Stupid Tips

Okay, this is part two from yesterday.

B) On to framing. I'm an artist, and have worked in three different frame shops, once as a framer in a big hobby shop, once as a framing designer in a small snotty shop, and once as both in a local shop. I like to think I was reasonably good at it, and that my design skills were pretty good, and that I'm fairly intelligent and can give framing advice that does not suck. However, everyone's tastes are different and there are varying points of view on archival-ness and costs and blah blah blah.

That disclaimer being over, on to Kara's Assvice and Info Regarding Framing.

A few words about frame shops:

1) It always helps to remember that framing is expensive. Framing is expensive. Framing is always expensive. You will never, ever, ever be able to get something custom framed remotely as cheaply as you would if you went and bought a frame at Walmart. EVER. The materials are high-quality, so they cost a lot. They will last forever, so they cost a lot. Also, it takes a long time to make the frame and cut the mats and cut the glass and put it all together when you are being super careful. I got asked about a billion times a day why framing is so expensive, and that is the answer: the materials are good, and they cost a lot, and we spend a lot of time making your frame.

2) Go ahead and be picky about where you frame. A small local shop won't necessarily be better than a big hobby store, and vice versa. Costs are probably gonna be high wherever you go, so it's crucial to find a place you feel comfortable with the employees, and a good job is done. The employees should make you feel welcome, not like you are pestering them. They should be open about answering your questions, they should be willing to spend time with you, and you should feel positive about the experience. Ask to see examples of the framing, to see if you like what they do. A shop normally will take 1-2 weeks to frame something. If they say it will take considerably more than that, consider using another store. Never frame somewhere if it's going to take over a month. You won't like it. But! Don't expect things to be framed in a day, or two days. Materials frequently have to be ordered, and framing can take time. It's good form to give the shop a few weeks notice to do something you need by a certain date. Also, don't be surprised if you have to pay half or full before the framing is complete--often the store takes your money first so a) they can afford to order your materials and b) to ensure you won't get something framed and then never pick it up and pay. (That does happen.)

3) Don't be a dick to the employees. Working as a framer is weird--you are providing a specialized service that requires a lot of knowledge and skill about design, archiving art, materials. Cutting mats is hard, working with glass and blades is dangerous. Yet frame shop employees frequently make crappy retail wages and get treated as if they are stupid, stupid, stupid. I have been screamed at, sworn at, seen customers get so mad about prices they slammed doors, been told that I just don't know what I'm talking about, and have been accused of lying about prices and materials. Be nice to retail employees. In fact, be nice to everyone.

And now, my feeble attempt to talk about framing materials and designs:

When you get something framed, you are picking out a frame and often a mat. You will also be asked to select a type of glass, sometimes a mounting style. It is very, very, very important to remember this: Pick out a design that complements the art itself. Not the color of your throw pillows/salt shakers/this one tiny patch on the comforter you just ordered from Sears. Framing is costly, and the framing is designed to do this: preserve your art in a way that suits it the best.

The main rule of framing is that you want the framing to make your EYES GO IN, TO THE IMAGE. You don't to be looking at the framing. You want everything to point in, at the beautiful photo of your child or that awesome print you picked up in Africa or whatever. You're displaying the image, and the framing? The framing should make you notice that image. If you're looking at the framing and not the image? Something is wrong.

Mats

The first thing I like to do is pick a mat. The mat is the layer that goes around (and slightly over) the artwork. Matting provides visual breathing space between the image and frame, and holds the art away from the glass, so that air can move freely and the image won't be damaged by being plastered against glass in humidity or heat, etc. There are many different types of matting, and I won't go into all of it. Just these key things:

-Make sure you're getting a cotton/rag mat that is acid-free. Mats that are not acid-free will burn into your image over time, as will cardboard.
-Picking the mat color is important. You don't want something that clashes with the image, or something too gaudy for the image, or something that dulls it out. I know it is tempting, when you have a piece of art/photo you want to hang, to pick out that one stripe in your throw pillows and match the mat and frame accordingly, but DO NO DO THAT. Unless the image matches your pillows, anyway. Match to the image always. It'll look better, and trust me, you will change your living room cushions way before you will want to pull apart something you've paid a lot to have custom framed. So pick a color that enhances the image. It's easy to default to a neutral mat color, but make sure you are paying attention--there are MANY different whites and grays and tans. Make sure you select one that goes with the neutrals in the image.
-Gold mats and fancy suede mats are never necessary, unless you want something really lush or fancy. I tend to stay away from those. Fabric mats can cost three times as much as a normal mat, and can be distracting on the wrong piece. Waste of money, normally.
-Cutting fancy designs into the mat is expensive and can detract focus from the image. I personally rarely recommend it. Waste of money, normally.
-Circle or oval mats really don't make sense unless the image itself is circular.
-Mat width! Make sure you discuss mat width! Some stores have a standard mat width they use if you don't ask. Showing too thin of a border makes the framing distracting and busy. I've messed with some images to demonstrate:

This is thin. It looks skimpy and distracting.


























This is medium. See how it gives you more breathing space?


























I like wide mats. They make me feel calmer.


























You can obviously save money by using thinner mats (a 3 inch mat is going to be less than a 4) or no mats at all. Double mats are expensive than one mat. Triple mats with suede and fancy cuts are going to be VERY COSTLY. It's a personal preference, but I would still stay away from super skinny mats. A rule of thumb is to use at LEAST 2.5 inch mats. Some people like to use 3 inch, or 4, or 6. I prefer three inch mats. I figure, you're already going to be spending a lot more on this fucking framing than you want to anyway, you might as well do it how you like it.

