When the Rooster Crows Part One: Katie Swatland Painting on Birch Bark

Recently we purchased a new doorbell. Adam set it up and Marisa and I gathered around as he tested the 80 million possible sounds it could make. We are a fun crew… the standard “ding dong” was not going to cut it. We rejected chimes, horns, little melodies… it felt like it may take all day. Then with one push of a button we all knew we had found it. The rooster. We heard it and looked knowingly at each other. It was the one. We shared complete agreement and a lot of initial laughter. A very loud cock-a-doodle-do is the official sound to signify a customer has arrived at Newburyport Framers.

When the rooster crows we never know what is coming our way. It could be simply a pick-up of a completed project or something much more complex. Just when I think we have worked on the most unique project a new surprise walks through the door. When Katie Swatland walked through the door this past August it certainly raised an eyebrow. We have built frames for Katie before. She is a gifted painter who truly devotes herself to her work. The painting she had for this visit did not disappoint. She brought in a beautiful painting she had done on birch bark. It was delicate and subtle but at the same time carried strength.

A great deal of collaboration went into the framing for this piece. We made selections to give the piece breathing room. It’s surroundings needed to be soft and quiet so the detail of the painting would come into focus. We agreed on a subtle, earth-toned moulding and we built and finished a custom shadowbox. “Is-there-glass-on-this?” museum glass was the icing on the cake. The result is stunning.

The piece is now in the hands of Katie’s gallery in New York and Katie has so graciously shared a bit of her story with us:

I’ve been collecting the discarded bark from birch trees in the snowy woods of Vermont since I can remember. Birch trees are one of a few varieties that shed their bark to maintain their health and strength. As the seasons change, they release pieces of their outer layers, which often fall off in large sheets, much like paper . . . hence the name, ‘Paper Birch’. This shedding helps prevent critters from burrowing into their trunks and fends off disease.

I have always preferred to prime my own surfaces in efforts to create a variety of textures, because I love the way a textured ground can grab the paint from a brush. One afternoon, while walking through the woods, I was admiring the beautiful textures naturally occurring on the surfaces of the birch bark. Nature created so effortlessly the variety in surface pattern that I was trying to create on the canvases in my studio. The variety was endless, and within each piece, I could see infinite potential to express form. I thought to myself, why not try using these pieces of bark as canvases?

When I returned home to my studio, I tried various ways of applying paint to the bark and discovered that I could create an exquisite surface to paint on by first applying a coat of shellac on the side I wished to apply paint. 

I simply adore painting on bark. The natural textures in the surface encourage the use of my imagination to see form within the patterns. 

My favorite thing is to pull out mythological characters. I enjoy thinking of them as nature spirits, and I like to think that if I am quiet enough, the bark will reveal to me what wishes to emerge. ✨

Let's Talk Turkey...

We recently finished up an eight month project framing a large collection of original Audubon prints. There were over 60 prints to frame. The large scale of the job could have potentially been daunting if it weren’t for the incredibly engaging nature of the images.

They came to us in batches, and like everything that has been around a while, the prints had been through some ups and downs. There were tape and acid burns, and rips here and there, sometimes cropped and all framed without archival materials in mind. We quickly developed a system for freeing them of their old confines, managing some unique margin challenges and finally fitting them into the new frames.

There was a quite a variety of subjects in the prints; each one as unique as the next. The level of detail surprised us every time. Sometimes we gathered around to notice a small bug in the mouth of a bird, or admire the complex layers of color used in an area of the print. The variety of birds was extensive… Swallows, Sandpipers, Warblers, Egrets, Rose Breasted Grosbeak…. it goes on and on. Adam and I agreed our favorite print was of Puffins and Marisa loved the Flycatchers, but we all agreed the Turkey was quite impressive.

They are now all buttoned up behind uv plexiglass with archival materials and framed in a stately moulding they deserve. We are all so very proud of the results of this project, and find it quite timely that the turkey was the last to frame.

This Thanksgiving I am especially grateful to Adam and Marisa for handling such a large undertaking with meticulous care. You are both a pleasure to work with every day.

From all of us at Newburyport Frames, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Patti

One Veteran's Story

It is always touching when customers bring in pieces of their history. We have framed all kinds of things, from hole-in-one golf balls to letters from Katharine Hepburn. Each project is full of interesting stories and memories, but there is something different about the history of a veteran. It is very humbling and inspires a lot of gratitude.

Often it is the children of the veteran coming in with medals, badges, maps and photos. There is an emotional charge … pride, love, but mostly a clear drive to honor the service of their loved one.

