Guild members packed the Art Lounge’s upstairs studio to listen to Bob Unke’s tips and tricks for “Framing on a Budget” at our March 28, 2023 meeting. This timely presentation got members ready for fair season by showing us some cost-effective, resourceful framing ideas!
The biggest expense of framing is, of course, the frame! Great sources of inexpensive frames can be found at thrift stores, such as Goodwill, rummage sales or repurposing your own framed works. When selecting the frame, consider if the opening of the frame with fit a standard canvas or panel. If you’re handy, maybe you can adjust to make it work. Also examine the condition of the frame.
Bob shops for most art and framing materials online at Jerry’s Art-a-Rama. Bob showed us offset clips and placed them between the canvas and the frame, essentially mount the frame of the canvas to the frame itself. He explained that artwork is commonly matted to keep the painting from making contact with the glass and possibly damaging it. Adding canvas keys or stretchers or wedges keeps the canvas taught within the frame.
Bob recommends D-rings as opposed to O-rings as hanging hardware. Place 1/3 of the way down into the frame. Dish soap on a screw helps ease it into place. Then string vinyl-coated 16-gauge wire, 1-2” longer than the width of the frame, and crimp around the D-rings. A paper dust cover mounted on the back of framed art is not necessary, but gives it a finished look.
After his presentation, Bob awarded 4 door prize packages complete with a canvas and framing supplies challenging the awardees to return their framed artwork by our October 2023 meeting.
