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WHAT DOES “FRAMED IN STONE” MEAN? MARJORIE & RAY DIEHL KNOW.
By Gladys Blews Wilson
Aug 18, 2006, 14:50

In a large detached workshop framed by acres of trees, Marjorie Diehl and her husband, Ray, work together framing paintings in stone.

“Most people thing about some kind of stone backing with a glass cover and that isn’t in any way like what we do,” Marjorie says. “How can I describe what we do without confusing you?”

She pauses to think about something that might be similar to what a painting framed in stone might be like and suggests a birthday cake with someone’s photo applied to the frosting.

“Probably not a good analogy because cakes aren’t lasting, but you can get the principle. Let’s say you have a favorite photo of your grandchild and you want to frame it in an unusual way. We can enlarge that photo to the size you want and by using a chemical process, we remove the picture from the paper backing. The picture itself is almost like a liquid that we can meld onto the piece of flagstone we’ve prepared for it.

“The flagstone is one half inch thick and we cut it to the size of the photo or print we want to preserve. We use the prints of many famous artists. I blend the edges of the print into the stone by extending the edges of the painting onto the stone so that it looks like the original painting on the stone. Flagstone is thicker and denser than slate and it doesn’t flake off so you have an enduring piece.”

It takes five to seven days to complete one stone-framed print that can be mounted on a wall, set on an easel or used outdoors in a garden setting because they have applied a preservative over the print. The range of subjects they’ve framed is as broad as “everything” Marjorie says. If a print is available for sale they can work their magic on it.

“You really have to touch it and feel it to understand why these prints have become so popular. The stone has texture and it gives the print a kind of 3-dimensional quality that brings it to life.”

When Ray and Marjorie were married five years ago, they decided to build their home in West Springfield, Pennsylvania, a small rural community near Erie. Marjorie was an established commercial interior designer. Ray owned a plastics company that made the large plastic toys marketed by Little Tykes. As time went on, he couldn’t meet the low manufacturing prices that Little Tykes could get from companies overseas. He decided to retire rather than struggle to compete. He had always enjoyed carpentry and so the couple built a large workshop next to their house. They sold his hand made furniture and her floral designs through some of the major craft shows.

About a year ago, they saw the stone-framed pictures for the first time. They met the woman who had developed the process 13-years ago. During that period of time, she had taught only one other person to do the work and that person lives on the west coast.

“She agreed to teach us for quite a few thousand dollars, kind of like buying a franchise,” Marjory says. “There are only three of us in the United States and we’re the only ones in the Midwest.”

The couple loved working with the process and at their first show, they found they could hardly keep their inventory moving fast enough from their travel boxes onto the shelves.

“We bring a variety you can hardly imagine. The paintings range from DaVinci’s creation of Adam with God’s fingers reaching out to the fingers of Adam, to wild life, birds, Native Americans, Ansel Adams and other famous photographers and artists. Sizes range from 5 by 7 to 24 by 36 inches in the price range of $19.95 to $195.

It wasn’t hard to adapt their woodworker’s shop to a stone-framing gallery. Ray buys the flagstone by the palette and cuts the large sheets to fit the prints Marjory buys prints from galleries and auctions.

“It’s wonderful to find something that we can work on and enjoy together. Not the least of our pleasure is seeing the delight of people who discover something wonderful for their home.”

You may bring your personal photos to Old Fashioned Christmas in the Woods to discuss custom stone-framing.


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