Handmade Frames // Silver Finish

It’s been six days since my last report on the closed corner hand-made frames. This project of twenty-six frames will be made both standard and floating. For those not familiar with floating, floating means that the outside frame material does not come in direct contact with the image, thereby making the image appear to be unsupported or floating in the frame. The final finish will be broken down into two different types of finishes. A silver Borghese finish and a hand rubbed Chocolate finish. The previous selection and milling of wood, as well as the filling and sanding and preparation of a black matte base are common to all the frames we’re making in this project. For the Borghese, they brush on an adhesive, and hand apply the silver leaf, covering the entire frame. Particular attention has to be paid to be sure that no gaps occur; an1/8 inch overlap is necessary. Hand rubbing is done with cheesecloth, giving the silver a burnished appearance with the irregularities that denote hand processes. Now that the silver is well affixed to the wood, we need to bring out just the right amount of black undertone. Silver and black seem to compliment each other, in that black absorbs all light (that is reflects back no light) giving us the absence of color – which is black. On the other hand, silver reflects all light, capturing or filtering none of it; thereby giving us back the full spectrum of light, such as a mirror does, which we call silver. These two extreme treatments of light dance with each other to the tune created by the craftsman’s hand. The craftsman uses different grades of steel wool, with varying amounts of pressure and different grades of cloth, in order to be able to bring out the appropriate balance between the overcoat of silver and the undercoat of black. Now that we have it just where we want it, we tack rag the entire piece – remove any dust – and take it into the spray booth. A clear protective solvent sealer is spray applied one thin mist at a time until the buildup creates a scratch and dirt resistant surface. I really love it and cannot wait to put the art in; hopefully day after tomorrow.