Over the years, I have purchased art which now constitutes a ‘collection’. I appreciate things which are well-crafted, regardless of the medium. Clear line, clear colors, humor. I value art made by people who allow themselves to be seen in their creations. This means their work is not a copy of something else or art that is made to fit neatly into someone else’s predetermined ‘art’ box. I like artists who use their medium to express ideas or who are interested in putting their expressive stamp on a landscape or scene. Many of the pieces that I have collected have been made by artists who have subsequently become friends or who I know as a consequence of having purchased their art.

The first painting I bought was by a woman named Elaine Gifford. This small mixed-media piece is built around a hand-colored map and rubber stamped images of Indians. I found this image very evocative and comforting. It has traveled with me to my many homes, both permanent and temporary over the last 30 years. Even looking at it today, I get a sense of joyfulness and delight that never fades. I followed the career of Elaine and bought one other piece of hers but it was this first piece that I have always chosen to accompany me.

I read a story when I was a teenager about Helene de Rothschild and her favorite painting. When she traveled for any length of time or moved from house to house, she would remove this painting from its frame and carry it with her in an oversized magazine. The painting in question was a small Pierre Bonnard oil. (Bonnard was one of my favorite painters even then, He was the subject of the first monograph I bought in 1968 in a used book store). The mention of Bonnard drew me in. The owner was so comfortable with this precious object and so enamored of it that she wanted it with her. This spoke volumes to me about the intimate relationship one could have with a piece of art. That art should not be treated as a commodity, kept in vaults or airless, lifeless rooms, but enjoyed.

The art that I have collected over the years has given me great enjoyment. I have sculptures made of fabric and of stone, paintings, etchings, lithographs and photographs.

I have a number of found objects that I display in bell jars: hornets nests and bird skeletons amongst them, butterflies, turtle shells and stuffed birds that live well amongst the pictures hanging nearby. I find them beautiful. The thread that unites the different works is nature- in many guises. I find the works of others evocative-the way the artist approaches the subject-often in a manner quite different than my own. I enjoy the individual way artists have framed a view, manipulated their subject, used light. The work informs me, educates me, inspires me. It enhances my life, everyday.

It is only recently that I have been able to see the disparate things I have collected as a ‘collection’. Over time, it has become clear that the art I have ‘works’ together. The pieces complement one another: Tom Zetterstrom’s tree photos and Walton Ford’s birds, Lucy Gray’s portraits with Cynthia Atwood’s sculptures. (The women artists – so sexy!). These works are daily companions.. Paintings hang where I want to see them – in the bathroom, in the kitchen, valuable next to found, 21st century side by side with the 16th century or the 19th. They inform and delight me and help make my house a home. They also tell a story about where I have been, what interests me and what I value.

photos by © sabine vollmer von falken
book project: Woodland Chic by author Marlene H. Marshall
Storey Publishing, available 2010

• Water gilding is a time and labor intensive means of applying gold to paintings and objects.. The process is centuries old, quite involved, has hardly changed since the Renaissance. The key word to successful gilding is preparation.
• The first step is to identify the surface on which the gold will be applied. Historically, the most commonly used surface has been wood. Here, I will only be discussing the process used with wood. Somewhat different methods are required for parchment, glass, paper, fabric, or metal. The most common type of wood used for gilding is BASSWOOD. Basswood (Tilia Americana or Tilia x Euchlora) is soft , finely grained and light in color. Other woods may be used but oil and sap are enemies of the gilding process. Unlike pine or other hardwoods, Basswood contains almost no oil. . The clear, soft surface provides a perfect ‘canvas’ for the next step,. preparation of the ground upon which the gold will be floated. This ground is called GESSO. The purpose of the gesso is to fill the cracks in the wood and establish a very smooth working surface
• The gesso used in gilding is made up of calcium carbonate(chalk), calcium sulphate (gypsum) or another finely crushed white stone. (This should not to be confused with store-bought gesso which is an acrylic compound ) To this is added gelatin or SIZE, usually animal hide glue. A number of recipes are used for this mixture, but all are heated and strained before being applied. Between the many coats of gesso required –usually 10 to 16– the surface is sanded with a fine sandpaper or steel wool The gesso needs to dry well between coats, 2-3 days. So it may take several weeks,, depending on weather conditions, to prepare the gessoed panel. .(This type of gesso is also used by some artists to prepare their canvases).
• Once the gessoed panel is prepared, it is ready to be INCISED or STAMPED. Incising the panel is done to add detail to a gilded piece. This may be done with a variety of tools: a fine ceramic pick, a nail in the end of a pencil, or a dentist’s implement. Properly prepared gesso is easily carved (and just as easily ruined) with one’s preferred tool. Stamps are rarely used in modern gilding except in ecclesiastical pieces. These are finely made metal blocks, like a miniature woodprint block. The blocks are applied to the gesso and then hammered to leave a pattern of dots , squiggles or circles. The stamps are used repeatedly to create larger patterns. These are seen in the work of Fra Filippo Lippi or Fra Angelico, usually in the Virgin’s halo or on her clothing.
• Once the patterning or incised design is finished, the next step is to apply the BOLE. The bole is a clay traditionally colored red, yellow or gray. The clay is applied to cover the brilliant white of the gesso and to act as a highlight of sorts when the panel is burnished. The bole gives a warm depth to the look of the gold.
• Once the panel has dried and rested a few days, it is time to gild. (This is now, several weeks, at a minimum, after you started!) You need a number of tools for this part of the process.

