Gilding In Owen Sound
Ontario
Gilding Classes
Gold Leaf Restoration Gilding For Fine Artists Glass Gilding/Églomisé
A Much Anticipated Return To Ontario
Each of the towns and cities where I have taught gilding have their own flavor and specialness from meandering the bookshops of San Francisco to the flavorful Indian Restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky where along the rural countryside there’s a landscape of grasslands and horses and always wonderful people and students in each place. Two locations, however, stand out for personal reasons - New York City and Owen Sound, Ontario.
These two areas, one among the most bustling cities in the world and the other, a comfortably quaint village are in most ways worlds apart. But for me, New York in the end is home, born and raised and where I began my long gilding career in my early years as a member of the Visual Merchandising Department at Saks Fifth Avenue forty years ago before moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1988. So my visits allow me to both visit the city and people while teaching students who come from down the block, all over the United States, and as far away as Hong Kong, The Philippines, and South Africa.
On the other end is Owen Sound, this quintessential small Town at the northernmost part of Ontario, Canada. It was in Tara, a small Village in Owen Sound where my maternal grandfather came from and who I was named after. My grandfather also did some gilding and had worked on both the original Roxy Theatre and Radio City Music Hall in the 1930’s in New York. The odd thing is that I never knew this until I had already been gilding for 17 years when I learned this bit of family history.
The other meaningful coincidence here is that I would eventually meet an Art Conservator, Amber Harwood whose business Georgian Bay Conservation is located in Owen Sound. As life would have it, Amber invited me to teach at her studio which I did in 2019. As small as the area is, the classes sold out. It was such a wonderful experience for us all that we decided to do it again. And then the Pandemic hit.
Two and a half years later we have now set the return date to beautiful Ontario and looking forward to meeting all of you who can make it for the first week of May, 2023!
Class Summary
What we have in store are three separate gilding classes:
An Introduction to Gold Leaf Restoration focuses on Traditional Water Gilding and Mould Casting for Ornament repair.
Students will learn a simple technique of creating a non-toxic silicone mould and a cast in hydrocal for ornament replacement. Students take part in exercises to become acquainted with traditional water gilding, gesso and clay bole preparation, handling genuine 23k gold leaf, essential toning techniques, and blending newly laid gold leaf into an existing gilded Finish. Also Included in this informative 3 day Intensive on gilding restoration is a demomstration of a simple approach to gilding picture frame mat beveled edges as a complement to gilded frames.
Gilding for Works of Art is a one day Study for Fine Artists designed to meet the needs of the artist who is looking for ways to incorporate gilding into their own works of art on canvas, paper, and panels. Students learn to lay a gold ground in both Aluminum Leaf for a bright silver colored appearance and genuine 23k gold leaf using a water-based acrylic emulsion as a mordant. Application of MSA varnish is demonstrated as a protective layer as well as GAC as an isolation coat for acrylics with suggestions on oils.
Other ancient and contemporary mordants inluding glair, gum ammoniac, garlic juice, urushi lacquer, Kölner Instacoll and Miniatum Ink are also discussed with hands-on exploration of a selection of these uniquely interesting adhesives for gold leaf.
Glass Gilding: An Introduction to Verre Églomisé is a one day Course of Study where students learn to properly prepare the glass for gilding, prepare a gelatin in water size (adhesive), and gild the back of the glass in 6k white gold leaf. When dry, a design is etched with a bamboo stick through the now bright white gold leaf and backed up with enamel paint which can then be viewed from the front of the glass.
This method, known as glass gilding or reverse glass gilding, is the technique used in the art of Verre Églomisé. (For further reading on this beautiful artform read the Post on Verre Églomisé which will take you deeper into the origins of this ancient method from the Early Romans).
Class Dates Confirmed for Owen Sound: May 3-7, 2023!
Dates for the Return to Owen Sound Gilding Classes are now confirmed for May 3-7, 2023. Registration is now available on the Book A Class Registration Page or follow these individual Links:
Register early as some seats are already registered for and there is strong interest in the classes. Students come from a variety of places, from Vancouver and the US to Nova Scotia and Toronto. All are Welcome and Open to all levels (Materials Included in Tuition) .
While waiting feel free to pop over to the Gilding Class and Information Page where you’ll find more about the evolution of the various gilding classes offered.
See you in Owen Sound!