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1. What can be
Framed? |
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| Anything can be framed. Two-dimensional
artwork is only the beginning of what is possible in framing. Many
of your most prized possessions can be shadowboxed including christening
gowns, antique jewelry, flags and wedding mementos. Having these
items in a drawer means you aren't able to enjoy them, why not have them
protected and displayed so that you can see them and share them with
people? |
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Treasured Ring & Lock
of Hair |
African Tribal Necklace |
Antique Houdini Poster
With Cuffs |
Close-up of Real
Houdini Handcuffs |
World War I Medals, Button Covers
and Dogtag |
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| 2. What is worth
Framing? |
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| Anything that is important to you, anything
you find beautiful or pleasing to look at, is worth framing. It does
not matter if the artwork was expensive or expected to raise in value.
A 99 cent gift card can look like an expensive piece of art when framed
properly. A very sentimental gift, no matter how small or
inexpensive, can be beautiful and unique when shadowboxed. A child's
artwork can be a very special display framed in your home and is important
encouragement to the budding artist. There is no
appropriate ratio for cost of framing to value of artwork, what you choose
to frame should be based solely on the importance of the work to you and
the enjoyment you get from viewing it. |
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a child's school art project |
a gift from a student to his teacher |
the gift reframed to be more of a centerpiece |
a baby outfit with photos of the mother who knitted it |
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| 3. How should
Mats and Frames be chosen? |
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It is
important for the framing of a piece of artwork not to distract from the
work itself. This can be accomplished in many ways for each and every
piece of work, there is no one correct answer to choosing your materials
and colors. The ultimate goal is to have framing which looks as if it
belongs to the artwork. A white mat and plain black frame can be just as
distracting from the artwork as the choice of an inappropriate color can.
An experienced framer can help guide you to the frame and matting which
compliments your work as well as your own personal taste. |
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| 4. What is the
purpose of Matting? |
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The reason
for matting is to provide the viewer a place for their eye to rest around
the artwork. It removes all distractions from the enjoyment of the work
itself. A mat which is too small can create a distraction in itself by
causing you to see a stripe around the artwork which is the first thing
you notice when viewing the piece. Your mat should be larger than the
width of your frame with under-mats of varying sizes to avoid a distracting
stripe effect. |
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| 5. What is the
difference between Regular Mat Board and Acid-Free Mat Board? |
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| Regular mat board, also called paper mats, are
made from wood pulp. Wood contains a great deal of acid. Acid
will do long term and permanent damage to your artwork. Proper mat
board, sometimes called archival mat board, rag mat board, or acid-free
mat board, is made from cotton rag. Cotton is acid free and PH
neutral. |
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| 6. Why should I
replace my Acid Mats? |
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Acid Mat
Board is made from wood pulp. The acid in the pulp will, over time,
yellow and eventually eat into your artwork. How long this takes depends
on the artwork itself; some pieces will take 10 to 20 years to yellow and
be damaged while others will show damage in a matter of months. Some
framers will put an acid mat above an acid free mat under the belief that
by having a barrier between the mat and the artwork you are protecting the
work from the acid. This is false! The paper below your matting will be
protected from the acid, but the visible part of the artwork (the most
important part) will be affected by an acid gas which is expelled from the
bevel of the mat board. If you love the work enough to frame it, you
should protect it from damage! Acid free mats are made from pure cotton
pulp, which contains no acid and nothing which will alter your artwork.
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This is a personalized and
signed letter from George H. W. Bush with personal and potentially
historical value. The acid damage to the paper is permanent.
You can see the original color of the paper around the border and the
intense yellow acid damage where the bevel of the mat came into
contact with the letter. |
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This is a signed and numbered etching by
Moti. The piece was originally valued at $2000.00 before the old
matting was removed and the damage revealed. The print is now
valued considerable lower. The mats were lined with an acid free
board which helped protect the paper beneath them but does nothing to
protect the image area. |
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| 7. Why do I need
Glass over my artwork? |
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With very
few exceptions, artwork needs to be protected from the elements and glass
is the best way to protect it. Uncovered artwork is exposed to dust and
dirt in the air, and most artwork cannot be cleaned without smearing or
damaging the piece. Your work will also be exposed to moisture, which in
our area is highly prevalent. |
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| 8. Why should I
use U.V. Protective Glass? |
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All artwork
is affected by UV light. This does not only occur when the art is being
struck by direct sunlight from a window. All lamps in your home release
UV light. Florescent lights in your home will affect your artwork
approximately 40% slower than direct sunlight. Incandescent houselights
affect your artwork 60% slower than direct sunlight. The only way to
avoid any UV light on your artwork is to have it in a box placed in a
closed drawer locked inside a closet. The next best thing is UV
protective glass. Conservation clear glass looks like ordinary glass but
has a filter which blocks 98% of UV light from reaching your artwork.
This will prolong the richness of your work (as well as the monetary
value). |
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| 9. Why shouldn't
I use Non-Glare Glass? |
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Non-glare
glass (also called non-reflective glass) is made by sandblasting glass on
one or both surfaces. The effect of this is to spread the reflected light
across the glass by bouncing it off of the textured surface. This is
sending the light in all different directions instead of sending the crisp
reflection back to the viewer. 1) This is a great idea except for two
things: the texture of the glass makes the glass less clear. Directly
against the surface of your artwork, you will lose some detail from your
image. The further the glass gets from the image, for example if you are
using mats, the less detail you will see. In a shallow shadowbox of ½”
you will see nothing but a vague blur of colors. 2) By spreading the
reflection in different directions, you may end up with your entire piece
looking like a white rectangle. In large amounts of light, the wide
spread can cover your whole piece and obscure the art completely. |
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| 10. What is
Museum Glass? |
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Museum glass
is a fabulous alternative to the non-glare glass! Museum glass has a
coating which makes the glass invisible from most angles. All glare and
reflections are non-existent. In addition, this glass has a coating which
filters out 98% of UV light and protects your art form fading as well as
conservation clear glass. It does cost more than conservation clear glass, but it
preserves the appearance of your unframed artwork, including the richness
of color that any glass can subdue. |
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| 11. Why
shouldn't my art touch the Glass? |
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| There are two problems which can be caused by
artwork touching glass. First, the glass can stick to the artwork.
