I brought 7 mezzotints and 7 photographs to my framer a few days ago. I met my framer about 15 years ago, when he was working at a shop in West Roxbury and I was living in Jamaica Plain. I followed him several years ago when he moved to a new shop, the Picture Place which is in Brookline. When I first started working professionally, I had no clue what went into framing, and never thought of it as an important part of the process. I feel extremely lucky to have found my framer, there are so many shops and I can imagine that it’s hard to find someone who is really good. He is incredibly knowledgeable about materials, has a terrific eye, and really opened me up to the vast possibilities. He is highly detail oriented and is always enthusiastic about explaining every single step of the process so that I know what will go into the work. I completely trust him when it comes to making selections, to the point that when I need work done, I just into the shop with no idea of what I want, knowing that he will come up with a tasteful solution. I also like that he is able to see the work objectively in a way that I can’t because I’ve been looking at the work so long, so he provides a fresh eye which I really appreciate. He comes up with ideas that I would never have thought of, and carefully considers every single factor.
Because I have to present such a large quantity of pieces, I opted to do just a mat and sheet of plexiglass this time. (by November, I will have to have 23 pieces total done) The pieces will then hang on the wall using L pins to hold everything in place. A full frame on all 23 pieces would have been astronomically expensive, and this is the first year in a while that I don’t have a grant to support my work.
I am glad to have finished this first round of work. My plan now is to finish 4 more mezzotints, which will finish off the 14 mezzotints I need for my solo shows this fall. Ultimately, I want to have a portfolio of 20 mezzotints, and there are also a few images I want to redo if there’s time. But for now, that minimum 14 print requirement is the most important milestone. Then, I’ll take a break from the mezzotints, finish up the final 3 drawings, and then if there’s time left I’ll start some of the mezzotint redos.
Clara Lieu 