Cosmic Kismet - A wooden frame finds a new destiny

In the beginning...

...there was a frame posted for free on a website, amongst some other frames.  And it was taken by yours truly sometime in the fall of 2019. THANK YOU FRAME GIVER!

The first part of this freestyle

The wooden frame was examined, turned over, considered from all angles, and offered to friends who might be looking for an unusual size piece to fill with some original art (or who were into the original Wyeth print).

Andrew Wyeth print in wooden frame

Back side of the fame

The frame was pondered for a while, offered to other friends, and I considered trying to create something original of my own to fit the size. But its time had not yet arrived, destiny was still waiting, my indecisive delay was all part of the plan.

The chance conversation that revealed a destiny

And then a friend went to Nepal, and brought back a hand-painted poster of the cosmos wrapped up tightly in a poster tube for transport.....and then some time after returning the friend mentioned that he needed a frame for his new art, and asked if I could help.

Upon seeing the cosmos painting my eyes nearly popped out is disbelief. Not only did I have a frame, it was beautiful wood and had the PROPER DIMENSIONS. This was freestyle fate, or magic, it couldn't have been a coincidence.  So I started the process of dismantling the frame and carefully flattening the hand-painted poster that had been rolled up for so many weeks. I covered the art with wax paper and then some heavy books and just let it sit undisturbed for a few weeks.

Hand-painted cosmos, covered with wax paper,
underneath the original matting for size comparison

When the time was right to get started on the frame makeover, the first step, as always, was to disassemble the frame to clean all the components.

Back of the frame, dust cover and points removed

Wooden frame on its own

This particular wood frame had a very open grain, and it was a bit rough in places. I'm not sure if the roughness of the wood was a deliberate choice to go with the rustic style of the print, or a result of the age of the frame and perhaps the wood drying out over time.

Corner view of wooden frame before refinishing

Scuffed part of wooden frame, before refinishing

No matter the cause, I like my frames to feel smooth, even if their main purpose is to be looked at, not handled.  So I decided to gently sand the whole frame to smooth the surface with a fine grit sandpaper.

Wooden frame, smooth after a gentle sanding

After sanding, I finished the whole piece with furniture wax to give the wood some protection and shine.

Frame after first application of furniture wax

Closeup of frame after furniture wax application

After applying the furniture wax and buffing it to a shine, I allowed the frame to sit for at least a day to allow the wax to cure.

Conclusion

I delicately reassembled the frame with the poster, and was over-the-moon with the results.  See what beauty some patience and karma can lead to?

Refinished wooden frame with hand-painted cosmos art

Sweet cosmic dreams

Happy freestyling.

Oak-frame and a historical photograph

The modern cell phone, so useful, and so hard to fix if anything goes wrong. Sigh. Such is the case with the history of this little project. Photos were taken, then the phone decided not to turn back on, and the photos shall remain locked inside for the foreseeable future. Oh well, not everything needs to be recorded for posterity I suppose. You'll just have to imagine that once upon I time I found a dusty botanical print with green matting, intact glass, and a dark oak frame.... and the wheels started turning.

I know woods like wenge and teak are trendy, but I have developed a 'thing' for oak ever since I discovered the finish technique known as cerusing.  Remember this cerused bookshelf and the cerused side table that were stripped, dyed with aniline dye, brushed with shellac, and then finished with liming wax to bring out the texture of the grain?

Bold and beautiful cerused oak bookshelf

Sort of green and weathered cerused finish on side table

Those projects made me look at oak in a new way.  Instead of associating oak with pickled pink 80s faux-tropical furniture or heavy pieces sitting next to overstuffed couches in musty rec room basements I see the potential. Oak is interesting. The grain of oak is beautiful once you decide to see it that way, and vintage solid oak furniture is relatively abundant and affordable to folks on a DIY budget.   

Now that you've been refreshed about the joys of oak and cerusing let me say that I decided not to ceruse this oak picture frame after all.  I had a friend moving into an apartment that needed to be furnished, and I asked her if she wanted the frame, answer = yes.  Her style leans towards natural wood tones, so after having it sanded down to the raw oak I finished it with only clear furniture wax. Specifically I used two coats of Miss Mustard Seed's furniture wax (and no, I'm not being compensated to mention that product, I just like it).  

This style of picture frame had a series of tiny nails pressing all the backing, art, and glass together against the wood frame.  This makes it inconvenient to swap out the framed art, so here it is in an almost-finished-but-without-the-finishing-nails-installed state. Still, you get the picture, such a beaut!

Oak frame, sanded and finished with furniture wax, corner detail

Refinished oak frame, original green mat, new historical photograph

The green matting was part of the original find, and the botanical print is still there in the back, peeking through next to the white edges of the photo mat.  Maybe someday I'll get a new picture of those, for now you'll just have to enjoy the lovely salvaged and refinished frame in its new home.  The entire piece now brings a bit of warmth to the cool tones on the walls and floors in this downtown rental apartment.

Happy freestyling, and don't be afraid to take that thing that you're not sure how to use, offer it to a friend and you just might make their day!