Arts & Crafts Mirrors
These two mirrors were made from salvaged oak trim that was once part of an old elementary school. The trim was painted with what appears to be white lead containing paint. Some of the paint was left on one of the frames for esthetic purposes. Nail holes were not repaired and wood imperfections left as is. The trim was about 3/4" thick (as received) but after planeing became about 5/8". Ordinarily, arts and crafts mirrors have a wood thickness of about 1". The top rail of the mirrors were made from two pieces glued together. I found the wood to be very friable and easily splintered. Water soluble dyes were used to color the wood, then sealed with shellac. Then a van Dyke brown glaze was applied followed by several coats of polyurethane. A local glass shop cut and mounted the mirrors in the frames.
(click on picture for larger view)
| The pair of mirrors are about the same size. On one of the frames I chose not to remove the old paint/varnish completely on the edges in order to give that frame an 'aged' look. The lighting in the room at the time I took the pictures left something to be desired. |  |
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Each frame has a different Glasgow rose carving at the top. A pattern was made from a symbol set from a P22 Foundry font. The waste was hogged out with a laminate trimmer with a down-cut bit. The carving was finished up with carving tools and sandpaper. |
| Thru tenons were used with square walnut pegs. The pegs were made from some old plaques I got at a yard sale. You will notice the unfilled nail holes and the remnants of the old paint(probably full of lead) that covered the salvaged trim. |  |