A Gift in Graphite

UPS brought me a huge box the other day. Inside, under an enormous amount of styrofoam peanuts, were a couple of intricate graphite drawings by one of my first art teachers, Vic Thomas, in two 24 x 28 inch metal frames.

The art is delightful and I wanted to place it appropriately! But with two artists and many windows all competing for wall space, I pondered the possibilities for displaying this gift. The solution is to mount the art on 8-inch square cradle boards, and hang horizontally above my kitchen window.

Since the art was designed by dividing the space into many smaller areas, it is not too difficult to divide it. I did have to split one of the fish images in half, but since the panels hang one inch apart it still works cohesively. The hardest part is removing the thin paper from the foam core but I manage that with only a tiny bit of tearing.

I’m using birch cradles, made by American Easel in Salem Oregon.
www.americaneasel.com
You can buy them in Portland at Art Media.
www.artmediaonline.com

I prepare the art and cradles using Golden products that protect it as I work, seal the acid in the wood and add a finish to protect from ultraviolet light. I’m trimming excess paper, above, and sanding a rough edge, below.