SANCTUM

MAKING THE FRAMES
Painting all winter and into the spring, I finally finished the sanctum series this week.
​Still obsessed with Dutch master forest floor paintings I was inspired to make my own style of 'Sottoboscos'. The subject matter makes me feel safe, intrigued and calm in a world others call Terrible.  This work is about finding sanctuary in home and self purpose.

I started their elaborate frames last month and was surprised by the complexity of their construction. I have three days to finish the frames before delivering the work....ACK!

Photos:
At the top you can see the scroll saw I used to cut all the fancy edges and tiny windows. Each window requires a drill hole and then removing and replacing the tiny scroll saw blade inside. Then I use tiny files and custom sanding sticks to sand those miny openings. 

Next is more sanding, then the painting begins. Paint, sand, fill, paint- sand- fill on and on! until most blemishes are removed. Though the frames compete with the paintings, I didn't want the tiny flaws to distract too much, and believe me ...black is hard to get perfect.
When I assembled a few and knew it was doable, I began to layout out all of the frames and matching them with the paintings. You can see the 'sandwiches' I made for prepping each box.
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I made 17 frames for 17 paintings which in a normal year would take more than 8 months but squeezed it into 4-5. Viola! ready for Childhood End's Group show... 

-'UNDERSTORY'- June 16-July 30, 2023.

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