When it comes to magic, most of us have to see it with our own eyes in order to believe it. It’s no different with the magic that creators Paul Monfredo and Nancy McCormick—known simply as Monfredo / McCormick around these parts—spin in their side-by-side studios on Mount Desert Island. Their collaborative process developed over a span of 35 years and involves a mélange of modalities and materials drawn from the ancients and reinterpreted by modern makers. Together Nancy and Paul craft heirloom-quality, decoratively illustrated and gilded picture frames and mirrors that indeed reflect nothing less than magic to the beholder. The thin gold leaf applied painstakingly by Paul to each frame catches light and movement in the room in a way that brings to mind a castle’s ancient corridors, candlelight reflecting shimmers and shadows on the wall.
If this sounds like something out of a fairytale, you’re not wrong. Nancy, an abstract painter and the more whimsical of the two, draws her illustrative style for these works from Grimms’ fairytales themselves— mixed, of course, with inspiration from their surrounds on the rocky Maine coast.
The magic begins in Paul’s studio, however, where smoothly rendered wooden frames hang from the rafters while “the bench of all benches” takes center stage. Paul, a woodworker for over 40 years, is driven by outcomes. He chooses his materials carefully, pulling from a chorus of woods, all of which he has milled especially for these works: mahogany, cherry, or maple for the base and basswood for the gilded edges. He covers each one in handmade gesso derived from a combination of animal skin glue and, “whiting,” which he informs me is essentially, “ground up seashells.” At this point the work gets passed to Nancy, but I do ask Paul how he got into making frames (and the gesso!), to which he replies, a twinkle in his eye: “Everybody’s got to do something.” As I suspected, magicians never reveal all of their secrets.
Up in Nancy’s treehouse-like studio she applies “egg tempera”—another recipe from the ancients made by mixing pigment with egg yolks of all things—in painstaking layers to the gessoed frames, creating areas of opaque but vividly-colored tableaus. She also paints over portions of goldleaf, a technique that allows illustrations to shine and reflect the light in a way that makes them feel almost alive.
While gorgeous in photos, Monfredo / McCormick’s works really come alive when you encounter them in person. You can find recent work for sale on their website—each piece ranging in price from $2,000-$12,000— or by visiting the artists’ studios yourself on MDI. Either way, consider yourself enchanted if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on one of these unique works: it will become an instant family heirloom, a highlight of the home passed down through family lore and reflecting the people and moments that matter most. ▪
Artist sourcing for this Decor Maine Craftsmanship Profile was provided by the Maine Crafts Association.
