Art in the kitchen: Angelic blonde with ginger tabby n sunflowers in vintage Burwood frame

There was a time when sunflower posters, prints and paintings, pillows and paraphernalia adorned my daughter’s room. It wasn’t recently, but a good amount of the wall art has survived mixed in with the rest of my collection. The time has come to clean the sunflower pieces, say thanks for the beauty you brought into our home and move them out to their next happy recipient.

This large piece is special for two reasons. The first is the painting that was in it of the beautiful, angelic-looking female with the cat and sunflowers has no single focal point. Sadly, it was painted on fabric adhered to a piece of cardboard by glue, and that many years ago, and was stained and warped when we got it at a garage sale. It’s beyond salvage now. I don’t know if it the painted artwork began as a crafting kit or if it was original. It’s unsigned. I’ve enjoyed it in multiple apartments.

The second reason it’s special (and in the kitchen momentarily) is the frame, which appears to be some type of wicker but is not. It is dated and was manufactured in 1976 by Burwood Products Company of Michigan, maker of clocks and wall decor. They mixed wood pulp with other ingredients including flour in some cases to create a substance which could be molded or extruded as part of a process to create various decorative products for the home. Most appear to have involved crafting of some sort.

Obviously the Burwood frame has survived the painting. I’ve discovered it’s not averse to soap, water and a toothbrush on my kitchen table. I was scrubbing and admiring the innovation. Made in America, and now a vintage, molded frame, looking like wicker but washable, durable and long-lasting, will be off to a new home, to be washed in somebody else’s kitchen next time.

(This blogger published many details about Burwood and other faux wood decor manufacturers at https://thriftyblancobros.wordpress.com/2014/02/23/vintage-wall-decor-syroco-dart-burwood-homco-sexton/comment-page-1/ Burwood was purchased in 1997 by another American manufacturer of similar decorative items.)