DIY: Matting & Framing Art

DIY: Matting & Framing My Fantasy Art

Part 3

Tools and Materials

DIY metal frame 

Picture hanging wire (any wire will do, even tough string)

screwdriver

duster

matted artwork

plexiglass

wire cutter

Plexiglass

This is the final part of the tutorial.  Previously I had completed the matting of the art, and now I assemble the frame and put the artwork in it.  I buy my frames from American Frame, Graphic Dimensions, and sometimes from the art suppliers like Dick Blick, Pearl Paint, or AI Friedman.  I like American Frame because most of the time I'm framing artwork for conventions and I expect the art will do some traveling before it sells, so I prefer metal frames for toughness. I use plexiglass, which American Frame will cut for you as well, instead of glass because it is much lighter, and may crack but not shatter as glass will.  I like color in my mats but a clean, austere look in my frames.  

I assemble the frame as per the instructions, leaving the top open for insertion of the art.

I insert the corners at the top and the piece for hanging wire about 5" down.

I dust off the top of the matted artwork so there is no lint.  The plexiglass comes with sticky paper on both sides. I peel off one side and place it quickly on the matted art so there is minimal chance of getting dust on that side.  Then I peel off the other side, revealing the artwork.  I scan for lint and specks.  If I find anything, I carefully lift the plexiglass and use a bit of masking tape on a finger to trap the lint and remove it.

 Now I'm ready to slip the matted artwork and plexiglass in together into the 3 sided frame.

And slip in the final top side of the frame.

I turn the whole piece over and screw the sections in tight.

I don't know the technical name for these curvy things, but they apply pressure between the frame and the backing board to keep the art in place.  Slip them in along the edges, about 4 or 5 to a side.

They don't fit in all the way, and they occasionally pot out, but they do the job.

 Cut a length of wire about 4" longer than the width of the frame and put them through the holes of the frame's wire hangers.  Wrap the ends around the wire.

Finished and ready for show!

Jody

www.astudiobythesea.com

www.jodylee.org

DIY: Matting & Framing Art Part 2

DIY: Matting & Framing Art

Part 2

Click here to read Part 1 of this tutorial

Tools & Materials

Acid free glue

Acid free mounting tape

Weights (stray books)

Ruler

In Part 1 I removed the art from the illustration board and measured and cut my mats.  Using acid free glue in all four corners, I glue the two colored mats together.

I make sure the sides of the window of the mat line up evenly, and then weight the corners down with a few stray paperbacks to make sure the mats adhere to each other as they dry.  By the way, I was framing 3 different paintings at this time, so the art and colors of mat board do change in the demonstration pictures.

Place the backing board right up to the top of the mat, top/surface/showing side facing down and use masking tape to keep it in place.  Cut two or more acid free tapes to act as hinges and glue in place.  These too may need a book weight on them to keep them in place until they dry.

When dry, remove the masking tape, and fold down the hinged double mat over the backing board.  3 finished mats, ready for use!

Lift the mat and insert the artwork.

 If there are vertical and/or horizontal lines in the artwork, use a ruler to make sure they are parallel to the lines of the mat.  Gently shift the art around and make sure no outside edges appear - the mat completely covers the art on all sides.

Tape the art in place with masking tape, carefully keeping the art in place with one hand.

Flip open the mat.  With more acid free hinges, tape or glue the artwork in place at the top of the painting.  Art and paper breathes and expands, especially depending on how much moisture there is in the air.  So I attach the art only from the top so it doesn't wrinkle from being caught on the bottom.

And again, weight the hinges as they dry, 15 minutes to a half hour.

Remove the masking tape, fold back over the double mat, and the matting part of this tutorial is finished!

Part 3 will cover framing.

