“Framing with expert designers finishes an art piece in a way that accentuates the art and brings it to life,” Shannon said. “Oli and the Bellevue Museum Quality Framing team are like stylists to my art, the way a movie star has a stylist on the red carpet.”
Shannon has been a client at our Northwest Framing Bellevue shop since 2016 and has framed over 35 pieces with us.
“Their team is masterful at choosing the best design for each individual art piece. They are fun and easy to work with. It is a collaborative process, and I have such a great time.”
“I like how the designers suggest options that are unique, such as using pops of color that bring out specific areas of the art. The right frame really makes the art piece sing,” Shannon said. “They show me frames with special colors or textures I would have overlooked. For example, Oli introduced me to a stunning RAKU frame, which has subtle coloring that catches the light and really pops the copper elements in my piece. I also recently discovered closed corner frames from Rhonda Feinman which NW Framing shops carry. Those museum-worthy frames are works of art in themselves.”
Shannon is a local artist who travels frequently to other countries, finds inspiration in the museums she visits. She has been buying art her entire life and enjoys lithographs, serigraphs and Japanese wood block prints. Her mother also passed several art pieces down to her. When Shannon creates her own art, she hand cuts colorful decorative papers from around the world, including Italy, Japan and Nepal, piecing them carefully together to form a collage of gorgeous floral arrangements.
Our shop usually frames her prints, but for the first time we are now framing her originals.
“Every time I work with Shannon, she’s always ready for an adventure with framing,” Oli, a Bellevue MQF designer said. “Shannon loves bouncing ideas back and forth with us and is always open to new ideas. Her art inspiration comes from fine art paintings across different timelines. Shannon is an amazing customer and artist, and we all love working with her.”
“Art is fragile and dust mites and UV light can damage art and photos over time, so framing them to protect your art is crucial,” Shannon added. “And what a waste not to frame art that we purchase or inherit. Display to enjoy! MQF designers are very sensitive to what your art needs and they make sure the art does not rest on the glass. They know how their products perform.”
“When I mentioned one piece was going over my fireplace, they suggested the right components for my framed design considering the heat. Another time, I had a very large piece of art, and they suggested acrylic instead of glass, which is much lighter in weight.”
Shannon retired two years ago and wanted art to be part of her retirement. “My sister is an artist, so we took art classes together. She does collage art, and I got the idea to combine my love of floral still life with collage,” Shannon shared. “I love colors and patterns, so I played with making flowers out of the beautiful decorative papers I had collected. My idea was to create paintings out of paper. For inspiration, I often look to the 17th-19th century floral still life artists for their exquisitely detailed and abundant compositions.”
Shannon received such a positive response about her art this year, she recently launched her website: beauxartscollage.com
