Go with the flow – of color!

Framing this vibrant mixed media piece by Babs Ludwick was a challenge with all its bright colors and glitter (that might fall off!)! We first chose some blues and greens and even tried out some other colors to bring out the piece. We finally settled on this emerald green mat, but there needed to be a break between the artwork and the background, hence the black.

Since the edges of the piece were so nicely deckled, I decided to also tear the black paper that would be placed behind the piece. The black was then repeated in the simple black moulding that framed the piece.

I used spacers* to keep the fragile artwork from touching the glass and a one-inch space on each side of the bottom spacer allows a place to hide any glitter that might fall off in the future.

The end result is a fun piece that celebrates and showcases the original artwork in our client’s home! Thanks for looking!

— Lou Aliotta

* Spacers are little square plastic tubes with adhesive that stick to the outside edge of the glass. They are concealed under the lip or rabbit of the frame so as not to be seen. They can vary in height and separate the glass from the work and the backing.  In this case 1/8 inch spacers were enough to create space between the work and glass.

Sunset River Gallery