Sky

Photo by Ryunosuke Kikuno on Unsplash

I can see colored bands of light on a part of my hallway floor as I pad away from my bedroom. It’s the part of the floor that’s near an open door to the kitchen. And it tells me that the stained glass piece that hangs in front of the kitchen window is getting a lot of light coming through. That inference is seconded by the warmth of the room that embraces me as I step inside. Today is not an overcast day.

I can hear a metal ladder extending outside; must be the workmen at the nearby walmart-like building of my neighbor’s probably trying to get his roofing work done before it gets even warmer. I’m glad I don’t have that job. Otherwise it is quiet outside.

But no time for a swim today as I’m going to take my artwork to a Chinese framer not too far from me. She is not my primary framer, that guy is on a trip. But I have a show coming up and so I will visit her today with my 15 prints. One of the prints is the end piece of my Cosmic Dragon from 2024. The originals are huge and altogether measured 24’ and so to show in other places that didn’t have a huge wall, I downsized my dragon and this one is just the head and tail. I had to do that on photoshop and so it is a print I’m taking in. It will be framed with gold silky matting with dragons visible in the pattern, and a traditional gold Eastern frame.

The measurements for matting differ from East to West; while the West likes things symmetrical or if one side is larger, it is usually the bottom side; matting in the East views the top part as the sky and the bottom, the earth. And because the sky is bigger than the ground, any oversized measurements go in favor of the top side - just the opposite of the West. You can see this most clearly in scrolls. This framer has done scrolls for me, but I’ve found that scrolls are no good for exhibiting in coffee shops as they are completely unprotected. So there are no scrolls today.

But decisions will be made along these lines: Do you want Western frame material? Eastern? And if Eastern, then modern or traditional? I am always drawn to the traditional Eastern frames and silky matting. It used to be that silky matting could only be used when making scrolls, but now the Chinese have figured out a way of using the silky material in matting too. Clever people.

Long ago I had brought several pieces to this framer to send to China to be printed on rice paper. When she told me they were able to do that, I immediately wanted to see how it would look if I did my prints this way as rice paper is the medium I use most for original artwork. Maybe prints on rice paper would carry the essence of the original much better than the paper my print shop uses. I had forgotten about this experiment of yesteryear until she brought it up. She showed me some sample work and said my job was somewhere among the shelves and cupboards of paper in her new shop, but she would have to find it; she just moved her business to another location and not everything had been put away. I understood that. Next time.

I don’t always understand everything that goes on as accents don’t do well with those who don’t hear clearly, or at least that’s my assumption. I have done business with the Asian world for so many years now and with my continual study of customs and ways I usually feel I know more or less what’s going on. The rice paper print experiment, however, is telling as once I had sent her my electronic files for what was to be printed on rice paper in China and she agreed to let me know when she received them so much time lapsed I figured it didn’t work out. I do remember calling her after some time and she still had not received them. Experiments often don’t go very far; at least that’s what I thought. I let it go.

I like this framer and it seems as though she is doing a good business as her new place is larger than her old place. To use the restroom in her old place was a matter of surviving a careful walk through towering columns of paper, frames, and matting. When framers buy these materials in bulk they come in huge rolls which probably wouldn’t feel very good if one fell on your head. In addition, large finished pieces of framed artwork is propped up everywhere, even against unidentifiable equipment; but persevere and you can find a small w/c by the back door. Her new place offers these services in front.

And as I stood there selecting the matting and frames for my pieces, I looked around at the enormous framed pieces her guys were finishing. “They are for a large Chinese home,” she says. Yes, my son who also does work for Chinese families who have bought enormous homes in Orange County says the same: “very big.” And, although I like traditional framing my own paintings like the Cosmic Dragon and Bamboo are not traditional at all. Too bad, they are the right size for an enormous wall! But even though my work has a certain Asian flavor, it would never attract the Chinese audience who look for very traditional elements in their paintings, it’s just not my style. Traditional Japanese painting might be closer, but I realize I’ve really wandered off even from that. I use traditional materials and paint from the traditional point of view; it’s hard to explain. But it would be a worthwhile post - Maybe tomorrow.