Decorative overlay for use in framing art work

Art work matting in the form of one or more elongated overlay parts of a light weight, low density, easily cuttable matting material, such as foam polystyrene, having a bevelled edge and a layer of sheet decorative material, such as marbled paper, covering and bonded to the bevel edge and portions of the front and back surfaces of the overlay strip extending immediately adjacent the bevelled edge. The overlay parts can be cut into sections which are fitted together with mitered or butt joints to form a rectangular overlay having an opening corresponding to the desired display portion of the art work. When a window board having an opening generally coinciding with the overlay opening is placed over the overlay, only the angular surface of the bevelled edge covered with a decorative material is exposed, giving the appearance of a decorative fillet bordering the display portion of the art work.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to framing art work and the like and, more 
particularly, to framing art work with matting materials. 
2. Description of Prior Art 
Framing art work with matting materials typically involves the use of two 
pieces of mat board, a support or back board to which the art work is 
attached and a front or window board having an opening through which the 
viewable portion of the art work is displayed. In some cases, a decorative 
wood fillet bordering the display portion of the art work is used. Such a 
fillet usually is made from four pieces of material which are fitted and 
taped together and laid over the art work prior to placing the window 
board over the art work. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of the invention is to provide art work matting which can be 
formed into an overlay for placement between the art work and a window 
board to provide the appearance of a decorative fillet. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a method for making such art 
work matting. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a method for framing art 
work with mat boards to provide the appearance of a decorative fillet 
bordering the display portion of the art work. 
Other objects, aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent 
to those skilled in the art upon reviewing the following detailed 
description, the drawing and the appended claims. 
The invention provides art work matting for use to form an overlay which 
can be placed between art work and a window board to provide the 
appearance of a decorative fillet bordering the display portion of the art 
work. The matting includes one or more overlay parts of a light weight, 
low density, easily cuttable matting material, such as foam polystyrene, 
having a bevelled edge and a layer of sheet decorative material, such as 
marbled paper, covering and bonded to the bevelled edge and portions of 
the front and back surfaces of the overlay parts extending immediately 
adjacent the bevelled edge. The overlay parts are cut into sections which 
are fitted together to form a rectangular overlay having an opening 
corresponding to the desired display portion of the art work with the 
bevelled edge surrounding this opening and the angular surface thereof 
facing outwardly. 
The decorative material preferably is in sheet form and, in accordance with 
one embodiment of the invention, a double covered adhesive is applied to 
the back side of the sheet, an adhesive-backed sheet is cut into strips 
and a strip of decorative material, after the cover sheet is peeled off, 
is placed over and pressed against the bevelled edge and the portions of 
the front and back and surfaces of the overlay strip extending immediately 
adjacent the bevelled edge. 
For framing, the overlay is placed over art work supported on a support 
medium or back board and a window board, having an opening with a 
perimeter generally coinciding with the overlay opening at the front 
surface, is placed over the overlay. The back board, art work, overlay and 
window board, with or without glass, are installed in a frame in the usual 
manner.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a piece of art work ready for placement in 
a frame (not shown). The art work 10 is supported on a support medium or 
back mat board 12 and covered with an overlay 14 made from four overlay 
sections 16 cut from overlay parts 18 (FIG. 4) of the invention and a 
window mat board 20. 
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, each overlay part 18 (one show) includes an 
elongated strip 22 of art matting material having opposed front and back 
surfaces 24 and 26 and opposed edges 28 and 30 with the edge 30 being 
bevelled and a strip 32 of sheet decorative material extending over and 
bonded to the bevelled edge 30 and portions of the front surface 24 and 
the back surface 26 of the overlay strip 22 extending immediately adjacent 
the bevelled edge 30. The overlay strip 22 is made from a light weight, 
low density, easily cuttable matting material. Various commercially 
available art matting materials having these characteristics, preferably a 
blown or foam polystyrene type matting, can be used. For example, foam 
board, marketed by Creative Industries under the trademark AMERICORE for 
use as a backing material, is particularly suitable. The front and back 
surfaces 24 and 26 of the overlay strip 22 preferably are a layer of a 
paper, most preferably a clay-coated, white kraft paper, covering a core 
33 of foam polystyrene board. 
While the overlay strip 22 can have various thicknesses, widths and 
lengths, as a guide it can be about 3/16 inch thick, about 4 inches wide 
and about 32 inches long. 
As best shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b, the bevelled edge 30 preferably is cut 
with a suitable cutting tool at about 45.degree. and extends upwardly at 
an angle from the back surface 26 of the overlay strip 22 toward the other 
edge 28. When the overlay strip 22 is made from a foam polystyrene, the 
angular surface 34 of the bevelled edge 30 is quite porous and uneven. To 
promote good bonding of the decorative material, as best shown in FIG. 5c, 
the angular surface 34 of the bevelled edge 30 preferably is coated with a 
sealing material 36 which adheres to the polystyrene to provide a 
relatively flat bonding surface. Various suitable sealing materials can be 
used for this purpose. A starch-based composition marketed under the name 
Aleene's 2 in 1 Fabric Stiffener and Fabric Draping Solution has been 
found to be particularly effective because one coat can provide a suitable 
bonding surface. Other coating materials, such as acrylic paints, tend to 
be absorbed into the pores of the polystyrene. Consequently, several 
coatings may be required to provide a desirable bonding surface and, for 
that reason, such materials are less desirable. 
Various different suitable types of decorative sheet material can be used. 
