Carmel Rancho Art and Framing Center—Frame Your Memories!

Gift giving is an art form, as we all know!   And so is framing, which may not be so obvious.  But have you ever looked at a framed piece and said that the frame was spectacular…or totally wrong…or even made the art or photo look a little sad or tired?

If you have a favorite original artwork, photo, scrap of fabric from a vacation or special event, children’s achievement award or badge, or a photo you want to preserve and exhibit in your home or give to a friend, the Carmel Rancho Art and Framing Center is much more than your standard framing shop.  The owner, Gayle Saia, has an expert eye not only for selecting the frame but also offers professional advice on what type of framing process will complete the work itself.  This is custom framing at its best! From my own experience working with Gayle, she has guided me to the type of framing—a shadow box, traditional matting or double matted, or floated with or without a mat.  The color of the mat alone can be a major decision and truly can set off the work in a masterful way.  One of my prints,  “Tibetan Ferns”  (see photo), has an orange ink that is not iridescent in the print but the choice of a burnished gold frame not only makes the print glow but symbolizes the gold of Tibetan monks’ robes.  In addition, the selection of a shadow box allows the Tibetan prayer flag fragment to hang loosely, suggesting an ethereal quality to the artwork itself.  This required combing each thread of the prayer flag to lie straight and hang properly.

Gayle’s aesthetic sense is brilliant.  With the visual perspective of an artist, she contributes to the artwork itself with her skills in design as well as in framing and art presentation.  Every frame is done in-house with meticulous attention to detail.  If you don’t have your own work to frame, there’s a wonderful range of reasonably priced original art from Monterey Peninsula College printmakers on display. Stop by and look at the Carmel Rancho Art and Framing Center in the Carmel Rancho Shopping Center (across from Brinton’s) or call ahead (831-626-4013) for directions.

They are located at: 26540Carmel Rancho Blvd. Suite B        Carmel, CA 93923