me, and the preceding artists by keeping that tradition alive, one I thought had died with the CMC. So, thanks to you, keep it up, your mats are great!
 
Bron said:
Edie, it has been many years since I made a lot of my living from mats; I was water gilding and burnishing paper, with all of the gooping, splattering, scumbling and swirling to make the decorative elements that were not available commercially, stuff I learned as barely a teen wandering the Prints and Drawing galleries at the AIC; anyway, that appreciation for the skill, artistry, focus, and discipline involved in doing mats that enhance, rather than "announce their prescence" has not diminished. You honor me, and the preceding artists by keeping that tradition alive, one I thought had died with the CMC. So, thanks to you, keep it up, your mats are great!
Click to expand...
Gawd I love hand work of all kinds! I was sorta "raised" at our local Frame up (dad was a freind of the owner and got framing done in exchange for art prints), and sorta got a great education in hand work there. I have always "just done" what I wanted to see in something. I have NO formal education in this stuff, but the enthusiasm I think makes up for it. I never knew fabric wrapping was a specialised skill until I wandered in here.it was something I just did because I needed to cover something for whatever reason. Every thing I do is a trial and error enterprise, and pretty unorthodox, but it works for me.... Just be happy I do my own "stunts" folks, I could be asking " Hey could you carve this frame entirely so it looks like it is covered in feathers. then do a faux water gilt finish on it?" or.... The freaky fun steampunk stuff that has turned out to be 7 zillion sorts of fun? ...Oh GEEZ, I frankenthreaded...oops. Guess I can say I`m tired of boring presentations that only follow a trend and do nothing adventurous, or elegant, or fun. You know, neat original art suddenly framed into something you`d usually see bolted to the wall at a hotel, or doctor`s office, ewwwww... L
 
I dislike seeing 5 inches of coiled wire on the back of a frame's hanger....(sorry it's late and all I got)

I still like maple, cherry I could live with on almost everything. I saw some maple veneer stem mouldings today, I thought WHOO HOOO they are going to be cheap cheap cheap! Nope same as solid.... seriously WTH!
 
Exposed edges

The paper on which a work is done will not be in the viewers' focus, if the image is representational. Rather the viewer will be seeing a world (represented) that is not actually present. The Modern passion for the edges of the sheet to be shown, does make sense with abstract works, where the ink is just ink and thus the paper is still paper. Such works comprise a minor part of what is framed and unless the sheet has improtant edges that must be seen, overmatting the edges should always be encouraged. Sadly, museums fuel the fad for showing everything, making private owners think that is the way to go.



Hugh
 
That rant was itself a deckled edged work of art.

There's nothing I love more than a good therapeutically cleaning, anger releasing, blood-pressure lowering rant. I couldn't give a rat's ### about any of the things you ranted about, but the style and grace with which you did it was a thing of beauty.

Bravo, bravo, bravo.
 
MabSadie2 said:
Oh yes, and one more thing...

Hey, moulding designers, this is Montana. It's not helping me when you keep discontinuing all the nice rustic burls and shipping me carp tons of new gold samples.

How many kinds of antiqued patina gold do you need? Me, just a couple.
Click to expand...

Just saw this today. If you want high end rustic wood that fits Western design, browse this collection. Make sure you click on the carved rosewood and bronzino samples to see the detail.

http://www.amci-regence.com/collections/?category=9
 
Oh goody, a rant thread! I'll throw one out, just for fun....


The thing that gets me going is "Printed on Canvas". I cannot for the life of me, understand why something printed on canvas is more desireable. A print of a watercolor does not belong on canvas. You might as well have "Ah neveh took any kinda art class" engraved on a plate and glue it on the bottom of the thing for all to see.

I am asked all of the time if we can print my husband's nature photography on canvas and gallery wrap it. The answer is no. We've spent thousands on equipment and he spent years of honing a technique to render the sharpest image possible, and WHY would you want to throw it on a substrate designed to hold an entirely different medium and completely compromise the integrity of the image?

Of course, when asked, my response is buffered and delivered with a smile, but inside I'm sighing.
 
Recently had a photographer deliver work for the gallery...printed on canvas, matted and framed under glass.
I asked her why and she said because she had the canvas. :nuts:
 
Regarding the CutArt templates on the CMC, it's pretty darn rare when I use one as-is. I do find them useful, however, for providing certain shapes (with only a small part of the cut art showing, perhaps) to represent different motifs as v-groove accents. or a piece of a CutArt element merged with an opening to give me a certain shape that I want. For example, this v-groove pattern is made from the 'artist's palette' cut art used several times, and rotated and resized as needed.
:cool: Rick

Micah.jpg
 
See, I love that. Someone else might have just plunked a Star of David in the bottom corner and said, "Ta-Da!"
 
I know what you mean Edie. When Cris and I got married and I moved into his home, I knew I needed to reframe about 2/3s of the pieces. He is a major collector of contemporary and abstract art, but the framing was boring and did nothing for the art itself. I'm kind of thinking the framer wasn't imaginative enough to take advantage of the materials available to enhance the art.

Slowly but surely I've been reframing and it has made a huge difference in the collection. Nothing is sterile and boring when you can take advantage of the materials we have available to us that makes the framing an extention of the artwork.

Lori
 
Well, I just couldn't resist. We make "sandwich" frames from acrylic of course. There are times when a "sandwich" frame really works for the art, however this new trend of industrial "stand-offs" with large clunkly acrylic is beyond my understanding. YOU are my customers and I do what you want, but do you know why the "sandwich" frame exists? Well orginally it was used in gallery showings to display art. It was to be taken out of the sandwich frame and properly framed when sold. Of course, a designer saw this method of temporary framing and devined that it was beautiful. There is no preservation or conservation in a sandwich frame even when using UV filtering acrylic. Now I hope I didn't just cut myself out of a whole bunch of business but I just had to say, think twice about this trend of industrial looking framing.
 
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