?    A GILDERS CUSHION or ‘klinker’ This is generally a uniform 6″ x 10″ rectangle with thick suede stretched over it. At one end, and part of 2 sides is a thick piece of parchment that stands 14″ above the surface of the cushion. The cushion is used as a cutting and holding surface for the gold leaf. The parchment keeps the gold from flying away.
?    The GOLD LEAF. This is sold in a ‘cutch’ or small booklet with 25 pieces of gold per cutch.  The gold comes in a  variety of karats which is a means of describing its purity, just as in jewelry making. The finest gold is 24 karat. Other metals are added to gold to impart subtle  color to the gold. Copper is added to create a reddish cast, silver to create white gold and the look of silver.  Gold leaf is available from 12-24 karats which encompass several shades. (Also available on the market is “Dutch metal” a kind of ‘fake’ gold which comes in larger sheets and is available in a gold ‘tone’ or silver ‘tone. It does not look like gold leaf when applied and the two should not be confused. )
?    A GILDERS KNIFE, a very sharp, long, flat-bladed knife for cutting the gold.
?    A gilders TIP, a 2″ wide card with sable hairs on one side. This brush is used to pick up the gold leaf which is too delicate to be touched by hand.
?    A MOP, the squirrel (sometimes pony, or in England, badger) haired brush with which to apply the SIZE,.
?    SIZE, the gilding liquor. There are many recipes for this but, most commonly, it consists of water and either hide glue or gelatin.
With all of these tools at hand, one may begin to apply the gold :
?    Cut the desired sized piece
?    Pick it up with a tip
?     Apply the size in the area where you are applying the gold,
?    Quickly touch the gold to the panel ,.Hope that there isn’t too little water, too much water, that the gold doesn’t break, that it doesn’t stick to the tip, that it doesn’t get blown away while you are applying the size, that it doesn’t get the tip wet, and that the gold actually goes where you want it.
?    With the gold down, you now repeat this process again and again to cover your panel.
?    After a minute or so, tamp the gold with a cotton ball to force it down onto the panel and absorb any unwanted moisture. Some people use a GILDERS POUCH or POUNCE for this-a small bundle of cloth containing some whiting.
?    Let the gilded panel dry for several days.

• With this process completed, it is time to BURNISH the gold. This part of the process is unique to water gilding and is how the high sheen and solid gold-like aspect of the panel is created. To do the burnishing, you employ an AGATE, the agate tipped. BURNISHER. These burnishers come in a variety of tip sizes and shapes, but they are always made of beautiful agate stone.

At this point you find out if all your preparation was done properly. If the gold prep work was correct, the gold has adhered to the panel. If the panel is dry and the gesso was porous enough, the gold will shine up and harden beneath the point of your agate If all was not done correctly, the burnisher will, tear, crumble or destroy the gold  (and possibly ruin the gessoed surface as well).  When the burnishing done,-the gilding process is complete.

In my art work, I proceed to my next step which is to paint different areas on the panel using egg-tempera paint.

What constitutes art?

This question has been mulled over for centuries in almost every culture. Skill and Intent are a component. The act of making, without regard to the result may be enough to earn the label. For me a sense of integrity, intent, truth are key components. Art has been dominated by the idea of newness for the last century, often eschewing beauty. There is nothing truly ‘new’ What is new ,in the sense of being different, is the uniqueness of the person/artist who is creating. I believe that the creator is a critical component in art. Be it the thought process, the medium, the idea that sparked the action, the manner in which an artist works- all are part and parcel of the end result. The way each artist sees and how, in turn, a work is seen may be the ultimate defining principle.

In my gilded art, there is always an idea or a story behind the work. Gilding is such a precise and painstaking medium that I need a story to sustain my interest over the months required to complete a piece. (see ‘process’)

These stories and the inspiration for  my work are almost exclusively found in nature- the landscape and life as I experience it.. My best art comes when I can delve into nature. Spring and summer inspire me, they fill up my senses. Fall and winter are quieter seasons when I move indoors and make art. I need quiet and solitude to work.    I am inspired by the riot of life that emerges each spring: Delicate flowers pushing through the frozen earth, buds that have quietly hung on through winter suddenly throb with life, the return of the birds and their song, the smell of fresh life. Summer brings more colorful and complicated flowers, twining vines, fragrant grass. The insects drone and buzz, dragonflies, butterflies and hummingbirds fill the sky. I am in awe of these events, more so with each passing year. The small things, the details, the patterns are enough, even before considering the larger landscape. My senses are filled with these images, this life.

All this informs and humbles me. I wonder, in the face of this, if there is a point in making art? Then I think of the stories imbedded in nature and the drastic change in society’s relationship with nature- the loss of natural habitat, the degradation, the disinterest or the lack of access to nature. These things make me want to make art that has nature as it’s theme. To go back into the studio and try again. To reconcile the beauty I see and the fullness I feel with the changing attitude toward nature.