It is my firm belief that choosing the right frame for a painting can do much to enhance the experience of a viewer. Frames, like windows and doors, are “in-between” places – portals that serve to connect. The perfect frame is a compelling invitation for the viewer to step through from the everyday world into the artist’s vision. So much importance do I give to frames, that for some of my paintings the frames are of my own design and actually form an integral part of the work. Harvest, the two-panel painting on which I am currently at work, is a case in point.
Structurally the frame unites the separate panels as does the image of the feathered serpent, Palulukang, that flows from panel to panel. Thematically, every element in both paintings and frame refer in some way to the centrality of the sacred corn harvest in Hopi spiritual life.
The frame for Bear Magick is likewise an integral part of the piece. The carvings in the corners replicate petroglyphs that echo the rock art depicted in the painting. The wonderful bear at bottom left was especially important. Without that frame my vision for the painting would not have been complete.
In addition to designing my own, I am always keeping an eye out for the beautiful vintage frames that can sometimes be found in antique and even second-hand stores.The frame for The Corn Maidens Return is one I found a few years ago in a Tucson antique store. Formal and traditional, and yet its exuberant golden glow just somehow seems the perfect staging for the Maiden’s dramatic homecoming.
I like to work on several paintings at a time. I think it keeps things fresh, moving from painting to painting. And most importantly, it allows me to step back from a work and gain perspective on how things are developing, rather than rushing ahead into what could be artistic disaster. So while still working on the diptych Harvest I also began work on other paintings, one of which is Koyangwuti, who has been calling out for my attention. Koyangwuti or Spider Old Woman is a figure much beloved by the pueblo peoples. In one Hopi legend it is Spider Woman with Tawa the sun god, who creates the world with their thoughts. It is she who taught the Hopi to plant, weave, and make pottery.
Here is her painting in process with a great deal of work yet to be done. However, there is already a frame that has been waiting for her for a very long time. It is one of three that I found at Southeastern Salvage in Chattanooga many years ago. I was sure that someday those three frames would be perfect for paintings not yet imagined. And finally one of them was, simply with the addition of a single golden spider.
I love frames.