The "Framing Of A Monster Job" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Working at Grebinger Gallery in Neffsville, Pennsylvania on perhaps the largest framed piece of artwork that had ever been accomplished in the gallery.  

This artwork is as tall as me and almost
as wide as my reach from side to side.
Click photographs to enlarge them.

The owner of the gallery and former student of mine, Keith Grebinger, told me about the artwork and how the customer wanted every bit of the piece showing within the frame.  The didn't want a mat, just the artwork.  The artwork was a Chinese painting that looked as if it had been done on a material that was a combination of silk and papyrus.  Loose pieces of thread could be seen on different parts of the artwork which we did not touch.  The piece measured close to six feet tall and about three-and-a-half feet wide. Keith had to order wood for a frame that would be used to hold the piece in place on a piece of oversized conservation mounting board that is 1/4" thick.  It overlapped the artwork by about an inch.  

This is the frame that touched the artwork.
It is upside down and I am placing acid-free
strips around the edges and black foam and
black suede mat board around the sides. The
table that holds it is 4 feet by 8 feet in size. 

After an inside frame had been cut to size, strips acid-free mat board were attached to the bottom of the frame, that part of the frame would touch the sides of the artwork.  To hold the piece in place I had to use Japanese tape that is attached to the bottom foam board and then lightly glued to the artwork using water.  We left that set overnight to make sure the tape would be thoroughly dry.  In the meantime I cut the outside frame, which had a curved aluminum piece on the outside.  When the glue on the outside frame had dried I drove metal corners into the frame from the bottom on the machine designed to do that.  Many of the procedures I have described so far, as well as the ones to come, had to be done with Keith and I working together to avoid any twisting and bending of corners.  

On the counter is the artwork which is
fastened only on the top to a piece of
conservation board with the 1st frame
placed on top of it.  The second frame
sits to the left of the counter in the front.

On the inside of the frame that went against the artwork I placed a layer of black 1/4" foam and a layer of black suede to give a more visual impact.  When the large outside frame was finished, we placed a piece of 1/4" conservation Plexiglas into it.  This plexi is non-static, acid free, non-glare, and UV safe.  Expensive stuff so you can't scratch it by mistake.  We removed the paper coating from each side by rolling a large cardboard tube across it as the coating stuck to the tube.  Then the plexi was placed in the outside frame.  Next, I once again placed black foam and black suede around the entire frame and then we placed the frame over the artwork that had the first frame on it.  Did I lose you yet?  Perhaps the photos will help!  

This is the top frame glued and held in place
with metal clamps.  You can see the shiny
aluminum covering of the top frame  to the
bottom left of the photograph.

Finally, I got under the job, with the help of Keith holding it, and drove metal wedges around the inside frame to hold the two frames together.  We then placed the job on it's side and screwed a piece of 1/8" Masonite on the back to prevent someone from grabbing the middle of the frame to try and lift it and have the Plexiglas come loose.  A special hanger was screwed along the top edge for hanging.  Keith and I placed the job in his van and he transported it to the customer who was supplying help to hang it with Keith.  The job took a few weeks to complete, working on it some days and then waiting for more deliveries to finally complete the job.  I sure hope the customer loves the job.  It was a tremendous amount of work and it turned out beautiful.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Here I am removing the backing paper from the Plexiglas.

The top frame has the Plexiglas in it and a layer of foam and suede matting is
being wrapped around the entire edge of the frame on the inside.

The entire outside frame is ready.  Next this is turned over and placed on top of the artwork that is in another frame.  I climbed under the job to fasten the two frames with artwork together with a special driver that puts a metal piece in place.
I'm sorry to say I don't have a photograph of that prodedure.

The job has been stood on it's side and I am fastening a piece of 1/8" Masonite around the back.  We kept the Masonite 1/4" in from the edge so you won't notice it when the artwork is hanging in the customer's home.  

The final result one more time.  Must have weighed close to 75 pounds.