Friday, October 8, 2010

Photo "Tile' Wall Art

Late last week I teased with a picture, promising a reveal as to what I had done with it. I considered just blowing it up, but since that could be expensive and also just too simple, I decided to split it into individual 4x6" photos and hang a 'tile' art piece on the wall in our dining area:

Photo Tile Wall Art
Curious to see the work-in-progress? I had the original photo (which I took) and then split it into 36 parts in photoshop, giving me this:
Photo Tile - Pieces
I then had the 36 pictures developed at my local drug store and bought a bunch of Ikea Clips frames (at $0.99 for 4, such a steal!) - I wanted the frames to be almost invisible and visually disappear, so I knew these would perfectly do the trick. Then I sat down in front of some trashy reality tv (not required, but helps the time go by!) and put my pictures into the frames. I carefully labeled each one of the 36 pictures with the row (1-6) and column number (1-6) where it belonged - each assembled frame ended up with a post-it note labeled something like "2,3" (2nd row, 3rd column).
Photo Tile- Work in Progress
Before I could hang the (many) frames, I had to determine where each one would go. I gathered my supplies: painters tape (I used the width to measure the gaps between frames), my laser level (invaluable for this project), a measuring tape, and a hammer and nails. I determined where the middle-top of the whole thing would go and then measured from there.
Photo Tile- Work in Progress
I used the paper that came in the frames as a measuring guide and did a row at a time. As I comleted marking off each row, I hung the frames for each row to determine where the nail would go - the clips weren't always perfectly centered, so I could ensure that the nail was in the right spot to make it hang straight. I then took down the frames until everything was marked and all nails in the wall. Then... almost done! Take down all the tape and hang the frames, and it's complete!
Photo Tile on the Wall
Photo Tile Wall Art

3 comments:

Lindsay Hosanna said...

This is awesome! Seriously great job! :)

Nicole said...

Thanks, Lindsay! I may be a little nuts for measuring out and hanging 36 frames, but am so happy with how it turned out. :)

StarletStarlet said...

That is such a great idea and fabulous execution!

You totally inspired me!