STATEMENT

FRAMED WALL SCULPTURES

BY DENNIS ELLIOTT

I have been making Wall Sculptures for many years now and they have gone through many changes as far as design and process is concerned but i have never thought to frame one until I received a slab of Maple Burl in one of my shipments of wood that was just too thin to go through the normal routine of first flattening the back and then remounting it in the lathe to work on the face.  It was just too thin, so I decided to make a nice frame for it and leave the back unfinished.  The first was a prototype and would be a nice experiment and maybe I would learn something in the process.

The result so impressed me, and every one that saw the finished piece that I decided to continue with the series.

Some of the smaller pieces really benefit from this as it seems to draw attention to them and it also frees me from my self imposed minimum size of about 36 inches for a “Wall Sculpture” as I feel that by that very term it should be something quite substantial and anything less is just too small.

The background or “Field” of the frame is a black rubberized coating that really makes the piece “pop” especially when mounted on a white wall.  I am also using a cleat system on the back of the frame that allows it to be easily installed and removed and yet hold the piece flat against the wall.

Now I find myself wanting to frame even the very large pieces, but that is a decision that can be put off until the piece is finished as the original process is back in play and they can be displayed framed or unframed and this gives me, or indeed the buyer the freedom to choose.