Evangeline, MLI style

In the 56 year i live in Israel , i visited houses of all kinds of groups, i rarely saw a dark wall. It seems to me that you are the one trying to make everything into a bitter debate, This is a warm country most months of the year, most people like their walls white, light pink , beize ... When i painted my house some years ago and i wanted my ouiter walls to be Ocean Spray = very light blue] , the painters debated it loudly with me ,,,, " WHITE is the color One Does ", i said ; " Yes Inside ,, but outside i want a change"""" "Oh" they said Outside OK ,,, But inside ONLY WHITE like ALL people Do .... Is this enough for you ..... By the way went yesterday by 8 places where houses are repainted etc... ask everyone "what color inside " WHITE was the unanimous answer,,,,, I am in the habit of basing such opinions on facts , not assumptions mirjam

Excuse me!??! I am quite happy with both my decor and the manner in which the artwork in my home is displayed, framed or not, as the case may be. No need to feel sorry for me, or to suggest any artwork in my home isn't given sufficient importance.

Best wishes, Ericka

Ericka when i wrote ..... .>if this is your only solution to hang an art piece in your house by using the frame as divider, it is a pity,,, because it lessens the importance of your art and puts the Focal on the frame. it wasn`t a private You it is a general point of view about using Frames and passe- partout nowadays ,,, the debate about their use, is an ongoing debate ,, and now adays the trend is with less frames ,,, mirjam

Sure, and folks are welcome to debate that. However, it's typically a moot point in one's home. If you enjoy your decor the way it is and enjoy a piece of art the way it is, and the two aren't particularly compatible, then you do what you can to minimize the dissonance. I'm not going to turn my home upside down to accommodate a piece or art, nor am I going to limit my selection of art to those things which happen to match my decor. I suspect that is true of the vast majority of folks who enjoy art and also enjoy living in their homes. One can afford to be much more of a purist when setting up a show in a gallery or some such thing. Furthermore, you'll note that I did not say one had to use a monstrous frame. I said that the *FRAMING* could be used to help a piece fit in a room where it would otherwise clash. One might choose an unassuming frame and a large mat to give the work some breathing room, or any number of other things besides just putting a honking big frame on the piece. When the framing is properly done, it *should* focus the attention on the art.

Best wishes, Ericka

You are correct. Over the years, my collection of old prints, military and hunting have moved with me from a century old house, through a ultra modern house and now this last time to a 70s condo and they have always looked interesting and in their right setting. All the naval prints and watercolours in this landlocked room should look awry too, but Lord Nelson gazes over the computer quite complacently lol

Thank you very much Ericka for talking/writing more with me about this subject.

I find your point of view very interresting. This days as i travel to see art works that are supposed to be joined in an exhibition i curate in March, I visit the artists sometimes in their houses soimetimes in their studios. I am always facinated , by some Differences or Similarities i find between the artist`s art work and his home or studio,,, They variate from Artists whoe house and/or studio seem to be a continuation of teir art , to those whose houses and /or studio seem like they belongto somebody else.

In many ways i think Decor and the art you like or tolerate or dislike, are like drinking coffee . some like as is , some add sugar , milk or a herb or two , and some never touch it and preffer tea instead. All is perfectly good and acceptable. The matter of how art is shown in Galleries and museums, is a seperate matter, but it influnced and also influnces the way people display art in their homes.

i read this sentence several times, and thought about some works of art for which i had a hard time to find their proper place in the house. And i must admit it was never a matter of Clashing Decors, More a question of ; Do i want to have this `image` at this particular point ,,,, Let`s say hanging a certain picture over dining table , or next to the TV, might cause a certain uneasiness,,, thus i slowly tried until i found the Right spot.

This sounds reasonable, and indded works for your own choise of art. But what do you do with recieved art ? Even if you liked it , before recieving it, but never though of aquiring it ? When i was younger i had my Ful walls with art, Paintings of my mother, My own Fiberworks which in those days people here didn`t consider art, prints of artworks i liked etc,,,,, When we moved to this house i deliberately minimized the hangings on the walls,,, But slowly i am accumulating New things welike to see ,, i now have some corners ,, interesting wood works, interesting traditional textiles , Textile works i recaived or exchanged, 2 colographs made specailly for me by a colograph Colleague, Some special painted portraits,

i agree to that .

I think the word purist is a bit Big here, trends change, in many things, and also in the way Art is displayed, bith in art galleries and eventually also in private homes. In many shows the artist himself, brings the work already framed as he thinks it should be framed, or as he thinks the gallery owners and curators would like to see it framed. Only rich galleries can afford to tell the artist to Change his Framing, thus they too will settle for some way of showing it as is. This doesn`t stop the debate going on about that matter. The question of framing and showing a work, is very crucial, I have seen too many works where the frame takes away the focus from the work itself . I will give you an example you can easily imagine or even try to duplicate , yourself ,, take some cloth or paper with a nice flower,, Let`s say it is a lilac flower and has a leaf or two as well.

