Foray into Frames (part 4)

Dry fit of angled display

Original Composition

Of the menu of framing options, this post describes the results of Mockup D: Frame Angled and Modular

a) Frame as Plane- with holes cut for canvas

b) Frame as Linear Weave- with wood elements building up spaces for canvases (think Trellis)

c) Frame as Layered-with a wood sleeve and movable spacers

d) Frame Angled and modular

e) Frame as Armature for Tension- suspended

For this piece, I am interested in an angled display like the dry fit at the top of the post. As I sketched this out in my sketchbook, it seems that frames placed on a 45 degrees angle could use minimal edging to hold the canvas in an L shaped "shelf." The "shelf "frame could be attached to the wall independent of the canvases, making it super easy to swap one canvas out with another. The thinner the frame edging, the lighter the frame which would be especially advantageous for this type of hanging.

Another question as I worked through this: could the frames also be rotated to a more traditional 90 degree display if the viewer wanted to hang them that way? I think so- but I'll need to test them both out in their full extent rather than the trial mockup.

Here's how it went yesterday:

I cut the rough cut pine from Home Depot (original wood size 24"ish x 5.5"), into a square 5.5" x 5.5"

Turns out I can cut a 5.5" piece on the chop saw- I just needed to be a bit more brave with the blade. Not really sure why- I decided to commit to the smaller dimension of 5.5" rather than 6" since that's what the material is in its shortest dimension. But it turned out to be kismet!

Side note: My newspaper often arrives in plastic bags with a knot at the top keeping the newspaper inside and an additional rubber band on the inside for good measure- I note this with minor frustration as it means a couple extra steps for me to access the paper and imagine it is extra wear and tear on the carrier's hands, when I think of repeating the process for all the addresses on their route. ( The previous carrier would just fold the newspaper in the bag which was sufficient to hold it all together- yeah friction and static electricity). Since I reuse these bags, I've started using scissors to cut the top of and preserve as much of the bag as possible. Today I went out to the newspaper bag waste pile and used some to protect the table underneath today's gluing operations. Even though the bag is truncated, it still works for this application!

Cutting the edges and gluing them- The vertical fins or frame edges are 1/4" thick by 1-11/16" wide

Next I cut the fins or edges on the chopsaw. One is exactly 6" long and the other is 6.1" long. After a couple of false starts, I discovered that it is essential that they stack/intersect at the corner in exactly the same way from module to module. Since it was easy to get confused, I started writing in pencil on the wood which was which and being methodical about which length went on which side.

Frame and canvas relationship. The frame is just a hair wider than the thickest part of the canvas.

After confirming the fit, I then glued the sides of the base piece to the fins or sides of the frame. I used my hands to hold it tight and pressed a corner of the piece against my abdomen for a few minutes. That plus the frog tape seemed to hold things together while I repeated the same steps above for three more sample frames. Gorilla wood glue says to hold for 24 hours. It seems to set tight in 3 minutes or so- I was unable to pull apart the wood on one piece after a mistake.

Stabilizing the piece so I can brad nail without accident

After gluing and taping, I used the table edge to stabilize the piece and used the brad-nailer to add three brads to each side. The brad-nailer and I are starting to understand each other. The trigger is quite finicky- the trigger release is too close to the trigger, so holding it in the hand and getting it in place often causes a malfunction and I have to pull out the battery and start again. The ergonomics of this particular brad-nailer isn't great. But as I get used to its very slight tolerance for placement of fingers- it's getting easier to troubleshoot and achieve the desired placement of brad.

Mockup of small frames with respect to each other- note fins or sides of the frame are only placed on the downsides of the square and there is a 1/2" gap on the upsides of the square.

After making (4 qty) four of these, I had enough to test out their assembly. The downslope edge of one frame becomes the upslope edge of the other. A hole drilled in the top of the back will allow these to hang via gravity at 45 degrees. Curious how these will stack up together- I realized the 1/2" gap could be used to place a balsa shim or spacer to make the adjacent running bond joint stronger. I cut more of the 1/2" x 1/4" balsa for this purpose and it works!

Mock up with balsa spacers at the upper right edge of the lower left square- it helps keep the upper and lower left squares from rotating away.

Mock up with Canvases in place

Dropping the canvas into the frame looks great! The painted edges of the canvas enhance the shadow lines of the work itself. The grain is less distracting from above, so maybe I don't need to paint these? And since the brads are at the edge closest to the back there is little visual distraction from the image.

Next to think about the outermost upper edges. How to close in the frame? Then I realized I could make a longer "fin" with balsa wood spacers on the inside for it to fit inside the gap like a lid or a nesting top. This will tie the piece together as a whole and lock it in.

The upper edge and gap.

The upper edge and top edge of the total piece will use the 1/2" gap along the upper edges as a place to receive balsa blocks which are glued to a fin- acting as a "cap" or lid to the piece as a whole.

View from bottom of mockup. The brad nails are minimal. May paint this frame to have it disappear more and hide the wood grain.

Lessons Learned:

• Cutting goes more quickly if I can mark multiple pieces of wood to take to the chop saw. Less opening and closing the door to the porch and easier to keep momentum.

• The 1/4" gap between the trigger and the safety release on the brad nailer is what one needs to rest the nailer on while setting up the nail, otherwise the safety will malfunction and you have to pull out the battery pack and start again.

Back to painting while I wait for the roads to clear from this most recent winter storm (need more supplies to build out this concept- including the "cap").

**** more about the original painting:

This composition is 100% a fabrication. What it represents doesn't exist in time or space, but is pieced together by observations within a 7 minute passage of time. Inspired by witnessing totality in Huntington VT across a snowy landscape, the upper half of the painting represents the first three minutes leading into totality and the bottom half represent the last three minutes leading out of totality. The horizon line and reflection of top to bottom are created by a sunset and a sunrise taking place within a 7 minute window, and mirrored to each other across one moment of totality. The ridgeline silhouette is the view of the Mts in the distance just beyond the horizon from our snowy perch in the foothills of Camel's hump.

As I tested out various ways to rearrange this work, it seemed that the lack of detail and swath of color transitions within the individual squares opened up the the piece to further clustering and rearranging of the original, further abstracting these isolated seconds within the totality time horizon of the solar eclipse.