Jody

www.astudiobythesea.com

www.jodylee.org

DIY: Matting & Framing Your Art

DIY: Matting & Framing Your Art

Part 1

Tools, Material and  Equipment 

mat knife or x-acto blade

large tube 

mat cutter with straight and bevel cutters

long straight rule 30"-36"

acid free mat board

acid free backing board or foamcore

superfine sandpaper

art on paper board

When I decide to show my art at an art show, I do most of my own matting and framing to save on costs and to present my work in the manner I prefer.  I was taught the basics of this skill in a Printmaking class in art college and it really does come in handy.  It isn't very hard but it is time consuming, so this DIY is in three parts.  Since I do most of my art on illustration board, this means removing the acid free surface layer that the image sits on from the heavy backing board.  I cut a slit along one edge with an x-acto blade and begin carefully pulling the top white layer away from the backing board.

 Once I get enough of a lip going, I use an old mailing tube to begin rolling up the top layer.  This is done by holding the paper tightly to the tube and separating the two layers very slowly and carefully, checking all the time that I'm not ripping through the image.

The top image layer may tend to curl after this, and I just slip it under some heavy boards for a few days  until it flattens out.

I choose to double mat my art, and I look for board colors that will enhance and complement the artwork.  Because this art had a brown and ivory center with a black border, surrounded by blue gray stone flowers, I thought a brown and beige mat with a black frame would suit it best.  I use Bainbridge Alphamat and an acid free foamcore board for the new backing board.  The acid in normal, everyday papers cause it to yellow, become brittle and decay in a few years so that is why we want to avoid using anything that isn't acid free or 100% Rag.

 I measure the art, leaving 1/4" to be covered by the mat, while the "arms" of the mat will be 3 3/4" wide.  You can choose what ever width you like, but the larger the art, the greater the width should be.  I usually do 4" or more, but I think this artwork had some odd dimensions for framing.  Note that I don't talk about the width of the opening.  I find it easier to deal with consistent small numbers measured from the outside edges.

I cut all three boards (Brown mat, Beige mat, Backing board) to the dimensions of the framed art, which I decide will be 26"x30".  I have a Logan mat cutter that is 25 years old and still going strong, and I use it for all my mats and boards.  Like they say in carpentry, measure twice, cut once.  Acid free mat boards are expensive and you don't want to mess one up.  I usually do my cutting on a table in the basement but I needed more room and more light since I was photographing the process.  So I laid out some towels on my dining table and put the mat cutter on them.  This protected the table and all the items laid out on it.

The Logan comes with two cutters: a straight edge cutter and the bevel mat cutter.  Both run on the silver track for straight, perfect cuts.

This is how I mark my boards:  the lowest mark is the straight cut line for the outside size of the mat, while the straight  horizontal line is for the horizontal mat cut and the tiny vertical line just above it marks the end of that cut and the start of the vertical mat cut.  The lowest layer is going to be beige, and each arm will be 3 3/4" wide.  The picture below is of the brown mat that will go on top of the beige, and so needs to be a thinner width so the beige will show through.  The brown layer's arms will only be 3 3/8" wide.  The two mats should not have the same size of "arms" or the same size opening.

I slip the 30/32" x 40" board beneath the straight edge arm of the mat cutter.

Making a straight edge cut to reduce the board down to 26" x 30".

Now for cutting the mat openings, I change to the bevel mat cutter and place the mat on the cutting board so that the long pencil lines of the horizontal cuts are visible to me.  Line up the cutting arm with the small vertical marks.  My version of the Logan mat cutter needs a scrap board inserted below the mat or the mat blade will cut into the pressboard surface of the mat cutter itself.  So I save my 30" or 40" pieces of mat board that I just cut off to use for that.

 Begin and end by lining up the bevel cutter with the long horizontal pencil lines.  You see there are two lines?  Well, I measured incorrectly the first time, but caught my mistake when I checked it.  This is why I need only two long horizontal pencil lines - so I can see when my blade cutter lines up with my markings at the top of the cut, and the bottom of the cut.  When I cut along the pencil lines I will use the vertical cuts I made as marks as where to begin and end.

When your blade gets dull, change it!  This is what happens - the cut doesn't go all the way through and  one gets a ragged edge.  I gently sand off this rough edge with super fine sandpaper.  I was framing 3 pieces of art at this time, so the mat below was for another painting.

To be continued...

Jody

www.astudiobythesea.com

www.jodylee.org

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