West Coast Art and Frame Recap

I just returned from the West Coast Art and Frame Show, which is a huge trade show for the Art and Picture Framing industry. I’m feeling energized and full of new ideas. I just love to look at all the latest design trends and choose new corner samples to display on my wall.

One of my favorite stops  was the Goldleaf Framemakers of Santa Fe booth. They make hand carved gold leafed period frames, their frames are even more beautiful in person. Their philosophy is that the period of the art should match the period of the frame. So if you had an Italian painting they would create the perfect Italian frame to go with it.

Here is some of their work.

My next stop was the Wild Apple Open Studio booth, it’s always fun to see what new artists they are featuring in their catalog. I was treated to this awesome image upon entering their booth.

All of this art is printed directly on acrylic, they can also print on wood and brushed metal. I just loved the simplicity of a large graphic on a piece of acrylic, it makes a big statement.

This  picture shows a print from a different publisher that is printed on bamboo and brushed metal.

Last  but not least, I was so happy to see so many Eco friendly wood mouldings at the show. That is one trend that I’m sure will stick around and grow.

All of the wood used to make this line comes from a well managed sustainable forest.

It’s always great to go to a trade show, I always come back with a renewed energy and excitement. It was also great to take some classes and learn some new techniques. This is going to be a very productive week for me.

Give your child a confidence boost. Display their art.

I absolutely love framing children’s artwork. Their art is so expressive and uninhibited. They are not afraid to experiment with color and texture. Their art is pure happiness to look at.

I recently finished framing the artwork you see here and my client just picked it up today. She was so excited to take it to a friend’s house and show it off. It was great to see her so excited about her child’s masterpieces. It made me feel really good.

Children are such wonderful artists their work really desrves to be framed so it can be displayed and enjoyed by all. It makes them feel really special when they walk into a room in their home and see their work framed on the wall. It’s such a big confidence boost.

How to tell a story

Architecture my first love

This video is a touching tribute to one of the greatest Architects in the world, Louis Kahn.

Nathaniel Kahn shares clips from his documentary “My Architect,” about his quest to understand his father, the legendary architect Louis Kahn. It’s a film with meaning to anyone who seeks to understand the relationship between art and love.

Life

Well I finally found the perfect studio space to frame in! I’m so excited it’s cute and I can afford it in this economy. As important as I think framing art is, paying your mortgage and buying groceries is more important.

I don’t have a traditional storefront frame shop that most framers have, I know it works well for some but it’s just not for me. I work by appointment only and I  just love connecting with my customers and  getting to know them and their needs.

I have always thought of picture framing as an art form, now I’m finally in the right place. I am part of a small community of artists. I ‘m lucky enough to be  surrounded by painters, sculptors and ceramics artists who give off a wonderful energy.

I’m still setting my space up but I feel like things are finally coming together. It took me over a year to find it. It was so hard waiting for the right space to “find me”. Life is funny that way, things don’t happen until they are supposed to. It’s a tricky balance between going after what you want, but not pushing yourself into something that isn’t right for you because you have been waiting so long. My patience paid off and now I can enjoy working in a creative environment.

Being locked out is a state of mind.

Yesterday my son and I went outside to the front yard to play a little soccer after an early dinner. It was a beautiful night, as soon as we got outside I realized I wanted to go back inside to fix my hair. It was a bit messy and a lot of people walk by our house so I wanted to like good. I tried the 75 year old door handle but it wouldn’t budge somehow it got jammed. We were locked out! I had no key, no cell phone and messy hair.

We went to our neighbor’s house to use the phone. I’m lucky I even know my husbands cell phone number, because I’ve never actually dialed it before. I caught him before his meeting started so he actually answered the phone. I asked him to call a friend that lived nearby who I thought had our key.

My son and I continued our soccer game, lucky for us we live in Texas so it was warm and the sun was still out. We had so much fun playing outside we had no idea what time it was, because I never wear a watch.

Since we were forced to be outside we were living in the moment. I wasn’t worried about getting his bath ready or cleaning up the kitchen or anything else that I had to do later. There really was no point so we just concentrated on playing together.

Well it started to get dark and my neighbor came by to tell me that my husband was going to be home in about 20 minutes because my friend did not have the key. My son and I got cozy on the front porch with his bear and favorite dog, which he takes with him everywhere. We told stories and looked at the stars. We joked that we would have to sleep in the hammock tonight and use the hose to take a shower. Before we know it my husband was home and we were back in the house.

I really enjoyed being locked out with my son it made me realize how important it is to spend quality time together with no cell phone or other distractions. It reminded me of how good it felt to live in the moment.

Buying Art

There is so much inexpensive art available these days.  You can walk into T.J Maxx and other similar stores and buy framed oil for less than $100.00.  But what does that say about your style? You can fool yourself into thinking that you got a great deal by buying a mass produced oil painting on the cheap. Are you really convinced that it looks good?

Art is supposed to give you pleasure and evoke emotion. If you have taken great care in decorating the rest of your home why should your walls be any different?

If you are not convinced that buying real art makes a difference look for some artists in your area that you are drawn to. Start attending art shows or visits your local art museum and just look at the art. You will notice a big difference in the way the art looks there compared to the mass produced art on “canvas”.

If you buy a small original from a local unknown artist you will not only get a great piece of art for a great price, you will often times get to meet the artist. The artist can share a story about the piece of art you are buying and you can share that story with your friends and family.

So instead of saying you got your art from a discount store you can take pride in knowing that you bought an original piece of art that you can cherish for years to come.