Waiting

Thought I'd drop a few lines while I'm waiting for a delivery. While the Christmas rush for picture framing was slow getting started, I'm in the peak of the crunch as I write this. Why do I have time to write my blog if I'm in a crunch? Well....I'm glad you asked. I was supposed to get a delivery yesterday for the final fifteen or so jobs I have yet to finish for Christmas. The driver, from Denver, called yesterday afternoon to say he was broke down near Vail and wouldn't be able to make it here until late today (Friday) or probably tomorrow (Saturday). Not his fault...stuff happens. In the meantime, I'm answering calls on the phone from people wanting to know if their work is done. I try to explain what happened and so far everyone has expressed frustrarion but understanding also. I'll get it all done just as soon as I can, knowing I'll have to work through the weekend and probably wrap it up Monday Chrismas Eve.

Every Christmas, for 26 years, I've managed to get it all done, one way or another, and I will this year also. I will however, take some time off the week between Christmas and New Years...but...then again maybe not.

Burnished

I'm still working on the three frames I showed you in the last post. After the gold is "set up" or "cured" on the frames, it is time to begin the burnishing. In this photo, just about where the glare spot is, you can see on the narrow left surface where the sheen of the burnish,  on the lower half, meets the flat matte look of the unburnished gold on the top half. The flat panel to the right will be left unburnished. By alternating a burnish and matte suface one can achieve a look of interest and dimension.

These are a few of the tools used to burnish gold with. These happen to be polished agate stones attached to wooden handles. In days of yore, bone and or antler points were used.

Here are the three frames that have been burnished and rubbed lightly with pumice to allow the under color of the bole to appear and further influence the look of the gold. Next step is to add a protective coat of shellac.

These frames are going to be reproductions of old frames. I want them to look like they have been around for a hundred years or so. After the shellac coating I will add a lightly colored patina and do some antiquing to the frames. I'll post the finished results when I get them done.

As a side note, I was interviewed yesterday by WATCH Publications of Telluride, CO. for an upcoming article in one of their magazines. The focus of the article will be on me as a gilder, both of gold on frames and gold on glass. That'll be some great exposure.

Laying a Little Gold

Here are some frames that I'm in the middle of gilding for a client. The two with gold on them have just been gilded and are in their raw state. The other one is ready to gild. It has a red bole with a dark chocolate panel and highlights on the raised portions of the profile. "Bole" is a clay base that was mixed and applied by hand. After the gold has been burnished to achieve a sheen it will then be rubbed a bit with some pumice. The gold is VERY thin and just a little rub will bring out the color of the bole thereby giving a color influence to the gold.

This photo shows the frame in the process of being gilded. You can see how the gilding goes in sections. The liquid is a wetting agent that is applied, activating the adhesive properties of the clay bole. This allows the gold to "stick" to the clay.

These are three of the frames for this order. They are in their raw gilded state. I'm waiting for them to dry and cure. Next step is to burnish the gold with an agate stone stone that has been polished so it is very smooth. The process of burnishing will set the gold in the clay and yield a high sheen to it. I'll follow up with that in the next post. Although the gold used here is 23kt. the lighting I photographed these frames under makes the gold look more like 18kt.