In the Glow of Gouache

Description

Egg glair will add versatility to the beauty and richness of gouache on paper. Glair adds additional adhesion to gouache, and allows layering of colors as you letter or paint, as well as wear-resistance for book artists. You can successfully use the tiniest nib or the gutsy-est brush, and everything in between. You will paint and draw with gouache and apply color to a design of your choice. Open to all makers and artists interested in the possibilities of gouache on paper.

Supplies

• Ruler
• 2H or 3H pencil and plastic eraser
• water jars – one large and two small ones (recycled is great)
• two pipettes (plastic is fine)
• palette for gouache (Dr. Martin’s plastic palette has deep 30 wells, that work well with pen and brush), but use what you have Inexpensive (plastic).
• small mixing brushes (colored plastic handles, made for kids are perfect)
• fine mist spray bottle (recycled and clean is great)
• pen holder(s) and nibs – a selection of your favorite broad and pointed ones
• nylon brushes – painted and broad – for use with gouache: (sets from art/hobby stores are fine, and are inexpensive, and a wedge or “angle” brush 3/8” or smaller a few tubes of good quality gouache – not “Acryl Gouache”, please
• interesting mark-making tools, twigs, etc.
• papers you use in your work, with fluid medium, that you would like to try
(Arches Text Wove, MBM, watercolor sheets. sized handmade papers, etc.
Note: well sized papers will resist absorption and give you best results.
To TEST: transfer a bit of saliva with your fingertip onto the sheet, and it should stay a fluid “pillow”, drying slowly (if your drop of saliva sinks in quickly, the paper is not well enough sized)
• A simple design to paint (letters or …?), including fine and broader areas to paint, lightly drawn onto good paper to make a graphite sheet to transfer your design, you can use a sheet of layout/sketch/marker paper, rubbing a 2 or HB pencil, in an area large enough to fit and transfer your design (rub the graphite well with a paper towel, to take off loose graphite and leave enough to transfer onto your good paper)
• To prepare glair before class you will need:
• an egg, white separated from the yolk,
• glass bowl (not plastic) and
• an egg beater
• an open container to store glair (a small glass container is nice), and one of the pipettes
Glair -making instructions
…will be sent and you can watch a demo online before the conference.  a link will be sent to students enrolled in this Workshop.
OPTIONAL: ONLY if you have them (we may not use them in class):
• pointed or broad brushes, in dramatically different sizes
• Chinese White (tube) watercolor and/or white gouache

Suzanne Moore

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