And the background is white . Now how would you frame that? I will tell you about several variations i saw to such a picture.

Big passe-partout [in one case it was as wide as half the painting] in Green with a narrow inner or outer passe-partout in lilac, around which a wooden white frame was added. ?

Same idea , but the lilac was the wider and the green narrower?

No passe-partout , only a thin wooden frames in white /lilac or green?

A plain thin wood colored frame ?

No frame at all ?

All options i wrote above i have seen on such a flower picture i described ? how would you frame it, if it all ? I am also interrested to know if framing a work of art should to your feelings `fit` the room or the as you put it the `decor` of the house?

To my feeling a work of art should be framed according to it`s character and not according to it`s intended house. The frame should compliment the work, not take attention from it. It should lead the eye into the art not help the eye to wander away from it.

I appologise if i sounded unkind, being so busy with this matter myself, [ and visiting more than 20 artists in a couple of weeks, and while one visits them, they always use the visit to show many more works than the 1-2 i am intended to look at..I naturally joined this discussion, with the many observations and reactions i get and have while curating. Add to this the fact that Fiberart has more dillemas as to how and if to frame it. And each and every artist has his/her opinions about it . Since this time i invited some veteran artists as well as new first time showing artists, I hear and see many points of view. And with each one i listen learn the reason behind the matter of displaying the work of art as it is represented to me.

.> One might choose an unassuming frame and a large mat

Here we do agree tottaly ,,, Thank you for taking the time to answer me , thank you for undestanding that i came into this discussion both as a curator, an artist as well as living in a house , and that i view this matter from this several points of view. Please keep on good discussions like that , which eventually enrich us all . mirjam

Thank you Lucretia for your words , I am curious ? did you ever change the original frames of you prints , when you changed your houses ? mirjam

x-no-archive:yes

No because I used what is considered 'traditional' framing for prints in Europe. The black and gold Holbein frame, a very plain walnut and one or two have simple 1/4 round dull gold.

Thank you Lucretia , i closed my eyes and could imagine that framing ,, yes it is classical and thus fits everywhere, thank you for telling me. mirjam

I have plenty of pieces where I like the piece and would be happy to have it in a room content-wise, but it clashes somewhat with the style or colors in the room where I'd otherwise choose to put it. Framing has been very effective in easing the transition between the two.

Why would that be any different? If I am given art that clashes in my home and I like the art, then I find the best possible place for it and frame it however makes it fit best.

Well, I have a photograph of a deep purple iris with green leaves hanging in my living room. It was framed by the artist with a fairly wide (about 5" around) soft white mat with a very simple wood frame (plain, rounded, about

It needs not to clash with wherever it is to be displayed.

I think that what complements the work can change with the setting. The framing that serves a work well in one environment may detract from it in another environment. It's not an either/or proposition. You have to achieve both. Often one can frame a piece in such a way that it will still work in many different environments, but you cannot divorce a piece of art completely from its surroundings, so when push comes to shove you have to do what is necessary to make it work unless one has the luxury of tailoring one's house to one's art in each instance.

Best wishes, Ericka

I have learned a thing or two from this discussion. I have a particular piece of needlework which I now know why it does not look as nice framed as when I was stitching it. Of course you may have guessed, it is the colour of the frame. Being inexperienced I picked a colour frame to match one of the pale colours in the stitched piece. It definitely takes away from the stitched piece. Now it will really drive me crazy. LOL! ruby

Jangchub wrote: Not to say Florida is tropical, it's

Where I live (Atlanta, Georgia) is humid-subtropical, so I'm pretty sure Florida is tropical. I know it FEELS tropical when I go there to visit.

Oh, I think I'd have to reframe once I'd figured that out, or it would drive me completely nutso. I stay out of trouble mostly by doing all my framing at a particular local place that has absolute geniuses at framing. They come up with things I'd never have thought of, and they're always spot on. They're not cheap, but it's cheaper to frame it once right than to have to do it several times over ;-)

Best wishes, Ericka

I have one, the Elizabeth Designs Spring, and had it framed similar to the picture on the chart. It has totally washed out the yellow of the letters SPRING!

Summer is d> Stitcher wrote:

If it is just the color of the frame, why not paint it in a more suitable color? Then it would really be customized to your room.

-- Carey in MA JM(unasked for)2C

Florida is geographically not in the tropics since Florida's lowest latitude is 24º30'N. Parts of Florida are warm and wet enough to support plant growth all year so it does meet Merriam-Webster's definition 1b of the word tropical.

Ruby , you are welcome I am glad it helped you, Now before you change anything here is an advice that might help you with future framing ,,, prepare some monocolored fabrics ,, take one at a time and wrap it around the work as if it is a frame , put it in a place that is rather visible, as many times as you can see it ,, leave it for a day or three ,,,,, it will than `tell ` you if it is the right color or not ... mirjam