Hanging the Armadillo

[kevin_standlee]

In the BayCon art show, I bought a nicely framed print of Jim Burns' Spaceport Glasgow (the link takes you to the CafePress store where you can buy merchandise imprinted with the artwork). This is a limited print (10 of 75) of the artwork that Burns did for the cover the Interaction program book, and it is, IMO a wonderful piece of artwork. If I ever have an office instead of a cubicle, I will hang this piece there. Indeed, as "captain" of the WSFS Armadillo, I'd love to own the original, but that's never going to happen, so I'll have to settle for this print. I feel lucky that I was able to get it for the minimum bid of $150.

I hung the artwork this evening over my fireplace. (We never have a fire in the gas-fired fireplace, as the apartment never gets cold enough to need it, but we do have a fireplace.) I was fortunate enough that there happened to be a couple of wall studs in the right places, so the pair of wood screws I drove to hold the artwork up are biting into studs, not just the drywall. The art looks evenly hung, and the placement is nice.

Except...I've discovered that the way my living room is lit, there's glare off the print no matter what I do. Moving the floor lamps is unlikely, as they're placed so as to cover the whole room with light. There's a chance the artwork won't look right except maybe in natural light. And I don't have a lot of blank wall space onto which I'd like to hang it. Oh, I could hang it on the wall behind the sofa, but I want to be able to see while sitting on the sofa, just like I can see my ConJose-surplus Hugo Award trophy and cherylmorgan's real 2004 Hugo Award.

Comments

[gvdub.livejournal.com]

Find a decent framer and have the glass replaced with non-glare glass. Tracking down a good framer was one of the best things we ever did for our small collection of art.

[khaybee.livejournal.com]

Seconded. Unfortunately, my excellent framer left just before I did, so I can't help you.

[jbriggs.livejournal.com]

When I went in to get a print framed, the framer spent a good deal of time explaining why non-glare glass was Not A Good Thing. YMMV.

(when I bought the print in New Orleans it was $35, or $350 framed. "I can get it framed cheaper than that!" The framing turned out to cost $650!!!

[gvdub.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's quite so black and white as that. There are several grades of non-reflective glass currently used in framing. The image and the hanging space should determine what, if any, anti-glare glass should be used. There's a premium non-reflective glass called either "Den Glass" or "Image Perfect" that eliminates the image distortion which anti-glare glass can sometimes have and is also known as 'invisible glass'l Naturally, it's the priciest option. There are also some non-reflective conservation style glasses which help filter UV.

[dinogrl.livejournal.com]

I had my Whalen framed with non-glare. The painting already has a hazy texture to it, and it adds a bit of the "Vaseline Lens" look. But it doesn't have any reflections bouncing off of it.
Call up a glass shop and ask for a piece of non-glare glass in the frame's dimensions. OR, there is an Aaron Brother's in the East Mowry shopping complex (the nearest one before 880). Call first, they are notoriously slow. (Michael's is also another possibility, and closer. (Same company).

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

Indeed, as "captain" of the WSFS Armadillo, I'd love to own the original, but that's never going to happen

:-) Not unless Vince'll sell it to you.

[lunarvixen.livejournal.com]

Heyas...

I was wondering.. if by chance.. you might have some time.. if you could possibly... with your vast experience and knowledge working with fandom conventions... umm.. send a General Convention Business Plan/Model for a Fandom convention whos' goal is to reach 500 to 1000 attendees. We want to start working in a minimum 2 year preparation model.. but.. since most of us are new to what efforts are required to bring a fandom convention to fruition.. we could use all the direction we could muster..

Convention Business Plans

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

You embarrass me. I don't have a convention business plan for any size convention, at least not all neatly packaged up like that. The only conventions I've chaired have been very small (<50) and very large (>5000), and even then, I didn't have a business plan written down. I have a general idea of how to proceed, but it's not in a packaged form. I'm not sure I've ever seen one. We just get the idea, "It would be fun to have a convention here," and pursue ad hoc solutions thereafter. (That may explain why we sometimes get into trouble.)

"Developing a Business Plan for Your Convention" would be a good program topic for SMOFCon, and I'm going to propose it. Unfortunately, it's not going to help you. Sorry!