A Frame-Maker’s Journal
Updates and reflections 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
Framing Matt Smith—and Western Art
I love framing the Western Art genre, and it’s become a specialty of ours. Why the genre we call “Western Art” doesn’t include California and its great painting tradition is a mystery to me, but I won’t fight it. So there it is in the Portfolio—a recently created section for “Western Art.” And now our […]
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In the Vernacular: Harmony in Framing Hiroshi Yoshida’s Views of Traditional Japanese Life
The joy in framing Japanese woodblock prints, one of our specialties, is in exploring the natural harmony that’s possible between the print and the frame. These prints frequently depict traditional Japanese life, including vernacular architectural and craft tradit... continue reading.
Framing a Repousse by Arts and Crafts Coppersmith Albert Berry
This is a copper relief of a nordic ship by American Arts and Crafts metalsmith Albert Berry. We framed the piece, which is 20-1/2″ x 16″, in a 4″ wide cassetta in quarter sawn white oak with Dark Medieval Oak stain. The round cap moulding and coved si... continue reading.
Perfect Complements: Two New Paintings from Kim Lordier
Kim Lordier is one pictorial artist who fully appreciates the reciprocal and complementary relationship between a painting and its frame. A few months ago, the artist took home a couple of frames of ours, and then last week brought them back with a pair of her beautiful... continue reading.
“A Joiner’s Art”
The May issue of Picture Framing Magazine includes the first installment of a series I’m writing called “A Joiner’s Art: Frame Making as Woodworking.” You can read it here. I’m very excited to have the chance to contribute to my industry... continue reading.
Sale on All Ready-Made Frames
This week we added dozens of frames to our online store. And not only that—the entire inventory of ready-made frames including the new ones, are on sale! We’ve also added a number of frames at a deeper discounts, which you’ll find on our sale page, here. A... continue reading.
Framing Percy Gray’s Oaks and Mt. Tamalpais
Our friends at California Historical Design in Alameda just posted this 1918 Percy Gray (1869-1952) watercolor that we framed for them. The untitled 10″ x 14″ painting depicts a path through oaken hills leading to Mt. Tamalpais. I made for it a 2-1/2″ ... continue reading.
Framing Frank Montague Moore
This is a classic California impressionist painting by British-born Frank Montague Moore (1877-1967), painted in the 1920’s. The oil painting, which is 12″ x 16″, is set in a 2-1/2″ wide stained quarter sawn white oak frame in our No. 308.0 profi... continue reading.
Framing a Sōsaku-Hanga print by Shiro Kasamatsu
This is a woodblock print by Shiro Kasamatsu (1898-1991), “Kasugana, Nara.” Kasamatsu played a significant role in the early twentieth century shin-hanga (new prints) movement. But this print, made in 1961, is from the artist’s later period, when he wa... continue reading.