Coffee and Art.

A treasure on a page is worth keeping; a photo, drawing, a stamp from the bottom of your morning cup of coffee. Anything can spark this sudden attraction to an image. A moment can be all that it takes. A moment where there is a relationship and time spent between a person and what they deem to be worth their ocular efforts. If we only take the time to look.

This is where morning coffee comes in to play, every morning the sun rises and coffee is made and a stain is left. Not every morning do we realize that the coffee and that stain reminds us of the time that we drank this morning brew on a lake dock, or mountain side, or in a beach chair with sand covering your feet, but in a moment, one that catches us at a time where there is room to think, there is reminiscing. In a way this connection and relationship to this brown round stain can help us understand at least a minute fraction of what Art is and why we choose certain pieces of art to keep and hold close to our hearts.

Obviously, I have an attraction to coffee stains, in particular the ones from your cup. Their round shape often reminds me of an eclipse, but often it is the balance and symmetry of the circle itself that I appreciate. The coffee seeping its way down the sides of the cup on to the paper of your choosing (towel, newspaper, envelope, etc.) using the cup base as a loose parameter for the mark that it will leave. Once the cup is lifted the paper determines how the collected moisture will spread, creating paths of brown each varying in its density of color. Paths that look much like the edges of a coastal region on a map, or the paths of a river seen from a satellite photo. Details that show themselves when we take time to pay attention, details that reward us with introspection. This is how we treat our favorite works of art, we spend time with them and each time we come back looking, we bring new perspective and see new details and learn new things about the art and ourselves.

These treasures on a page bring us important moments in our lives, wether it be a photo that takes you back to a childhood memory or a watercolor landscape who's smooth contours and soft shades of color help sooth your soul after a rough day at work. Quality of time is really what we are holding as important, and that should not be taken lightly. Five percent of each day spent enjoying a work of art doesn't sound like much, but think about how this could have an affect over your lifetime.

Holding these works of art and relics from our lives as important, they should also be treated as important and thus should be represented well, by the way it is protected and displayed.

In a sense, this is why we frame. Everyone who works at the Frame Corner is an artist, and we know the importance of proper design and using the frame structure as a way to complete the art work. Tailoring the frame in a way that best suits the character of its owner and the amount of importance that the piece has.

Our employees also know that choice in quality materials is important. Although, you may be only framing a stain from a coffee cup, but it could be the coffee stain started a conversation that led to a soulmate, so we don't take that lightly either. If you want to keep this memento long enough to give it to your grandchildren, we will frame it with acid free cotton material, protect it with filtered glass, and put a frame on it strong enough to last over time.

The point of this article is to encourage you to use images, and personal accoutrements  that inspire you, to enhance your living and work space. Hang them on your walls. Keep in mind that your surroundings have a definite affect on mood and daily life. So design your space intelligently by using your walls and picture framing as your own vehicle for expression and admiration for creativity.

Good design and proper preservation will enhance those images and keep them protected, while providing your space with visual interest and giving yourself an extra five percent of quality time in your life.