A Frame-Maker’s Journal
Updates and ruminations on our work and mission to revive the art and craft of framing pictures. Here I'll show you new jobs we're especially proud of and keep you up on what's going on at the Gallery, as well as discuss topics germane to our work, including handcraft and work generally, the place of art, and ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement (especially its greatest leaders, John Ruskin and William Morris).
I hope you’ll subscribe (see the form in the left column) or at least check back often. And I welcome your comments!
—Tim Holton
On the Corner: New Thoughts on Closed-Corner Frames
In preparation to launch a new section of the catalog, “Mitered Frames—Special Corners,” I had a fresh look at the page “Closed-Corner Frames” and found it needed sprucing up. So I added a couple of images and the copy below: Look no further than the entry for the word “art” in Webster’s Dictionary to understand […]
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How I Came to Ruskin
In this year that celebrates John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, the scholarly website, www.victorianweb.org has been asking students of the great 19th century art and social critic for stories of their “Ruskin encounters.” I was flattered to be asked by the... continue reading.
Paul Kratter on the Cover of Southwest Art Magazine
Hurray for Paul Kratter, for being the featured painter on the cover of Southwest Art Magazine’s June 2019 issue! Many of our customers know and have admired Paul’s work since the Gallery began representing him sixteen(!) years ago. The well written piece de... continue reading.
Framing Kevin Red Star
This is a serigraph by Montana painter Kevin Red Star (b. 1943). The 3/4″ frame is carved with a simple repeat pattern. Cherry was the perfect wood for carving as well as for color. I love doing repeats like this, and in this case it’s doubly resonant with t... continue reading.
Everyday Framing
We’re excited to announce a new, specially priced offering called “Everyday Framing.” Many of the things folks most commonly want to frame are highly significant to them but really only call for the simplest, most economical framing. Such pieces might ... continue reading.
Re-framing Ray Strong
It felt good to free this one from the cheap ‘sixties linen liner and frame. It’s a terrific small (5-3/4″ x 11-3/4″) oil painting by the important and influential California landscape painter Ray Strong (1905-2006). The land forms provided plent... continue reading.
Suitable Settings for Hard-Won Honors: Framing Diplomas and Certificates
As graduation time approaches, I want to show an example of how we like to frame diplomas. This frame is in stained solid quartersawn white oak—a humble and famously sturdy and enduring hardwood. The No. 238 profile, which slopes in to the certificate, has a refinemen... continue reading.
Framing Henry Evans
When I worked at Storey Framing—way back in the ’70’s and ’80’s—an older gentlemen would often come in with his wife, bringing us his botanical linoleum block prints he made and sold here in town. His name was Henry Evans, and I think it̵... continue reading.
Mourning Notre Dame, II: William Morris’s Loving Frame for the Gothic Builders
It is not difficult to find lovingly created pictures of Notre Dame, that great piece of the commonwealth we call civilization, that great work of devoted labor that burned yesterday as the world watched in horror. Why are they easy to find? Because the building has bee... continue reading.