Constructing art display pedestals

In a post last week, I showed you a trip to Lowe's to get tops for art display pedestals. The next step was to put them together.


I had the medium density fiberboard (MDF) cut into squares of 14 by 14 inches and 12 by 12 inches. I managed to get a total of 21 squares out of a 4 foot by 9 foot sheet.










I centered a 12 inch by 12 inch square on a 14 inch by 14 inch square. I glued it down with wood glue and let it sit for 24 hours.










While those were drying, I started working on the pedestal base.


I ordered a stack of 10 cardboard boxes, double walled thickness, 12 inches by 12 inches by 48 inches. It almost cost as much to ship them as it cost for the boxes.

















I had selected a few different heights that I wanted to give the display some visual interest. This particular box, I marked 40 inches from the bottom all the way around.










I then used my handy-dandy "as seen on TV ginsu knife" to cut the box. (Yes, that's me in the do-rag at left. I'm either wearing one of those of a baseball cap.)










Voila! Cardboard pedestals with hard tops! The top piece is the 14 by 14 and 12 by 12 combo. A 12 inch by 12 inch piece of MDF is in the inside bottom of the box to help keep it steady. I figured I made 7 for the cost of buying 2 already made.

They're still not done though. I need to make covers and have attachments for glass for the jewelry display pieces.

Art gallery display pedestals

One of the things I'm going to need in a couple of weeks is counter height display pedestals. I'm making my own floor standing pedestal displays made from cardboard and medium density fiberboard (MDF). I'm not necessarily a do-it-yourselfer, but I weigh the cost versus the time. In this case, I figured I could get 4 to 6 pedestals for the price of buying one if I did it myself.

My research led to the websites of several large home improvement stores. I found the MDF I wanted and it came in a 4 foot by 9 foot size. "Great!" I thought to myself. That will definitely be enough. Got my wood working buddy to agree to cut it to size for me, so off I went to Lowe's.


When I got there, I asked for help finding the said 4 foot by 9 foot MDF. As the very nice men at Lowe's took me there, I had this, "Oh my God, what was I thinking moment". How the heck did I think I was going to get this home in my vehicle???? (Notice said piece of MDF in the picture. It's huge!)

I looked at the two Lowe's guys and asked, "Can you guys cut this?" In a rather confident, respectful tone, one of them answered, "Ma'am, we're Lowes."

Yeah, I should have know they could do it.






So the very nice sales associates at Lowe's cut up my MDF (and thought I was a whack job for taking pictures too).













In the end, I have enough pieces to do 6 pedestals. Next on the to do list for this project is to cut the cardboard.

Stay tuned for the next part of the pedestal making.

A preview of the Cow Art and More art show booth

Designing a "portable" art gallery space is no easy task. I need something that can travel in a vehicle, set up easily, and not cost a fortune. I found a very helpful program, Google SketchUp, which allowed me to create three dimensional images of what I'm trying to design. Very cool! It actually has been a big help in trying to help me visualize what I can and can't do.

So before I show you what I've designed, let me share with you what I'm trying to accomplish:

• The booth needs to flow well and have ample room to display different types of two and three dimensional art.
  
• I want to give the booth a "gallery feel", which means good lighting and somewhere between a tidy and sophisticated atmosphere.
• This is for an indoor booth display 10 feet wide by 10 feet deep.

This is a screen shot of the booth. There is a table with a shelf riser, pedestal displays, and a couple of wire racks (the black and silver poles at opposite corners).









The floor is wood grain patterned mats and there will be lights hanging overhead.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be walking you through all the components and how they're made.