The "A Framing Masterpiece...Or...A Masterpiece Framed?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Loading a truck with the largest and probably the heaviest framing job I have every helped to do at Grebinger Gallery in Neffsville, Pennsylvania.  Over the lifetime of this blog I have posted stories and photographs of items I have matted and framed at the gallery.  

One of my favorites that I did a few years ago.  All I had to
do to complete the job was put it in a frame. Click to enlarge.

Everything from athletic jerseys and equipment to high school and college diplomas and tassels to wedding memories to baby mementos.  I have seen them all during the 20 years I have been working at the gallery which is owned and operated by one of my former high school students, Keith.  But, what Keith and I have just completed was something very different.  A local attorney designed a game very similar to the game "Monopoly".  It had playing pieces, money in different denominations, cards with flags of many nations, worker cards for different occupations, passport spaces, arrested cards, houses and hotels and a playing board that featured a globe with countries around it.  The game was played by rolling dice, but I am at a loss as to the rules of the game.  

Another fun job.  Marine Corps memories to cherish.

Didn't matter that I knew the game as long as I knew where to locate everything on the framing job we did.  Keith and the customer designed where everything should go and it happened to be larger than the largest piece of mattboard that can be purchased.  An oversized piece of foamboard was purchased and cut square.  On top of that was glued and sewed a layer of black cloth.  Four corner mats were cut to match and had to be glued on top of the cloth on the four corners of the job.  These corner mats featured holes that held game cards as well as the flag cards.  They were raised using strips of black mat board to accommodate the tallest playing piece in the game.  

Very challenging since all medals had to be glued and
ribbons sewn in place and had to look the same.

In the center of the job was glued the playing board.  When everything was in place, the playing pieces, money, playing cards, game pieces, dice and brass plate telling about the board were all glued in place.  The glue was a special glue we use to glue frames together.  Much like Elmer's, but black in color.  The playing pieces were pushed into the glue, raised and then placed on the board in a position that was provided by the designer of the game.  When all glue had dried we placed a piece of oversized plexiglas on top and placed the frame on top of that.  We fastened the job from underneath with framer's metal wedges and added an extra layer of foamboard to the back.  A dust cover and hanging bar finished the job.  The customer just loved the job.  It was fun to work on the job and at times challenging to try to figure how to hold all the pieces in place.  Only time will tell how well the glue will hold the playing pieces in place.  I have included photos of most operations to show you the amount of work needed to complete the job. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The oversized board had been cut and the cloth glued and stitched in place.

These are the playing pieces, dice, houses and hotels.

Keith cut four corner sections that held playing cards and passports.  I had to fasten each in place with a special framer's tape.

Each piece was turned over and layers of form board were added to raise the section high enough to accommodate the tallest playing piece.  I used white where it wouldn't be seen and black where it would.

Each corner mat was glued in placed.  We have the frame on to to make sure all pieces will fit properly.  In the top right of this photo you can see we used weight to hold the piece down while the glue dried.

The playing board was glued in place and a box of glass was placed on top to hold it down while the glue dried.

The customer came and helped place the playing pieces where he wanted them.  The final result is to look as if four people are playing the game with money and a playing piece for each player. 

Glue was placed on smaller pieces of black foam and then placed back in position.  The money was glued in place with one edge under the board as it would be if you were playing the game and other pieces were glued with varying amounts of foam board so the game illustrated a 3D look to it.

I had to glue the houses and playing pieces in place without dropping any glue on the fabric.  I must admit it was stressful, but I did a perfect job of positioning without any accidents.

This is the center of the playing board.  I would love to tell you what everything means, but I do not know.

Even the die look Russian.

These are some of the playing cards which I put in place in  layers.

Another look of one side of the board.

The FINAL RESULT! One of the most detailed jobs I ever did at the gallery.