I have been building pictures frames and thought I would post them. I have been trying to design each frame to match the piece for art work that it was built for. When I was Indonesia, I spent sometime trying to find a painting to take back to my parents (pictured below), what really struck me was that all the traditional style painting came with their own hand-made frame, made by the artist specifically to go with the painting he had painted. I really like the idea the the frame and the piece of art work are tied together and I think over all makes for a much more interesting composition on the wall.
These frames are really nice, Could you go into the production a little bit more? I’m curious the time and cost of these frames. How about the glass, is it custom, or did you buy a kit?
Are you using biscuits to make these corner connections, I see some dowels on the corners, are they structural or just for looks?
I really like the first frame, I think you have achieved your goal of having the frame match the image. Conversely, do you think this will limit your ability to place another picture you may like better in it several years down the line?
I had many of the same questions as Pat as to the dowels etc. They have a really nice custom appearance that is readily noticeable and is a great physical manifestation of your passion for design/building in the same way as your furniture. Nice work on maintaining the white-hot pitch
The dowels on the corners probably help to strengthen the frame, but the frame would most likely be fine with out them. Good modern wood glue is almost as strong as wood, and as theses are picture frames, the just hang on the wall and don’t need much in the way of structure. I havn’t used any biscuts I just set them up in my strap clamp that came with 4 90 degree corners and glue them up. In answer to pat’s questionI do think it would be very difficult to change the art work in the frame, as the frame and art work are designed to match, but I don’t see that as a problem, because if and when I do get another piece of art work I want framed I will just get out the tools and build a new frame. I was able to just buy a stock piece of glass to fit these frame, but I made a frame for my parents (not shown here) that needed a custom size piece of glass, I just went to the glass shop and they cut it to fit, it worked out to be about the same price as just buying a piece of class.