Don Byram
Artist Statement
People love stories.
You tell stories with photos that can’t be told in other ways. For the stories I try to tell, the viewfinder on my camera are the pages. Composition of the shot is the plot. Color and light are the characters that populate the story and my world.
A good story , like good art, engulfs the reader and makes them feel. Through the combination of composition, color and light, endless stories can be told that, hopefully, will make the viewer, simply feel.
My goal is to take a photo and turn it into something more. Turn it into a story the viewer can read and feel. And, if I really do a good job, the story it tells doesn’t have to be the same one in my viewfinder.
I love quotes . One of my favorites is from Georgia O’ Keeffe……
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.”
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Story Time
We love stories at DonByramArt.
Every piece of art, every photo, needlework, shadow box, everything we frame has a story. We have been amazed, amused, confused, and humbled by what people entrust with us. We have laughed till we cried and sometimes we have just cried with our friends and customers as we learned the story behind the object that is to be framed. And all the emotions in between.
STORY TIME is our attempt to share those special moments we get to see and be apart of every day. It is these moments that make framing more than a job, more than an art, more than……well, you’ll see….take a moment and share with us…
Just Rob and Denise
Form vs Function
Function vs Form
Arguable, this is one of the most basic conflicts in art. To resolve this conflict many artists exclude one in favor of the other. Just Rob and Denise, have taken a different approach. They, like all great artists, include form and function in their work. They are furniture makers, who hail from such diverse places as Key West and Lake Placid. For the last four years, they claim Oglethorpe County as the place they proudly hail from.
“We are inspired by the things we find”, Rob claims as he shows me a box full of antique door knobs, hinges, and hooks. Denise adds, “It really is about using what you have.” She hands me a business card made out of real Birch bark they use for lamp shades. “These are made from what was left over. Nothing should go to waste.”
Organic is the best description to describe their style. Unlike many artists, whose work with found objects are often rough and edgy, Rob and Denise’s chairs flow from the floor and appear grown in the space they occupy. Their tables, while made from many different woods, appear to intuitively understand both their function as a dining room table and as “objet d’art”. China cabinets, dressers, jelly cabinets, lamps, decorative ironwork also appear grown as opposed to nailed, glued, and stuck together.
Nothing is off limits. Bamboo plays prominently as a ceiling cover in the old farm house they have spent the last four years personally remodeling. As do old slat baskets and Mountain Laurel vines. Retired shutters make up the back of a set of shelves…..old open eyed windows, the front of clothing cabinets for the bedrooms. Ancient doors are a favorite and reoccurring theme throughout their work. They surface in tables, cabinets, wall coverings, and several live and settle comfortable together as the headboard for their own bed.
Organic, reclaimed, found, grown, inspired, vintage, not wasted, and loved. All these words fall short of describing the blending of form and function in Oglethorpe County at Just Rob and Denise. Their furniture can be seen at Dory’s and Krimson Kafe, in Watkinsville. Their phone number is 706.743.8427.
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Story Archives
DonByramArt
Handcrafted Framing
DonByramArt
Handcrafted Framing
Many companies do custom framing. What makes our framing Handcrafted?
Janice has almost 30 years experience in framing, starting with her own frame shop, and including the last 15 years as the Manager of the Frame Shop at The Pottery. She takes picking mats, frames, and colors to the next level by helping create a personal expression for her customers, neighbors, and friends. She has the touch of an artist that translates the pictures, artwork, special photos, needlework, and whatever else comes in the front door into a perfect blend of personal expression; artfully crafted into framed emotion.
VC has a delicate touch with both frames and people. He spent 8 years at The Pottery learning the technical art of framing from Janice while supplementing his craft with the ability to draw out of people their vision for the projects they bring into DonByramArt. He doesn’t just listen, he engages with the customer, making sure the end product is much more than “just a product”. His goal is to create a collaboration between customer, mat and moulding, and emotion.
What else makes our framing Handcrafted?
An open work area and environment. We don’t hide behind walls or tuck ourselves and your work inside rooms. Our store is open and if you need to come behind the counter to see what someone is working on, double check a corner, or just visit, feel free to. We strive to have an atmosphere that is closer to a working art studio than a production plant.
Other Services
Besides Handcrafted and Custom framing DonByramArt offers the following services:
Canvas Printing We print digital files on canvas. Don will be happy to work with you determine what size works best for you file and walk you through the process. We have done family portraits, fine art, vacation shots, graduation pictures, wedding pictures, and bunches more. If you have it on a computer or in a digital camera…..we can print it. Give your shot the fine art appreciation it deserves by printing it on canvas.
Old Print Restoration Got an old family photo that is torn, yellowed, or plain old worn out? Or even a modern photo that is damaged and you want it to look new again? We even can even help you “wash that man right out of your hair and photo”! Our Photoshop expert can take old or damaged photos and make them new again with no alteration to the original.
Check with the store for details and prices of these services.
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