This fall we had the honor of working on a special project with Jerry Bowen. He came into the shop with long time customer, Debra Curtin and he carried some very important things. We worked together on the design trying to ensure the sense of honor it deserved.

I asked Jerry if he would like to share the story of his father. He very generously did:

Shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked in December 1941, 21 year old Jerome "Frank" Bowen of Chelsea, MA attempted to enlist in the United States Army. He was told he did not meet the physical standards due to his punctured eardrum. However, as World War II raged on in Europe & the Pacific, and the U.S. prepared to take a more active role, physical standards became less strict and Frank Bowen was drafted into the US Army in October 1942.

Frank was assigned to the Army's 10th Armored Division and trained in Georgia, where he became a tank commander and earned the rank of Staff Sergeant. While home on leave in June 1943 Sgt. Bowen married his sweetheart, Jeanette, who was also from Chelsea. After further training in Tennessee Sgt. Bowen and the 10th Armored Division sailed to the French port of Cherbourge in September 1944, where the Division became part of General George Patton's Third Army. Frank Bowen and his comrades would subsequently become involved in fierce combat against German forces in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Bavaria, Austria and Germany. 
       
In December 1944, during Europe's worst winter in 40 years, the German army launched a massive all-out counterattack in an effort to eventually capture the harbor of Antwerp. The attack was stalled around the Belgian town of Bastogne in the Ardennes Forest, by U.S. Army forces who were surrounded and faced annihilation. Sgt. Bowen's 10th Armored Division was rushed to those front lines and played a major role in saving the embattled units in what would become known as The Battle of the Bulge.
 
Because Sgt. Bowen was a tank commander, he often sat up in the top turret with his shoulders & head exposed, in order to direct the movements of his and other tanks. Late in the winter of 1945 he was in such an exposed position, leading his tank through a German forest when a German shell struck a glancing blow to the tank. Shrapnel from the explosion caught Sgt. Bowen full in his face and tore much of it away. At first the tank crew thought Frank had been killed instantly, but one of his comrades detected a slight pulse on his sergeant's body. Extraordinary efforts were made to keep Sgt. Bowen alive and he was transported to a medical area behind the front lines, in critical condition & nearly blind. Days later a hospital ship carried Frank to England, and another ship would eventually return him to the U.S. with other wounded soldiers. 

Sgt. Bowen would spend the next 5 years at the U.S. Army's Valley Forge Hospital in Pennsylvania, undergoing a tracheostomy and more than 50 painful facial reconstruction, skin graft, and plastic surgeries. His primary surgeons, Dr. Joseph Murray & Dr. Bradford Cannon, were pioneers in their field, and their techniques & discoveries were later used in treating wounded soldiers from the Korean Conflict, Vietnam War, and beyond. Later in his career, Dr. Murray was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Frank Bowen returned home to his wife, friends & family in Chelsea in 1950. He was physically disfigured and had minimum eyesight, but he was mentally determined to lead as full and productive life as possible. He eventually went to work for the General Services Administration in the U.S. Post Office in Boston, from which he retired in the 1980's. During that time he & his wife raised a daughter & son, making sure they never wanted for anything, and seeing that they both received a college education. Frank & his wife Jeanette shared 47 years of marriage until she passed in 1990. In 2004 Frank passed away at the age of 83.  He never complained or succumbed to self-pity.  To this day Jerome "Frank" Bowen remains a hero to all who knew him.

November ARTwalk

It’s fall and that means the leaves are changing and the Artwalk will be here in a blink.  We aren’t really in the art gallery business, but I like taking part for a couple reasons.  We have a great space to show work and that inspires all of us, and secondly, it is always great to see new faces in the shop.

An email from Jeanne Geiger triggered an idea. How about giving double duty to our November ARTwalk show.  The idea gave rise to Hear Me Roar, women for women.  All women artists to benefit Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center.  

“Lion” by Cathy Connor oil on canvas

The idea caught fire… 

Donna Baldassari said “Absolutely!”

I emailed Wendy Borger and she is in.

Sarah Burrows is so excited.

Cathy Connor is grateful to be part of the show.

Sara Demrow-Dent is painting as we speak.

Phyllis Dolobosky said, “save me a spot on the wall”.

Patricia Langley can’t wait!

Maria Malatesta texted me some great shots of little landscape paintings... perfect, and  

Marisa Peters will have new work just in time.

The work will be as unique and beautiful as the artists themselves and will include painting, mixed media, and photography.

Jeanne Geiger’s mission is to empower individuals and engage communities to end domestic violence. Fifty percent of sales will go directly to Jeanne Geiger and fifty percent will go to the amazing woman who are part of this show.

 I sincerely hope you can make it on November 2.

Happy Trails,

Patti