Times mats are optional (aka, you don't need one): posters, things you want to frame inexpensively/keep small, big things that are huge enough without a mat, anything you think a mat would be pointless on.

Times mats are necessary to protect the artwork: hand-pulled prints, original watercolors, original drawings, photos, anything with a surface that will be in trouble if it touches the glass. Mats also look nice and clean, and can really dress up your image.

Times you should never, ever use a mat: Oil paintings, acrylic paintings, and misc. items glass can't go over. NEVER MAT A PAINTING. You can't put glass on a painting, and there would be nothing to hold the mat down. It would get all wonky really fast.

Mounting

Archival mounting is best (acid-free hinges or corners to hold the image in place). You don't want them using masking tape or backing things with cardboard. Make sure they are backing art with acid-free foamcore. If it's a poster you don't care about preserving for eternity, regular foamcore is fine. The store might ask if you want to dry mount or use some other sort of mounting where the piece is sprayed with an adhesive and then pressed, either with heat or vacuum, against the foamcore to get out any wrinkles and to "keep it flat over time." Unless you have a poster that is just time ravaged and all wrinkled to hell, I wouldn't do this. It costs more and will eat away at the piece over time. It's not archival. However, if you have a poster from college that's a wreck, it can really smooth out wrinkles and folds quite a bit. They should always ask. They should never do anything like that without asking.

Framing

Frames vary wildly in price, and the employee should be able to measure the piece and tell you how much each frame you're interested in will cost. Wood often costs more than metal, and a good rule of thumb is, the thicker/wider and more elaborate the frame, the more it will cost. Again, with frames, you need to pick out something that will enhance the image the best. Don't be afraid to use something other than black! Generally, the bigger a piece is, the wider the frame should be. You want something strong enough to support the piece structurally, although this usually isn't a problem unless you are framing something very large and heavy. Metals can be very simple, modern, and clean looking, and come in tons of colors. And there are about fifty bazillion types of wooden frames to choose from.

My advice is this: look at all the frames, pick out some you like, and ask the employee to give you an estimate. Then you can go up and down from there. It's important to get something you like and that will make you happy when you see it every. freaking. day. I wish I had better advice about pricing in this area, but frames are all priced differently and the only way to know is to ask the shop. So, pick out some good options, and go from there.

This is the frame I put on the above piece. It's a simple metal, and matches the image. I like to use a rule of two. I use one color from the image for the mat, and one color from the image for the frame. This perhaps is completely asinine advice, and a system I should not follow, but it works for me.


























Glass

Glass! Okay, first things first. YOU NEVER PUT GLASS ON A PAINTING. Ever. It'll mess it up.

Your options in glass are something like, regular clear glass, reflection control glass, clear and reflection control UV-protectant glass, and the same in plexi-glass. There are also super fancy museum glasses that are SO CLEAR. The clarity! I've never worked anywhere that offered these, but I've seen them and they are really neat. Also, probably expensive.

The high quality plexi used in frame shops is more expensive than glass, is harder to take care of (it scratches) and I would never, ever use it unless the piece was so large it couldn't support regular glass. This means a piece would be so big (huuuuge) that there would be a good chance of a sheet of glass breaking, or the piece being too heavy.

UV-protectant glass is more expensive, but it blocks a large portion of harmful rays. Images can fade quickly, so quickly, in even a little bit of sunlight. Or even lamplight. The UV glass is worth it if you don't want things to fade. I know you can also buy UV-protectant window film to put over your windows (I think it's pretty clear) if you're concerned.

Non-reflective glass is a tiny bit more costly than regular clear glass. Some people love it, some people hate it. Non-glare glass is basically just a slightly "fuzzier" glass that prevents glare from lamps, etc. I don't like it because I feel that it makes the image look a little fuzzy and casts a bit of a tint over it. That's just me--some people hate glares on regular glass and heart non-glare glass so much they would tongue kiss it. (Don't do that.) Remember this--just because glass is "non-reflective" or "non-glare" doesn't mean it's UV-protectant. You have to make sure it's actually the real UV stuff.

Other Crap I Thought Of

--Make sure the finished product's wire and hook eyes on the back look sturdy. If the wire looks crappy ask about it.

--Some cheaper options are uni-clip systems, which is basically just clamping the art behind glass and clipping it together, instead of actually framing it. I've seen these fall apart, and also the exposed glass can cut you, so be careful. They're useful for temporary "I want to get this on the wall but can't afford 150 dollars" projects.

--Keep your artwork hung where water can't get to it. Also--unless your bathroom is AWESOME and you never get ANY humidity in it, skip hanging anything meaningful in there. Humidity can get in and do quite the number on framed art.

--You can not mat or put glass on a painting.

--Colors should complement the image! The image!

--If you want to put something in a cheap store frame, but are concerned about the acid eating away at it, you can buy acid free paper at a hobby/art store and line the back with it. And line the mat with it, if it has a mat. Just so the acid-y bits don't touch your art.

--Don't use masking tape unless you are well aware that it can eat into your very FLESH. Seriously, it's very non-archival. You can buy archival/acid-free tape at office supply and art stores now, for do-it-yourself projects.

Obviously I didn't cover 95 percent of framing, but hopefully this is a helpful introduction. Feel free to contact me if you have questions or want to make fun of me. I didn't cover embroidery, or fabric, or special old newspaper articles, or shadow boxes, or anything fancy. There are different hinging techniques, various ways to do every stage of the whole process depending on what you're framing and what you want to do with it. But if you mosey into a frame shop with a few photos, hopefully this will help.

Or maybe it won't.

I've said too much!

Kisses,
black sheeped