Cutting Your Own Mats and Mounting Works on Paper

I really enjoy cutting my own mats if I need only one or two reasonably small ones.

Here is an excellent demo by artist Ginny Piech Street showing how she uses a Logan Mat Cutter. This setup is a step above what I use. Mine is simply a little hand held cutter, and I measure by hand and make my cuts using a simple straight edge. I also like that she uses as an example a small piece of art with a very generous mat border.

For additional explanation with photos and diagrams and a slightly different setup, here is a great article. I really like the tools outlined in this article, and would get this if I were in need of more mats than I’m currently making.

Cutting your own mats is more economical in some cases (but not all!) and the skill comes in handy when you want a mat with a non-standard opening, or even perhaps with multiple openings. If you know in advance that you want a quantity of custom mats to fit a specific size of artwork, you can order them precut and very reasonably from several sources online. I have ordered mine from Redimat where I can also get the poly bags, backing boards, and other framing supplies.

If you’d like to see the proper way to mount and mat your artwork to prevent damage to the art, watch this short but elegantly simple video.