Frame hanging 101

Picture hanging isn’t so much an art as it is a pain in the rear. No matter how much thought goes into the process it is either hung too high, too low, a little to the left, or far too much to the right. The amount of time and energy that goes into the process does not determine the perfection of the final position. Lord help me if there is more than one picture to rest in the same space. To blindly whack at a nail with ones eyes closed inevitably produces a result closer to the desired one. To add to the nonsense, the presence of plaster walls enhances the level of fun: one never knows if it will hold up at the point of entry. Various episodes have seen the use of rulers, measuring tapes, impromptu diagrams made of masking tape, levels, pencils, etc. My husband recently made fun of the procedure used to hang frames in his workplace. While there is some silliness behind the reason so much fuss goes into it, I am willing to bet that all of those pictures are a tribute to masterful hanging. I really don’t care if I look like a fool and have to hang from a trapeze in order to do it right. Perhaps the community college should add this to their list of non-credit courses: right in there with cake decorating and computer applications.