The Magic and Mystery of Framing

When I think a painting is finished, or nearly so, I like to place it in a frame. If I feel a spark from viewing it this way—contained within a frame— I know it’s “there”. But if it feels flat, unremarkable, unfocused, dull in intent or overly busy I put it back on the easel for a period of contemplation and more mark making to bring it, eventually, I hope, to a satisfying frame worthy resolution.

What does framing do for me?

Framing, whether literal, as with a painting, or metaphorical as with ideas formally bracketed in writing or voiced in conversation, has the power to focus our attention, to take what is fuzzy and floats abstractly in the field of our awareness and pin it down, put a hard edge on it so that for a moment at least we can see if it arouses clarity and interest in us—a flash of excitement, inspiration, recognition, a lifting of the creative soul of us.

Framing intensifies attention, requires it.

Framing is a way of selecting what is important and separating it from the background noise around it.

Framing distinguishes a part from the whole so that it can be seen. The frame calls attention to what it surrounds.

Attention itself is framing: I see you, I hear you and in that moment we become potentially conscious of our relatedness.

Through the honest selection of what I deem important in the world I speak to you and if you respond we connect. The energy of our mutual recognition of deep lively expressiveness wakes us up.

So pay attention to what others are framing. What does it mean to you? Does it speak to you? And what indeed are you framing in the art of your life?

If we really looked what might we perceive beyond the patina of our rapid scrolling through life? What if we paused to really take in the meaning of what we frame daily? What others frame for us? What would we learn about ourselves? About our world?

When I get so far as to frame my art it is clear that it has become important to me and I send it out as an offering to you. It is speaking more clearly now in its non verbal visual language. If you attend to it you might hear what it has to say.