Relatively thin sheets of plain or textured decorative paper and cloth are 
preferred. While the decorative material can be one solid color, it 
preferably is patterned to provide an enhanced aesthetic appeal. A 
particularly suitable decorative material is marbled paper of the type 
used in binding expensive books. 
The decorative material strip 32 preferably is bonded to the overlay strip 
22 with a suitable adhesive. In a preferred embodiment, an adhesive is 
applied to the back side of a sheet of decorative material in the form of 
a double-coated transfer tape including a polyester film coated on both 
sides with an acrylic adhesive 38 (FIG. 6a) and silicone-coated release 
paper 40 covering both sides of the adhesive 38. A suitably commercially 
available double coated tape is Polyken 126 marketed by the Polyken 
Division of The Kendall Company, Boston, Mass. This tape has a total 
thickness of about 3.5 mils and the adhesive is about 2 mils. 
To reduce production costs, such a tape can be laminated onto the back side 
of sheets of decorative material, after the release paper has been peeled 
off one side of the tape, and the resulting adhesive-backed sheet cut into 
strips 32 of the desired width. For example, a sheet of this type transfer 
tape can be laminated onto the back side of 20 inches by 25 inches sheet 
of marbled paper and the adhesive-backed sheet cut into strips 11/2 inches 
wide. 
A decorative material strip 32 is applied to an overlay strip after the 
angular surface 34 of the bevelled edge 30 has been coated with a sealing 
material. FIGS. 6a and 6b illustrate one technique for applying a 
decorative material strip 32 after the release paper 40 covering the 
adhesive 38 on the back side has been peeled off. One edge portion of the 
decorative material strip 32 is placed over and pressed against a portion 
of the top surface 24 of the overlay strip 22 extending immediately 
adjacent the bevelled edge 30 as shown in FIG. 6a. The decorative material 
strip 32 is then folded down over and pressed against the angular surface 
34 of the bevelled edge 30 and finally folded over and pressed against a 
portion of the back surface 26 of the overlay strip 32 extending 
immediately adjacent the bevelled edge 30 as shown in FIG. 6b. 
A larger portion of the decorative material strip 22 preferably is applied 
to the front surface 24 of the overlay strip 22 to insure that no 
uncovered part of the top surface 24 is exposed when framing is completed. 
For example, when the decorative material strips 32 are 11/2 inches wide 
and the overlay strip 22 is 3/16 inch thick, approximately 1 inch of the 
decorative material extends over the front surface 24 and approximately 
1/4 inch extends over the back surface 26. To reduce costs, a portion 42 
of one or both ends of each overlay part 18 is not covered with the 
decorative material. For example, when the overlay part 18 is 32 inches 
long and the decorative material strips 32 are 25 inches long, a 31/2 inch 
long portion 42 at each end of the overlay part 18 is uncovered. 
The overlay parts 18 usually are marketed in packets of four or more for 
use by professional art framers or do-it-yourself enthusiasts. For use, 
the overlay parts 18 are cut into four sections 16 (FIG. 2) which can be 
fitted together to form a rectangular overlay 14 having a rectangular 
opening 44 corresponding to the desired display portion of the art work 10 
being framed. The bevelled edge 30 defines the opening 44 with the angular 
surface 34 thereof facing outwardly. 
The opposite ends 46 of all four overlay sections 16 can be cut at a 
45.degree. miter as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7 to form mitered joints 
therebetween. Alternatively, as best shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the opposite 
ends 48 of two of the overlay sections 16a can be cut at a bevel which is 
reverse to that of the bevelled edge 30 for the other two sections 16b 
(one shown). The two thus-bevelled overlay sections 16a fit against the 
bevelled edges 30 of the two overlay sections 16b and form butt joints 
therebetween. Since the overlay strips 22 are made from a relatively low 
density, matting material, preferably a foam polystyrene, they can be 
conveniently cut into sections with a razor blade or an Exacto type knife, 
rather than requiring a mat cutter as is the case with higher density 
matting materials. Also, because of the pliable nature of foam 
polystyrene, the sections 16 can be fitted together to form a tight 
mitered or butt joints. 
After the sections 16 have been cut to form the desired joint, they are 
fitted and secured together, preferably with a suitable tape such as 
Scotch tape (not shown). While the tape can be applied to either the front 
surface 24 or the back surface 26 of the overlay parts 18, it preferably 
should be applied to both surfaces. 
After an overlay 14 has been assembled as described above, it is placed 
over the art work 10 with the back surface 26 facing the art work 10 and 
positioned so that the overlay opening 44 coincides with the desired 
display portion of the art work 10. 
The window board 20 is made from a suitable mat board by cutting therein an 
opening 52 having a perimeter generally coinciding with the overlay 
opening 44 at the front surface 24. The perimeter of the window board 
opening 52 can be the same as the overlay opening 44 at the front surface 
24 so that only the bevelled edge 30 of the overlay 14 is exposed. 
However, if desired, the perimeter of the window board opening 52 can be 
slightly larger so that both the bevelled edge 30 and a small portion of 
the decorative material covering the front surface 24 of the overlay 18 is 
exposed. The back board, art work, overlay and window board are placed in 
a frame, with or without glass, in the usual manner. 
The decorative material does not have to be non-acidic for many 
applications. When overlays employing an acidic decorative material are 
used with more expensive art work, a non-acidic mat board can be used 
between the art work 10 and the overlay 14. Alternatively, a non-acidic 
decorative material can be used. 
From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain 
the essential characteristics of the invention and, without departing from 
the spirit and scope thereof, make various changes and modifications to 
adapt it to various usages.