Custom Framing and Local Fine Artwork in the Heart of Multnomah Village
October 1, 2914 ~ Reception 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Jerry Hammel was a long-time resident of Hillsdale, one of those old school graphic designers who never used a computer. He passed away five years ago, never having shown his work publicly. So, for the first time anywhere, Village Frame & Gallery has the honor of exhibiting Jerry’s observational, playful, stylistic art. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us.
June 6th is First Friday in Multnomah Village. Join us at Village Frame and Gallery for an exhibit of calligraphy, block printing, and other paper arts by Portland artist Diane Flack. She will be at the Gallery:
We look forward to seeing you there!
I have been a freelance calligrapher for about 22 years and a block printer for ten. I also play at watercolor and hand made books as well as artist books and cards. I love the look of ink on a page. I am also in love with paper, all kinds of paper.
While studying block printing with Denis Cunningham, I also fell head over heels for patterns, negative space and all aspects of block printing. The process is very labor intensive but the result is always a surprise, not always a good one. I often find a photograph or see a scene that catches my eye because of the lights and darks, contrast of positive and negative space and composition. Then I draw, or redraw it to capture the scene in a block print friendly way. After carving and inking, the process is a mystery, just waiting to be pulled. Sometimes the mystery is solved with a successful print and sometimes I must go back and retrace my steps, make adjustments, carve more, and attempt the process again.
I am interested in realistic scenes of people working, charming old cars, interesting traditional kimonos, and celebrations of life. I am used to people who work hard and respect the beauty of classic cars and 40’s images. I have no fidelity to genre. I am interested in all kinds of patterns.
Block printing is exciting because it is a lesson in simplicity. Taking an image down to the most simple lines is often rewarding, often misleading. Being able to read a print the first time around is my goal. Not like a child’s painting, where you must say, “Tell me about this,” because you have no idea what it is supposed to be. I love it when I pull a print and hang it up for inspection and someone will say, “Hey, that’s a great cowboy!” I am experimenting with abstract geometrics inspired by the Gee’s Bend quilts. I also love fabrics and textures.
My work has been purchased by Lewis and Clark Library, and hangs in prominent homes in Portland, Washington, California and Rome, Italy. I have been fortunate to show my work with Print Arts Northwest, University of Arkansas in Rome, Focus on Books Conferences and the Streff Gallery at Marylhurst.
I have served on the Boards of Focus on Book Conferences, three international conferences hosted by the Portland Society for Calligraphy, the Marylhurst Alumni Board and the Multnomah Arts Center. Chair. I teach Bookbinding and Calligraphy for Portland Community College and sub in three of their libraries.
Are you ready?Sunday, June 15th is Father’s Day this year. Show Dad how much you appreciate him with a gift of art that will provide him with year’s of pleasure. Village Frame & Gallery has a variety of gifts for fathers and many are on sale this month, so if you are looking for something unique, stop by the Gallery.
As always, if we can be of service while you are shopping for Father’s Day, please come see us during our usual business hours or call for an appointment.
Richard Hall is the kind of artist who refuses to fit into a category. He works not only in the media of serigraphy, monoprinting, and etching, but he creates large wall reliefs and freestanding steel sculptures as well, and he paints in acrylics and in other media on large canvases. Some of his works display remarkable depth and antiquity, others possess a style both romantic and timeless, and still others are minimalist and ethereal. The single quality common to all of his works is that they are universally and enthusiastically sought.
Among Hall’s enthusiasts are many corporate and public collectors, including the Trump Taj Mahal and Trump Plaza (New York), Christies Contemporary Art (New York), Princess Cruise Ship Lines (Milano), Wardeh Gimtex (Saudi Arabia), Caesar’s Lake Tahoe (Nevada), Hyatt Wiakalea (Hawaii), Hughes Aircraft Corporation Headquarters (San Diego), Sunland Development (San Diego), Arizona Commission for the Arts (Phoenix), Hyatt Regency (Denver), and the Brayton International Collection (High Point, South Carolina). While his exhibitions are too numerous to list fully, among the largest are Los Angeles Artexpo, New York Artexpo, Tokyo International Art Show, Miami International Art Exposition, Art Asia Hong Kong, Art Detour (Phoenix), and Designers’ Showcase House.
Hall was born in 1952 in Bradford, Yorkshire, the industrial heart of northern England. He attended both the Sheffield College of Art and the Kingston-upon-Hull College of Art, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting in 1976. After earning his Master of Fine Arts from Sussex University, he left England for warmer climates, ending up in the Southwest United States where he pursued the arts of painting and sculpture. In addition to creating his own artwork, he has worked as an Art Director for the last few years, thereby affecting the careers of young artists under his tutelage and reaping the fulfilling rewards of close interaction with these artists. This has proven to be a catalyst for his own artwork, propelling it in new and wholly unexpected directions.
