framed
I have recently decided that what I need more of in my life are things in frames. So I’ve been going on a “things I could put in frames” spree lately. There are a couple of gorgeous postcards my parents brought me from Glendalough that I’m going to frame and hang, and I just ordered a few prints here from my good friend Alex, who takes great pictures. Besides that, I have some handmade notecards a friend just brought back from India that would look cool in frames, and I recently ordered “Focus” from the AMPs line at RightBrainTerrain to put up in my office. I have a lot of bare blank walls in my life, and I need to put some stuff up on them. This should be a good start, yes? I think so.
So, what do you put on your walls? Pictures, postcards, other stuff? If you have cool inexpensive art, where did you get it? I’m always curious about these things.
Paint!
I’ve framed various things from calendars. One of the best prints I have is a Japanese print my sister took from a calendar. Certainly, more expensive, thicker paper calendars work best.
Other things:
* Foreign currency
* Letters of rejection from the New Yorker and the Atlantic Monthly. (These are from when they used to send out official stationary to tell you your short story sucked.)
* Photocopies of black & white photos from the artist community in Paris. My favorites are from a book called Kiki’s Paris: Artists and Lover 1900 – 1930. That book rocks. If you ever find it in a bookstore, piece through it. It’s worth the time. Admittedly, when photocopying old B&Ws, though, I prefer to tape them to walls rather than use frame. Sort of a home ‘zine decor look.
-cK
I took 8 index cards, covered them in abstract magazine paper mosaics in orange, green, and yellow to match my comforter, then taped them to the matte of a collage frame then hung it in my bedroom. My friend Amy and I also painted two canvases to look like Community Chest and Chance cards. They’re not finished yet, but after they are, I’m going to get a big canvas to paint like the Marvin Gardens deed and put it over my oven.
check out red bat press for some awesome letterpressed postcards (or maybe i will just send you one! do i have your address? email me. i’ve been itching to send you mail). i especially like the portland bridge ones:
http://www.redbatpress.com/shop_theme_Portland.htm
also, try searching etsy for gocco prints. i am really partial to screenprinting, and gocco prints are way cheaper. or, get your own gocco and make your own (i promise to only write gocco–rhymes with loco!–one more time).
i bought a set of gocco prints last year that were by the woman who runs obsessive consumption. they were super cheap, though i don’t know if she sells them online. she’s worth checking out regardless, due to her awesomeness:
http://obsessiveconsumption.myshopify.com/
52projects.com is always good for ideas of what to make yourself for framing, as is the book.
my problem is that i have lots of stuff that i do NOT want to damage by hanging it up with velcro/tacks/stickytack, but no money for frames. i recently bought a random box of frames on ebay for super cheap to try and address this, but it’s frustrating how many awesome silkscreened posters live in a poster tube in my closet.
Sandy, I am in awe of your board game nerdiness.
(you need to know that i was a co-director of a documentary about people who play Risk in Portland)
I heart RISK, but Monopoly holds a special place in my heart.
I went the other direction and threw out the frames, but kept the plastic (not glass – they were from Target). I painted three dfferent kinds of leaves on three of the floppy plastic “canvases.” Then I attached black wrought iron plate holders to the wall and put my homemade art in them. They’re unusual – I like them.
In my “office” I have postcards framed on the wall. I also have various pictures of family and friends framed around the apartment, and original artwork I purchased at different art festivals in Chicago and Dallas. I LOVE visiting art festivals — you can find some really cool, original pieces at great prices. Oh, and art posters that you can pick up at art galleries also look really awesome framed (in my experience they’ve been free). =)