I have in the past had to reframe a work of art along with the glass which
is stuck to it. Once the glass sticks, the artwork will tear if you
try to remove it. Second, the suction created between the artwork
and the glass can attract and collect moisture from the air. When
this happens, the artwork can begin to mold. Molded artwork can be
repaired, but usually at a great cost through a conservator. With
the high humidity in our area, this molding happens often. The only
artwork I would recommend framing with glass directly on top of it are
posters which are easily replaceable and photographs for which you have
the negatives and the ability to reprint. |
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| 12. Should I
use matting on my Painting? |
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| Paintings should not have matting because
matting requires glass to protect it and paintings require the absence of
glass to allow them to breathe. Instead of matting, a painting can
be framed with a larger frame for more effect of a liner can be added to
the frame to serve a similar purpose to matting. |
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| 13. When should
I use a Linen Liner with my Painting? |
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| Linen liners can look very classic and
traditional on a painting, however they can be very hard to maintain.
Being wrapped with a raw linen (or in some cases another fabric such as
suede) they will collect dust. There really isn't any way to clean a
linen liner. This means that many people end up either replacing the
liner or reframing the work entirely within a short period of time.
There are, however, alternatives to the linen liner to create the same or
a similar effect. One is to use a linen liner only on artwork which
is safe to have under glass; in which case the glass can be installed
between the liner and the frame so that the glass will protect the liner from the
elements. Alternately, most frames can be used as liners. A
frame can produce the same effect but be a surface which can be dusted and
cleaned safely. |
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| 14. Why
shouldn't my Paintings be nailed into the Frame? |
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| Many frame shops and artists alike nail
through a painting's stretcher bars directly into the frame. This
causes two problems. One is that the painting is held so tightly in
place, it no longer has the ability to expand and contract.
Paintings normally do this with changes in temperature and humidity at a
slow rate not noticeable to the naked eye. Even though you can't see
these changes, they are very important to the painting and not allowing
them can cause the canvas to buckle. This can manifest as something
as displeasing to the eye as a rippled or buckled canvas or, more
seriously, as paint flaking and peeling away from the canvas. The
second problem caused by this practice the the holes put into the canvas
by the nails themselves. Even a minor hole can decrease the value of
the painting; but in many cases the hole will enlarge or even tear into
the image area. Any attempt to reframe the canvas, if for example it
is sagging on the stretcher bars, can cause it to rip further and ruin the
artwork. |
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| 15.
What are
French mats and when should hey be used? |
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| French matting is a very old and treasured
technique which few people today are still trained in. The mats are
decorated with ink lines, powder panels and strips of marbled or handmade
paper. A French mat can be used on any artwork and can give the
piece a more antique or more traditional look; but they can also be
used to emphasize a modern piece with some extra character. A proper
French mat is done by hand and is a work of art in itself. |
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Before (plain mat) |
After (French mat) |
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| 16. How should I Frame a Jersey or
T-Shirt? |
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| Jerseys and t-shirts need to be framed without
touching the glass, which means a shallow shadowbox frame. If they
are pressed to the glass, moisture will collects and cause the fabric to
mold. The best way for a jersey or t-shirt to be mounted is to sew
it down to a fabric backing which has been drymounted (adhered with a
heat-activated glue) to foam board. This makes sewing the piece down
very easy and secure. Sewing is done with invisible thread, similar
to a thin fishing line, and will not distract from the artwork itself.
This also means that the mounting is completely reversible and does not
damage to the piece. Valuable pieces, like a signed jersey, will
have no decrease in value. We also now offer shadowbox frames for
jerseys in both child and adult size which are shaped like your jersey.
The jersey shaped boxes come in styles to fit football, basket ball,
baseball and hockey style jerseys. The child sized football shaped
jersey box is also appropriate for t-shirts. |
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Replica of jersey worn
by Lance
Armstrong
in his sixth Tour de France |
Signed Redskins Jerseys |
New Jersey Shaped shadowboxes |
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| 17. When should I use a spotlight on my
artwork? |
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| Spotlights should never be used on your
artwork. Besides the UV light that you are directing towards your
artwork, even the highest quality spotlights will not light the entire
work of art. You will end up with a bright circle or strip on the
art as opposed to having the entire work evenly lit. |
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| 18. What is drymounting and when should
I drymount my artwork? |
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| Drymounting is a way of attaching your artwork
to the backing board using a thin tissue of adhesive which turns into a
very permanent glue when heated. Some drymount tissues will be
labeled as reversible and acid free, but they are only truly reversible by
a conservator which will cost you a great deal of money. Since this
is usually irreversible, it will also reduce the value of any collectable
artwork. The only work which should be drymounted are those which
can be replaced, such as posters and photographs for which you have the
negatives. You can also choose to drymount an irreplaceable piece
which has severe creasing or warping to it, but should never do this for
an item such as an antique family photo. |
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Applegate Gallery & Custom Framing 
101 Church Street NW 
