Over the span of two mornings this week (March 24 and 25) we had a group of students from BCI here to learn the basics of framing. They are part of the Specialist High Skills Major – in Arts & Culture- program, where talented and artistic students take different workshops to learn a new field.

In addition to learning how to frame, the students were also given a rundown on why framing is so important. Our very own Laurie Sponagle is an accomplished artist whose experience in showing her work, as well as teaching art as a business, makes her lessons invaluable. Over three hours, the students learned the importance of mats, glass types, frame choices, and why how an artist displays their work is just as important as how they create it. After the basics were out of the way, they got a demonstration of how we assemble a frame from start to finish (and all the math that comes with it). We were so happy that every student was engaged and interested in what we had to teach them, but the fun was only just starting.

If we took a poll, Tuesday would probably win as the better day. With only a bit of help, our young framers-in-training got to choose the mat colour they wanted for their art, work out the math (not as fun), and assemble a piece of art to take home after the course. We were blown away by how talented and intuitive these students were, and how much fun everyone seemed to be having!

For our second year of teaching this course, it was quite successful, and while we’re used to every day of work being different, this certainly took the cake. Being a part of the community, and being able to teach the talented students of this city is so important to us. The students of BCI have experienced framing firsthand, and we’re happy to share our knowledge with other school art programs! We’re also always willing to accept co-op proposals from any of the schools in the area, so drop us a line on our Contact page if framing is something that interests you!