As a boy growing up in England, Hall spent many hours watching his grandfather create fine furniture. According to Hall, “The man was a master craftsman, employing traditional tools and working methods handed down through generations. He passed on to me to joy of creating something unique. I carry on these traditions in my own work.” Today as an adult, he views himself as actually building a painting, in perfect analogy to his grandfather building furniture. “As I ‘build’ a painting or sculpture,” Hall said, “It is often the actual working methods that I am most drawn to. As I learned to finish fine furniture with layer upon layer of polish and wax, so I now find myself working with layer upon layer of texture and color. This method of working triggers memories and feelings that I channel into my art, and it enables me to give form to my ideas.”
Village Frame & Gallery currently has four pieces by Richard Hall. To view them in person, please stop by the Gallery during regular business hours or call for an appointment.
There’s more to caring for your artwork than picking the perfect frame. From limited edition prints to original paintings, framed art needs special care and professional quality materials.
Properly caring for your framed art helps maintain its value and original vibrancy for future generations. Before, during, and after framing, we recommend the following guidelines when caring for your artwork:
To clean your framed print, remove it from the wall and place it flat on a table or other stable surface.
Use a soft, lint-free cloth or a soft brush to clean your frame. Harsh chemicals like ammonia, alcohol and other types of cleaners can damage fine finished gold-leaf, acid wash, lacquer and other frame finishes.
Clean glass by spraying cleaner onto a soft cloth and then wiping the glass. This helps prevent liquids from seeping into the frame and making colors bleed or paper buckle.
Clean Plexiglas or other acrylic-type glazing with special Plexiglas cleaner, or with a mild detergent solution, and very soft cotton cloth. Glass cleaners that contain ammonia will cause acrylic glazing to turn yellow and improper wiping will scratch most acrylic coverings.
For your convenience, we recommend and sell Ultra Lite glass and plastic cleaner.
Framed art should be inspected for wear and damage every few years. Over time, your frame may have scratches that need a touch up, new dust covers, adjustments to the picture wire, or similar simple repairs.
When you bring your framed art into the Gallery, we will inspect for hidden damage and clean it. That’s one “window” you don’t have to wash yourself.
CRIMPING: Prints are most vulnerable to damage in the unframed stage. Removing it from its storage tube or rough handling when trying to uncurl the print can cause dents and creases. Grasping the print too hard can also cause crimps or dents. It is best to minimize handling your art prints. When you must handle it, wear gloves.The negative impacts on treasured artwork that has been improperly framed, cleaned, stored, or moved are usually permanent and irreversible. That’s why we are so committed to following the highest quality preservation practices and teaching you how to avoid these types of deterioration and damage.
When transporting your art, make sure it is protected from the elements and from damage.
Wrap your art in plastic to prevent water damage and use towels or blankets to cushion it. Using protective frame corners or wrapping the art completely inside cardboard and taping it closed will assure safe transport.
Unwrap your art pieces as soon as possible. If leaning against a wall or storage space, make sure they are upright and face to face if there is more than one so the hanging hardware does damage the front of the other frame.
Remember: The safest place for your framed artwork is on the wall.
Whether you have an original painting, fine art print or treasured keepsake, if it needs to be framed, we will design a beautiful display tailored to the piece and your décor to protect and enhance the work for years to come. Stop by the gallery with your artwork and questions. We will be happy to evaluate your artwork and recommend the best framing options and solutions for you. The staff of Village Frame and Gallery has over 28 years combined experience framing, preserving and protecting artwork for display in your home or business.
Internationally collected artists John and Elli Milan have a unique creative process. They create their paintings together.
John and Elli met in Hawaii when they were young. They both wanted to be artists, so attended Savannah College of Art and Design, then University of Georgia, where each received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting. Soon they were working independently, developing their personal styles, and showing their work in local galleries, but they dreamed of working together.
Today, that dream has come true. Collaborating, they create art neither could create alone. John and Elli explain, “The Spirit of God inspires our work and allows us to create together and maintain a unified vision.” The end result is aggressive and spontaneous layers of paint which create a bright and playful scenario that is interwoven with hints of narrative.
They travel often to Greece, which inspires their artwork and life. Contemporary buildings built around old ruins, and the visible layers of history, have become a metaphor for how the Milan’s see spiritual transformation within themselves and the people around them:
Like these ancient cities, our lives are complex; as we grow and progress the new slowly replaces the old, yet we are often nostalgic for our old self, rather than looking forward with great expectation to our destiny.
The Milans and their four children live in Queen Creek, Arizona, where they have a home studio that is open year round. They are exhibited in galleries and private collections in Canada, Europe, the United States, Philippines, and Dubai.
Village Frame & Gallery is proud to offer works by John and Elli Milan in our gallery. To see these works in person, visit the Gallery Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., or by appointment.