These are not your everyday frames, but rather, replicas of famous frames with famous names - Whistler, Sulley, Hassam, Louis XXVI. Frames you might see in museums, or the homes of serious art collectors. Frames you wouldn't expect to be crafted in Muncie, Indiana. But then, Muncie does have an exceptional art history of its own, and now it has an exceptional framing tradition in the father- son team of Brian and Ben Gordy.
Brian Gordy, formerly an art teacher and interior designer, current watercolor artist and shop owner, began learning the centuries-old gilding (gold leafing) technique in 2003 by attending workshops in northern California and Tennessee for frame restoration. Workshops in following years in Philadelphia and Las Vegas added to his interest and skills in gilding. Inspired to apply his artistic talents to his framing trade, Gordy made his first gilded frames in his downtown shop in 2005. Enter Peter Blume, Ball State University Museum of Art director, in need of a gilded frame for a Homer watercolor in the museum's collection. Homer just happened to be Gordy's favorite American watercolorist, so he was excited to build a special frame for the museum's upcoming exhibit.
Ben Gordy watched closely as his father built the raw frame, applied ten to twelve coats of gesso (liquid plaster), sanded this to a smooth finish, and then applied bole (liquid clay), all just to prepare for the actual gold leaf. Using a wide, flat brush that appears to be only single hairs thick, the elder Gordy would pick up the ultra-thin sheets (approximately 1/250,000th of an inch) and apply the gold. Next steps included burnishing, distressing with chains, knives, razors, and ice picks, and rubbing to reveal just the right amount of color underneath. Finally, the frame was sealed, antiqued with pigment washes, then waxed & dusted to simulate age - the same basic process that has been used for hundreds of years. The younger Gordy was hooked.
Fortunately, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. was offering gilding workshops in the Fall of 2006. The Gordy men signed up to participate in different courses in order to cast the widest net of information-gathering possible. Returning to Muncie, they immediately began ramping up a new department in the family business. Special tools, suppliers, and support products had to be purchased, along with an array of gold leaf. Rooms had to be redesigned to function as gilding studios. Spray areas, air cleaners and special racks were installed. And then, the duo began the task of gilding an exclusive line of frames - Gordy frames, all hand gilded, toned, and ready for public display.
That display kicks off with The Frame Show during the month of April. Subtitled, Framus Fantasticus, to draw attention to the high art of gilded frame, the exhibit includes works by local artists to show historically-matched frames for each entry. Jim Faulkner's scene of a Federal style house will be displayed in a Federal-style frame. Alan Patrick's landscape will be shown in an American Impressionist-style frame. The other featured artists will include Shonet Lambert Martin, Robert Farlow, Charlene George, Margie Prim, David Slonim, Carol Strock Wasson and the framer, Brian Gordy.
The Frame Show opens during the monthly First Thursday art event on April 3rd from 5 to 8 PM. Peter Blume will offer remarks about the framing at 6:30 PM. Light refreshments will be served and the public is invited to attend. The exhibit may also be viewed until April 26th during normal business hours: Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5:30 PM, Saturday, 9 to 3, or by appointment. Gordy Fine Art and Framing is located at 224 East Main Street, next door to Civic Theatre. For more information call 284-8422 or visit www.gordyframing.com.
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