[Lindy]

Need some help here please.

Up until now I've been using items that don't need to be framed. With the spitfire I'm doing (shown in WIP) I'm want to frame it and I would like to know how other people frame these pieces. For example do you frame it under glass, matted, or plain without matt or glass.

Opinions please.

Thanks!
Linda

[Pyrographer]

Originally Posted by Lindy

Need some help here please.

Up until now I've been using items that don't need to be framed. With the spitfire I'm doing (shown in WIP) I'm want to frame it and I would like to know how other people frame these pieces. For example do you frame it under glass, matted, or plain without matt or glass.

Opinions please.

Thanks!
Linda

Hi Lindy,

I have framed several pieces....some professionally and some I've done. One thing I will say first...NEVER use glass on a woodburning.

As for matting vs plain I think that is highly dependent on what look you want to achieve. I have never matted any of my burnings but I have matted my paintings and drawings. I tend to think that burnings are more "rustic" so I usually opt for a more casual look. Of course my burnings are all natural with no color so they don't look like a painting so they don't really look "formal".

I've used everything from barnboard frames to fancier "burled" frames. Some of the more casual burnings I frame myself. If you look at my website you can see some of the things I have done and how they look framed. It might give you some ideas.

My animal gallery I believe the only one there is the "Longing for the Dusty Trail" (a premade barnwood frame). In the florals I have a couple that were framed...the "Say it With Roses", Hummingbird (both were premade frames although there is no photo of the latter piece framed) and the "Rhapsody" which was professionally framed. It was mounted on a piece of torched plywood and then in a box frame. The other one that I remember being on there framed is the portrait of Chief Joseph in the native american gallery...also my icon. There may be others but I can't remember.

In the past I never framed but as my work improved and I started selling them I started trying to enhance the burnings. My feeling is that the frame can make or break a piece. The rhapsody rose was "just a rose" until we framed it and with the expertise of a professional it was transformed into a piece of art. It started out as a small beveled edge plaque that could have hung just as is but it just didn't have any "zing". So we decided to see if we could make it look like more than a small 4" plaque. The plywood backing makes it look like a matt and the box frame is about 3" thick so the rose is set inside. It just totally morphed itself with that frame.

the burning of chief joseph was done on a basswood slab with bark on the sides. we cut that off and found a nice frame that was "burled" which blended beautifully with the burled background. The other option we thought of was an old antique style frame but since it was a small burning it would have overpowered the burning so we opted for something more subtle.

I was fortunate to find a shop that has a lot of expertise and they really help me select the best frame and method of displaying the work. It's not a simple task and you can't generalize a right or wrong way. Every piece has to be looked at independently as to what will look good with it. The idea is for the frame to enhance what you have and all too often I see it do the opposite. Professional framing is not cheap BUT if you intend to sell your work sometimes it's worth the extra money to get expert help.

Hope that helps.

Nedra