Galerie Van-Os Celebrates 20 Years

By Kendra Bobowick

Afternoon sunlight washing into the gallery converts the glass-enclosed shadow boxes into mirrored surfaces that reflect a rainbow of sample picture frames that form herringbone rows on the walls. The many corner samples (of just the corner section of a frame) are either ornate or subdued, creatively engraved, or traditional frames in multiple colors, textures, and thickness. The frame samples fill nearly all the wall space surrounding Ann (Vanasse) Osborn.

Seated in a wicker, cushioned armchair last week, she gave a wistful look around the space at 83 South Main Street remarking, “The year has gone quickly.” In January, her Galerie Van-Os, which offers custom frame design, prints, original artwork, and shadow-box design, among other services, entered its 20th year of business, she explained.

On October 29, from 1 to 4 pm, the gallery will host a reception and afternoon of appreciation for customers and friends. Muralist David Merrill will sign prints purchased that day. Guests can also enjoy a 20 percent off sale on custom framing that continues through the end of December.

Ms Osborn glances past an easel supporting a framed print and notes the small shadowbox on the wall. The case is made of a wooden frame several inches deep and a glass front cover. Within the box is an infant’s white, rippling Christening gown with a matching ruffled cap. The dress is from Ms Osborn’s daughter’s baptism.

Before moving across to an adjoining room and flipping through a wrack of poster-sized prints for sale, Ms Osborn steps toward a counter holding a reproduction pistol mounted inside its own glass case roughly the size of a shoe-box. Her husband made the case with its wooden, stained form supporting the small panes of glass. When her gallery was still in its imaginative stages before she purchased her business, Ms Osborn said the couple knew then that Ann’s husband, John, would build the frames she designed, explaining, “I design, he executes.”

Much of the work behind the finished frames is “hidden” she said.

“People don’t see the calculations, the time, effort and exactitude, the fine cuts. What John does in his craft is art,” she said. From her side of projects, she said, “I will spend days working on a design.” She asks clients about where a piece will hang, color schemes in that room or office, decorating themes, and more to determine the best finished work.

Leaning against a countertop filled with photographs of her work, Ms Osborn shuffles through the images representing the types of items produced at Galerie Van-Os. One of her most difficult proposals came from a customer who asked her to frame a real rose handed to her by musician B.B. King following a concert.

“We encased it in black velvet and hardened the rose,” she said. She revealed another photo of a Tennessee walking rifle in a case crafted with piano hinges for access. Flipping through additional images, she paused and withdrew another photo. Placing it face up on the counter, Ms Osborn had selected a picture of recently framed sports jerseys. The shirts had been stretched open and displayed behind glass within a shallow frame.

The shadow-boxes, pistol, preserved rose, baptism gown, and mounted jerseys all reveal an aspect of her work less obvious than framing artwork or prints. She said, “Framing is about memories and nostalgia.” Ms Osborn calls it memorabilia, saying that everything is individual.

Sentimental valuables including newspaper clippings or other documents sensitive to touches of time and light can receive special attention, Ms Osborn explained.

“We can have [ultra-violet] filtering and I strongly recommend conservative glass for old documents and newspapers,” she said. Framing can also protect against humidity. In her conservation framing she uses acid-free materials.

Looking around herself at the frames, artwork, and items behind glass, she said, “The past 20 years have gone either very quickly, or very slowly depending on the month.”

Her career in the artistic field began more than 20 years ago in the early 1980s as she worked in nursing part time. Ms Osborn had sought employment at an independent art company to supplement her income. Later, her moonlighting gallery work soon combined with her dreams of owning her own establishment. In 1984 the couple contacted a realtor.

“My husband always knew I wanted my own business…” and they eventually purchased Church Hill Station, a framing shop on Church Hill Road where the Teen Center now stands. She retained that name until the business moved to 103 Main Street, then to its current location at 83 Main Street.

(The afternoon anniversary reception will be Sunday, October 29, from 1 to 4 pm, at Galerie Van Os at 83 Main Street. Contact the gallery at 426-6336.)