Art Show Matting Question

*nods*

What most art professionals will tell you is that you can sometimes get away with colored mats (or mounts, if that's you preference--the difference is all in the order of the layers) if your work is black and white, but that in general, particularly for colored artwork, black or white mats are more traditional. Basically, you want a color that's not going to distract you from the art, but not blend into the art, either. If your art has a whitish background, i'd probably go black. has a blackish background, i'd probably go white. Otherwise, i'd try laying backgrounds of different colors next to it and see what seems to work best.

There is a special kind of substance called matboard that is the best to use for this purpose--it's kind of like a very thin layer of stuff not unlike styrofoam with heavy paper backing it on both sides. You can use plain ol' posterboard for it, and some do; however, i don't recommend it, for the same reason that i don't recommend using pre-stretched fredrich(sp) canvases, if you're a painter--it tends to make your work look less professional, like you don't care much about it. Posterboard just has less weight to it, so it tends to flip around a little more in the presence of any sort of breeze, and it can warp more readily, so the image doesn't sit flat on the wall.

Basically, as i'm sure you've guessed, you're cutting something like a very thick frame. So it should cover your work right to the edge of where you want the image to begin(allowing some edge for securing, of course) and extend out about 2-3 inches beyond, to give the image some visual weight and to help protect it from damage. If you can keep the width of the mat pretty constant all the way around, that's really best. The mat will also cover the ragged edges, if there are any.

The way i was taught to cut a mat is this:
--Measure your artwork length and width, out to the edge of what you want someone to be able to see. Write this down.
--Add 5 inches to the length and the width. That's the size of the outside of the mat. Using a ruler, measure this out several times on the back of the matboard, draw in the lines with a ruler and a pencil, and very carefully cut the mat out.
--still on the back of the mat, mark the space out in both directions--2 1/2 inches, the length or width of the piece, and 2 1/2 inches. Mark it several times to make sure you've got it measured correctly, then use a ruler to draw in the lines marking the center of the mat. Very carefully cut the center out.
--Flip the mat right side up, then lay it on top of your art. adjust it until you've got the art set under the frame exactly as you want it, then carefully flip both art and mat over together. tape it down lightly with masking tape at first, and flip it over to make sure the art didn't shift, before you use any heavier tape. You might even choose not to use heavier tape at all. Not that if your art is so thin that the tape shows through, you may need to cut a square of something else, cheap cardboard, say, to help provide a little backing. If you do, cut it to match the outer edge of the mat.

Remember to measure 3 times (to hell with twice) and cut once, find a really solid flat table to work on, put all of your pencil marks for cutting on the back, and use a straightedge to make sure everything comes out really crisp.

Any art or framing store is likely to have matboard in at least a few colors, and they'll probably also have the other tools you'd need to cut your own mats--good quality ruler, exacto knife, pencil, cutting mat (so you don't slice up the table). If you go to the right place, some will also dispense wisdom for free, if you ask nicely; the best ones are often staffed by artists and art students, who are often happy to help out a peer. Basically, i'd go into an art store where you like the staff and explain that you're heading to an art auction and you've decided to cut your own mats for your work, but it's your first time doing it and you'd really appreciate any wisdom they have to offer.

Hope that helps.