24kt Water Gilded Chair


Newsletter for the Gilding Arts
 

CHARLES DOUGLAS
GILDING STUDIO
Seattle, WA
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TopJanuary 18, 2010
Gold Leaf Gilding Demonstration!
23k Oil Gilded Console Saturday, February 6 at Daniel Smith Fine Artist's Materials in Bellevue, WA...

Thank you to those of you who made it out this past weekend for the gilding Demo at Daniel Smith's Fine Art Store in Seattle. It was great meeting you and hope I was of some help to you with your questions.

I also welcome you to the Gilding Arts Newsletter which is published monthly and designed specifically for interested students. Feel free to email your questions or thoughts or ideas! Also, you may wish to visit my gilding blog at www.gildingstudio.blogspot.com.

Also, make note of the next free demo in February where I'll be demonstrating glass gilding for creating gilded mirrors. After that will be the intensive, hands-on classes at Seattle's Convention Center. (The water gilding workshop also includes a class tour of the gilded frame collection at the Seattle Art Museum).

Best wishes for the New Year and as you explore your creative paths!

~Charles Douglas

23k Oil Gilded Console

Saturday, February 6, 2010: Daniel Smith (Map)
15112 N.E. 24th Street
Bellevue, WA 98052
11:00 a.m. and 1:45 p.m.



ASK the Gilder...
23k Water Gilded FrameA New Column for Publishing Answers to some of your most pressing Questions.


Q. Does gold leaf need to be sealed for protection, and if so, what is the best clearcoat to use? ~Seattle

A. The short answer is that gold leaf 22kt and above does not need to be protected against oxidization (23k for sea-destined yachts), whether it is water gilded or oil gilded. When we seek to protect leaf we are actually aiming to inhibit the tarnishing of the silver or copper present in leaf that is less than 24kt. Any leaf less than 24kt is combined with either or both silver or copper to alter its shade. 22 and 23k leaf is also a little easier to handle than 24kt due to gold's extreme malleability.

Another element of protection is for the handling of the gilded object. Water gilded surfaces can be stained from the oils of hands and from any drop of moisture. That said, some old water gilded picture frames have survived intact for many years without surface protection.

The use of a protective clearcoat is also useful when antiquing a gilded object as it helps keep antiquing materials from coming into direct contact with the gold leaf, making the finish potentially reversible.

Any varnish can be used over gilding, although with the oil gilding method the clearcoat must be compatible with the underlying oil size used under the gold leaf. As an example, lacquer interacts with oil size and will ruin an oil gilded finish unless an isolating layer is used to separate the oil gilding from being in direct contact with the lacquer. It also needs to be pointed out that clearcoating gold leaf does tend to alter its tonal quality, so the proper choice should be made before coating the gold.

The protective coating I use most often is shellac. It has a short shelf life so I make my own from shellac flakes and ethyl alcohol. This way I am using the freshest material for my customers and my choice of blonde dewaxed shellac
does not contain wax which could limit the protective qualities needed for brass leaf or the lower karats of gold leaf.

Shellac lends a warm glow to leaf and can subdue the brilliancy of water gilded gold which is often desirable with many gilded finish treatments. The are many other colors and forms of shellac including ruby, lemon, and orange; button shellac; garnet shellac. Each has its own color to widen the gilder's palette.
 

Need help with a gilding question? Send it to [email protected].  Answers may be published in a future issue of the Gilding Arts Newsletter.

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Gilding: Applying Genuine Gold Leaf

Clay Bole on FramePart II Coming later this month!






Gold Leaf Gilding
Workshops

2010 Schedule
Gilding_Class

23k Oil Gilded Console

3-Day Workshop:
Traditional Water Gilding 
March 5, 6, 7,
2010

An intensive hands-on class that will take you through each step of this ancient craft, from preparing gesso and clay bole grounds to laying
and burnishing genuine 23k gold leaf.

Register to Reserve Your Space
 for the
Water Gilding Workshop!
Payments

(Click PayPal Logo)
~
New!
1-Day Workshop:
Introduction to
Gold Leaf Gilding 
April 10,
2010
Spend the day getting acquainted with a variety of methods of gold leaf gilding for use on wood, glass, metal, and stone. Hands-on demonstrations and experimentation with traditional water gilding, mordant gilding/oil gilding, and glass gilding.


Register to Reserve Your Space
for the Introduction to
Gold Leaf Gilding
Workshop!

Payments
(Click PayPal Logo)
~

Washington State

Convention and Trade Center

SEATTLE, WA




gilding class
Water Gilding Class 
Cornish College of the Arts

Seattle, WA


To Register by Mail: Click Here to download the Registration Form (PDF).

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For more information visit
www.gildingstudio.com