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 Paul Roehl’s “Overcast Sky”
As part of our current gallery showcase of larger paintings, “The Mighty Earth,” we’ve framed Paul Roehl‘s beautifully moody “Overcast” (oil on board, 20″ x 24″). The quartersawn white oak frame, made by Trevor Davis, is a... continue reading.
Framing Toshi Yoshida and the Wings of Love
This rare large (13″ x 17-1/2″) woodblock print made by Toshi Yoshida in 1994, “Dance of Eternal Love,” is an extraordinary and inspired image which my customer and I saw fit to play up in the framing by adapting the form of the expressively spre... continue reading.
Framing Peet’s Coffee and Mr Peet’s Place In the Living Legacy of the Arts and Crafts Movement In Berkeley
My last post celebrated 50 years of Chez Panisse by featuring two recently framed David Lance Goines posters made for the restaurant. Here, also recently framed, is another poster by Mr Goines, this one made in 2010 for another world-renowned North Berkeley food establi... continue reading.
David Lance Goines, Chez Panisse and a Fifty Year Legacy Suitable for Framing
Fifty years ago this month, Berkeley graphic designer and printer David Lance Goines made this poster for a friend who was celebrating the first anniversary of her restaurant on Shattuck Avenue. Since then, Alice Waters and the “delicious revolution” she lau... continue reading.
“A Tabernacle for the Sun”: Framing Thomas Kegler
This is an oil painting by an extraordinary artist out of East Aurora, New York. Thomas Kegler (b. 1970) has very deliberately embraced the nineteenth century Hudson River School tradition, and it shows. We placed the 15″ x 30″ “Morning Has Broken, Psa... continue reading.
Framing a Famous Utagawa Hiroshige Print
The same year that Utagawa Kunisada made the print in my last post, another Utagawa, Utagawa Hiroshige, produced his “Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake.” As part of the artist’s series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo,” this a... continue reading.
Framing a Kunisada Illustration for The Tale of Genji
This is an 1857 woodblock print by Ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kunisada (1823-1900) titled “Illusion.” It is described as one of the “Game Cards for the Chapters of Lady Murasaki’s Tale of Genji”—the eleventh century novel depicting the lives ... continue reading.
The Mighty Earth: Framing Kim Lordier’s “Misty Morn” for Our New Exhibit
The mighty Earth is making her power felt this summer, once again reminding us—or, rather, commanding us—to pay attention to her and to her great creation on which we depend and of which we are a part. Can we picture a civilization that heeds the Earth’s pleas... continue reading.
Painted Chamfers: Framing a Calligraphed Poem
This lovely poem by Dawn Gross was expertly calligraphed by Ben Yates. We used a 1-5/8″ wide walnut frame on the 15″ x 11″ paper. By chamfering the outside edge I gave the corners an abstract leaf form. I painted the chamfer with green milk paint, whic... continue reading.