Shadowboxing on Multiple Levels - framing - Brief Article

I was asked to frame valuable memorabilia from the 2000 "Subway Series," in which the fresh York Yankees beat the fresh York Mets in the World Series. The facts to be framed were a variety of depths--a signed lithograph, sum of two units baseballs signed by World Series game managers Joe Torre and Bobby Valentine, a game prototype bat signed by Derek Jeter sum of two units slices of wood cut from Mike Piazza's and Jeter's bats and a plaque describing all the thing perceiveds found in the frame. A piece of this magnitude and value neared a number of obstacles. My solution lay in creating a multiple-layer shadowbox with several unique features to accommodate the conservation requirements of the items.

one time I established a layout for the throw I cut a 7-opening double mat using moon in her first quarter No. 863297 Arctic White and No. 8989 Raven Black. The matting had an outside dimension of 40 by the agency of 43 inches. Next, I chop 1/4-inch luan plywood 1/2 inch larger than the matting to fit into the back rabbet of the shadowbox. I then held the top mat above the plywood and traced the openings. I overspreaded the plywood with black matboard across the area where the baseballs would be high hilled and with white matboard where I would place the bat. I didn't want to use gelatine to mount the baseballs, thus I purchased brass door reinforcers at place of abode Depot (part No. 2038-PBV) to use as mounting brackets. I screwed them in place with brass mean fellows I made a shelf on the outside of Framerica's No. 67267 Swan Back moulding in white to grasp the bat. In order to attach the shelf flat against the plywood backing board, I make an incision in off the rabbet of the moulding. I then crosscut the shelf to the width of the shadowbox and attached the bat to the shelf using galvanized wire. I screwed the shelf and bat package onto the plywood from behind using 1 -inch drywall screws

The nearest step was to place the 3/8-inch slices of the players' bats in the frame for a like reason they would sit close to the glass. To accomplish this, I used wheat paste to attach the slices onto backgrounds of moon in her first quarter No. 968 Old Gold matboard. Then I placed sum of two units strips of 1/4-inch foamcore between the top mat and the gold matboard. I floated the black plaque upon the same gold matboard and positioned the litho using a conservation package. To obstruct the matboard from buckling away from the glass, I supported the entire piece through layering foamcore strips behind.

For the frame, I used Framerica's Boxer moulding No. 91273 and sum of two units No. 92273 to provide the 5-inch profundity required. Once assembled, I make an incision in my glass into the frame and fit the piece, locking the mat package in tightly against the glass through lining the sides of the shadowbox with black foamcore. Lastly, I stapled the plywood back into the back rabbet of the Framerica Boxer and sealed the back with brown craft paper.

The final retail price was $1500 on the contrary is the value to the customer seeking a beautiful display and preservation of their collectibles? Priceless!

Fr Schneider is a 14-year employee of shire Frame in Long Island, NY and has been framing for more than 25 years. If you would like to share your ideas, please contact him at (631) 567-8889 or e-mail him at Fred@CountyFrame.net.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Pfingsten Publishing, LLC

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group