Preparing an Exhibition in Italy

One checked bag full of Rosy's small, framed paintings, and a carry-on with my unframed work sandwiched between shirts and pants was all that was required to get Rosy's and my work to Italy for our show in the Chiostro Sant'Agostino of Cortona. Framing was another matter. I spent several weeks before the opening strategizing and acquiring old frames and tools to do the framing. In my best Italian I implored the next-door neighbor to please excuse the noise as I sawed and hammered away for another two weeks.

For the works on paper we managed to find a lot of beautiful old frames in thrift shops near Magione, and even some acceptable new ones that required only a bit of punishment to make them suitable. For the rest of the work I designed a floater frame using mouldings from Italy's version of Home Depot, "Obi." About the coolest thing I've ever seen was a small combination miter and table saw that cost only about 100 Euro.

Set up on the small patio of the medieval house that is our home during the summer, surrounded by the Italian families that are our neighbors, I imagined myself back in time - a medieval or renaissance craftsman in a small shop carefully making frames for an altarpiece or some such thing. Of course the whine of the electric saw made it difficult to maintain the illusion.