Reason #3,457 it’s all about who you know…

February 3, 2011 at 4:13 pm Leave a comment

With all of the logistics of painting the mural and traveling to Uganda I never once thought about how we would frame out or finish the barkcloth mural in order to prepare it to be hung at Rasor Elementary until right before our trip. I let the issue take a back seat to the other thousands of details we had to work out before we could even arrive at that bridge to cross it. Then before I knew it I was standing at the edge of that bridge with absolutely know idea how to cross it. All I knew is that I had to finish it out with the goal of being hung in a exhibition at UNT this March and then permanently displayed at my school. I started looking into custom framing, but between the size (4 feet x 8 feet) and the fact that the budget for finishing it out was non existent at that point, it was clear that would not be a real option. I started brainstorming with Lesli and Amanda and someone tossed out the idea of having a frame built by a student and then stretching the barkcloth ourselves. It didn’t take much to get from that point to the point of realizing I have the MOST amazing BFF from my days at UNT!

Let me introduce you to Mr. Che Payne, or Mr. Paint as his students call him! Not only is he always willing to lend a hand to ANYONE in need (especially his BFF ) but he also owns power tools and can build just about anything you throw at him! So with the mural in hand, Che and I set out to build a frame for the mural with hopes that it wouldn’t blow the budget out of the water! I am happy to report that the budget is still intact and the frame could not be more perfect! I have to send out a HUGE thank you to Che because lets be honest… I was not much help outside of ironing the mural in preparation for sewing it on. So here are some images of the final product and the process along the way: