When creating a finished wooden frame for a specific object a picture frame maker performs the tasks of a joiner, a carver, and a gilder. He begins with rough seasoned lumber. Once dried properly, the joiner's task is to take rough lumber and shape it using saws and cutting tools. Today these tools are the table saw and a router table. Traditionally as well as today hand saws, wooden hand planes, combination planes, chisels and gouges, finish shaping the desired profile. Once sanded, the lengths of moulding are cut and joined to specific dimensions for either a work of art or a mirror. If the frame has carved ornamentation then the carver's task is to add wood in order to create certain shapes and forms. When the carving is completed, the gilder prepares the wood surface. The desired finish may be one or a combination of the following finishes: painted, oil gilded or water gilded. The gilder's task is the final task performed by a picture frame maker. The Picture Frame Maker's association with traditional methods and procedures has in the past and will in the future continue making this hand crafted service a significant part of the production of heirloom quality items for generations to come. My Education-My education began at the University of Alberta where I received a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Science. A few years later, I completed a Bachelor of Art in Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia. My knowledge of Art History allows me, as a picture frame maker, to provide a service that is built on historical tradition thus making a proper contribution to the Arts community. My Vision-My craftmanship is based on my research of traditional techniques or joinery, carving and gilding. My experinece restoring antique mirror and picture frames has sparked the interest of the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Canadian Craft Museum and the Vancouver Museum . They, as well as collectors of fine art acquire my service on a regular basis. My Work Around the World- My work has been featured in the Heffel Gallery, Equinox Gallery, the Vancouver Art Gallery, Donald Young Gallery in Chicago, Lisson Gallery in London, the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, and other galleries around the world.
In the summer of 2003, a group of seven artists came together to open a collective gallery to have a permanent home to show and sell our work and to offer consignment space to other artists. We all pitched in to transform what was once a cafe into a gallery. The hard work paid off and in the early fall 'Arts Off Main' opened to the public. Shortly thereafter we were joined by a talented framer.
Vancouver is known as many things: beautiful, breathtaking, and home to two million people. The city is also considered to be the production capital of the game industry in North America. Companies such as Radical Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and Relic Entertainment call the region home. The city is the continent's third largest film and television production center behind Los Angeles and New York. Truly a city for innovative people, Vancouver, British Columbia is the gem of the Canadian southwest coast.