After a day of work I end up frustrated by several unsuccessful trials but I decided if I can’t gild edges, at least I can paint them. That’s how these two vintage fabric journals came into existence. Now they are two of my favorite books.
The funniest thing is that in my frustration I went to the net to search for more info that could help me with the gilding. This is what I found (first hit in Google!). Hilarious!
Gilder's Lament
By Unknown Gilder ca. 17th Century
My size is prepared,
The leaf is laid out,
My agate is polished and smooth.
The press, it is loaded,
The edge has been scraped,
I feel like I'm in the groove.
I put on the size,
I lay on the gold,
My confidence reaching its peak.
I polish the edge,
Till I see by its shine,
The edge of perfection I seek.
I take the book out,
Fan open the leaves,
My heart stops still in mid-beat.
Where has the gold gone,
I look all around.
As the leaf flakes onto my feet.
Oh, where did I err,
I did everything right,
But the gold, it just didn’t stick.
I love the gilt edge,
But the process is such,
That it leaves me feeling quite sick.
By Unknown Gilder ca. 17th Century
My size is prepared,
The leaf is laid out,
My agate is polished and smooth.
The press, it is loaded,
The edge has been scraped,
I feel like I'm in the groove.
I put on the size,
I lay on the gold,
My confidence reaching its peak.
I polish the edge,
Till I see by its shine,
The edge of perfection I seek.
I take the book out,
Fan open the leaves,
My heart stops still in mid-beat.
Where has the gold gone,
I look all around.
As the leaf flakes onto my feet.
Oh, where did I err,
I did everything right,
But the gold, it just didn’t stick.
I love the gilt edge,
But the process is such,
That it leaves me feeling quite sick.
So gilding book edges has been a pain in the ass for more than 3 centuries. Why would I even be surprised by my first experience?!
7 comments:
i love that you found that poem...
wow, a guillotine sounds so FINAL.
i like that you went for it and found a way to do this yourself and it is beautiful! love your new creations teo :)
Teo,
What a beautiful experience you had!
I think they look so beautiful.
Good work and congrats!
:0)))
Teo this is just gorgeous! Your 'first attempt' would put most to shame, they are absolutely exquisite! :)
Didn't mean to add the 'q' !!??
Paula, I was suddenly happy when I found that poem. All frustration went away :)
Gizecraft, thank you! I did enjoyed it after all.
Luise, you are so kind! I hope I'll meet your appreciation better after a few more practice :) I'll keep trying of course!
In my comment, I meant that you seem to have mastered it already! They are so beautiful Teo! :)
Louise, yes, I got it! And you are very kind to say that, thanks! I'm just hoping I can do better next time with the gilding :)
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