For our 70th anniversary celebration at West Coast Art and Frame Show, we highlighted our history of innovation by asking custom framers to create Tru Frameable Moments™ framing project based on the era that we launched our glazing innovations.

 

 

Donna Erwin of Columbia River Gallery in Troutdale, OR, was commissioned to create a Conservation Clear^® framing package that commemorated when Conservation Clear was introduced in the early 1980’s ushering in a time of unprecedented UV protection in an era when preservation techniques in framing were on the rise.

 

 

The moment

 

 

The decade Tru Vue^® asked to me to create a piece for was the 1980s, the era during which preservation framing was enhanced by the introduction of Conservation Clear. At the same time, the combination of visual imagery and music was exploding onto the pop culture scene. One artist exemplified this in a way that left an impact for years to come. I decide to use this artist as the focus for the 1980’s Tru Frameable Moment while also showcasing the convergence of the music and images in the 1980s.

 

 

Many recall the 1980’s ushering the start of music television, but visual images had infiltrated music in other ways too. Artists took advantage of printed vinyl, also known as picture discs, to stand out and give something more to their fans. The results were the records became art pieces in themselves, and many are now collectibles, so this type framing project is becoming very popular.

 

 

The design

 

 

This particular album I choose had all of the big and colorful vibrancy that characterizes the decade, and I paired with it some objects this artist brought into fashion at the time. Those of us who lived in this decade may not have had big hair or worn rosaries ourselves, but we probably know someone who did!

 

 

In the 80s, you could never be too colorful, so I enhanced the piece with a challenging design element. Around the perimeter of the album is a rainbow of seven beveled rings of different colors created using Crescent Brite Core matboard. At 3/16 inch before the bevel, these rings were tricky to produce and took several rounds of trial-and-error to cut and fit them together.

 

 

The album and rings are mounted onto a Crescent Black Core circle, and a vintage button is sewn in the center through the back to secure it. The backing for the piece is a purple linen mat board.

 

Fun & fitting details

 

 

Getting the rosaries to lay right was another challenge with their length and placement on and around other items. The album’s cover is mounted in the top right corner, raised to allow for the rosary to spill underneath the cover. Black lace adorns the bottom corners, wrapping around the inner Bella Moulding purple leather look frame. The mirrored frame from Larson Juhl and outer black lacquered frame from Studio Moulding finish the piece with a “clubby” look, fitting for the frame’s subject.

 

 

All the techniques are conservation quality, which is what a vinyl collector, especially one with printed discs, would want for such a piece. The UV protection of Conservation Clear makes it possible to preserve these kinds of treasures decades later.