When ALDEN WILLIAMS KRESENA ’14 studied sculpture at TCU, she learned complementary skills in woodworking so she could make her own frames and pedestals.

As she grew in experience, graduate students began asking her to make frames for their artwork. “I would mill them out and then cut my glass and my backing board,” Kresena said, “and hinge [attach] the artwork.”

After graduation, Cameron Schoepp, her mentor and a professor of art, forwarded a lead on a job: William Campbell Contemporary Art needed a framer. Kresena worked for the Fort Worth art gallery for 10 years, framing and sometimes installing works. She enjoyed tackling challenges, like when a client brought in a free-edge work painted on vinyl for framing.

Alden Williams Kresena specialized in sculpture as an undergraduate at TCU. Courtesy of Alden Kresena

Kresena reached out to a local conservator — an expert in preserving and restoring artwork — in her quest to secure the vinyl work to a backing board without damaging the art.

Today, in Kresena’s new role as assistant preparator at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, she works with conservators daily. Kresena was drawn to the museum, in part, for its in-house framing — a task she said many museums outsource.

While an employee in the museum’s woodshop creates the frames, Kresena is on the team that handles the glass, mat, hinging and mounting of artwork following strict standards. Kresena continues to evolve her skills, keeping up with artists as they explore new media.

“How a frame enhances an artwork … how the artwork goes on the wall, and then how all these artworks correspond and speak to each other — it’s a lot of layers,” she said. “I went to the Amon Carter and saw quite a few of their exhibitions. And so it’s cool now being on the other side of making these shows happen.”