Page Dazzle: Patent Leaf Gilding

Description

Gold brings a feeling of magic to calligraphic works – from historic manuscripts to the most contemporary work. You will learn the essentials to successfully laying patent gold leaf, from the finest lines to brilliant and patterned larger areas. This workshop may be a rich and thorough introduction to laying patent gold leaf or a chance for you to revisit the process of laying gold leaf successfully, and texturing it in a variety of ways. Using thinned PVA as the base medium, we use an array of tools and experiment with various papers (and/or (calf) vellum, to create a series of samples and a decorated letter or small piece of your choice. This technique is accessible, beginning with finished samples in the first few hours of day one.

The range of applications and effects may surprise you: tools as fine as your finest pointed brush or nib, to the broadest “hog hair” brush on a variety of papers. We create flat (thin) leafed designs in various colors of gold leaf and palladium leaf, on paper, and burnish (to create a brilliant shine) or texture our designs with various papers, cloth and thin metal or plastics to create dimension with debossing or goffering.

Supplies

A pdf with thorough instructions is provided to students.
• Various tools to use with polymer fluid (watery PVA):
– pointed pens (various shapes and sizes to try – (one or two)
– pointed and broad brushes with nylon bristles
– ruling pen or folded pen
• water jars – one large and one small, and pipette
• clean sharp scissors (Nevalon scissors are extraordinary: small, 135 and 170mm and larger, 210 and 240 mm, from Talas online)
• bone folder, for burnishing (not Teflon) with broad (flat-is edge, if possible), that is softened and very smooth; you can easily shape the bone with sand paper, progressively finer, until it is smooth and polished.
• Basics: ruler, 2H or 3H pencil and plastic eraser, cutting tool (break-off knife or Exacto)
• unusual “tools” : branch, pod, root, veneer, bamboo, brush, etc to make interesting marks
• PVA: 4 oz or larger if you need it for other things (Jade 403, from John Neal and others; or Lineco “Books by Hand”) – one or the other are often available in art stores
• container(s) with screw-on lid,for PVA gilding medium, for use with your largest tool you have (recycled if you have it
• small nylon or plastic mixing brush for gilding medium (small kids’ brushes – the colored-handle plastic ones are perfect)
• papers you use in your work that you would like to try 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

simple design to gild (letters or . . . ?), including fine and broader areas to gild, on a sheet of layout paper
• graphite sheet to transfer your design, or you can make one from layout/sketch paper, rubbing a 2 or HB pencil, large enough to fit and transfer your design (rub the graphite well with a paper towel, to take off loose graphite)
• 12 x 12” piece of plate glass, or larger, with sanded edges (home / commercial glass places often have scrap or mis-cut pieces).
You can also purchase a highly polished STONE tile, at DIY stores – not ceramic or other materials
The page Dazzle packet ($38. + shipping) includes:
• prepared sheets (pre-painted with medium, for you to gild immediately)
• 8” x 10” papers: Arches Text Wove, MBM, HP watercolor, Somerset Book
• 8 different types of patent gold:
yellows, “Moon gold”, champagne and palladium (1 sheet of each, labelled)•
• burnishing /texturing materials: papers, plastic, cloth, screen, etc.
• decorative paper folder to enclose your samples
Please specify if you would like to order additional leaves of gold, which I can ship with the packet.

Contact me with questions, and write again if you don’t get a reply in 24 hours.

Suzanne Moore

Click on photo to visit biography page