This poster comes from Park Guell in Barcelona. I admire Antoni Gaudi, and seeing his work for myself was such a joy. Being there was a fantastic experience, and I couldn’t resist the poster as a souvenir. But – how bleak and lonesome it looked, hanging on my living room wall!
Proper framing and matting makes a huge difference in bringing out the beauty of wall art. But I didn’t want to spend a ton on professional matting and framing. The BEST way I’ve found to get good frames and mats is from a thrift store. Among the art sold there, it’s often possible to find very good quality frames, glass & matting for a fraction of the cost of having the piece professionally mounted. Just remove what’s in the frame and replace it with what you want. I visited the local thrift store three times but couldn’t find anything. Yet I REALLY wanted to hang up this poster; so I gave in and bought a cheap plastic frame at the local department store.
After living with it for a few days, I decided something really had to be done to let it stand out more.
I had some rolls of newspaper left over from another project. (There are many dozens of videos and tutorials online for making these paper tubes and all the creative ways they can be used – here is one.) It seemed like they could be used to extend and brighten up that boring picture frame.
I slipped the rolls inside each other till they were long enough, then laid them out flat and glued them. I held them in place with the glass jars till the glue was dry. Then I fit four sets together around the frame and glued them to each other – but not to the frame.
I didn’t like the black plastic. It’s so harshly geometrical, when all of Gaudi’s work is so organic, fluid and quirky… so I decided to add a 2nd layer of paper to completely cover the border of the frame.
When the glue was dry, the paper rolls were quite firm and stand on their own. They fit around and over the plastic frame, but they’re not attached to it, so I can remove them.
When the weather is warmer, I will take this outside and apply a coat of a non-toxic lacquer or varnish. That will help the ends stay firm, and make the frame easier to clean.
Overall, I’m pleased with the results. It was inexpensive and effective, and used paper that was destined for recycling. The project was interesting and sparked a bunch of ideas. I do think the poster looks much better this way as well.
