Thursday, April 18, 2013

Another Panel for an Antique Mirror

I found a great mirror frame in original finish. It had stenciling on the divider, and striping on the balusters, something I rarely, if ever had seen before. Unfortunately, it came with an inappropriate replacement panel that was an attempt at simulating eglomise, and was probably inspired by a clock tablet, rather than a mirror panel.

Not having the original, I turned to my collection of patterns and originals, and found an original I picked up at an HSEAD member's estate sale. I made two versions, both adaptations - one with a yellow background closer to the original, and one with red, and chose the one with red background to the stenciling for this mirror.








Monday, April 8, 2013

Using Gesso with Reverse Glass



I had been meaning to try the use of gesso as a background for eglomise (gold leaf on glass) after someone asked me about it, and I read about it in Frances Federer's new book. Someone asked me about replicating a panel from an old mirror, and although I turned down the job, I had already prepped the design, and so I used it for a demonstration at an artist guild meeting. After finishing, I finished the back with gesso, rather than white paint. So, now I have a sample to keep on hand, and monitor to see if there are any longer term issues.