From: owner-scribes@castle.org (scribes digest) To: scribes-digest@castle.org Subject: scribes digest V1 #91 Reply-To: Sender: owner-scribes@castle.org Errors-To: owner-scribes@castle.org Precedence: bulk scribes digest Friday, February 27 1998 Volume 01 : Number 091 In this issue: [scribes]: My Gilding Recipe [scribes]: Gesso Recipes - safe Re: [scribes]: Gesso recipes Re: [scribes]: Gesso recipes Re: [scribes]: Gesso recipes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 19:06:04 -0500 From: Helen Schultz Subject: [scribes]: My Gilding Recipe This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - --------------44485E9F6E227A4732703F52 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Greetings all, I promised to post this, and I hope it comes out readable. I have made it ASCII text, so perhaps it will be OK. It is long, but because it is an attachment, maybe not as long as if I had typed it here. Meisterin Katarina Helene - --------------44485E9F6E227A4732703F52 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; name="Traditional Gilding Directions.txt" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline; filename="Traditional Gilding Directions.txt" TRADITIONAL GESSO "Gesso" is a generic term tradition= ally used to describe any plaster based ground used for priming or prepar= ing surfaces to be painted. Varieties of gesso recipes evolved for speci= fic purposes, one of which was a base to which gold leaf would adhere and= burnish up. Modern acrylic gesso is made for priming canvases and other= surfaces, but should NOT be confused as a substitute for the type of tra= ditional gilding base we are preparing here. The recipe given here is quite traditional, with only apparent chang= es. Purer chemical equivalents have been substituted for traditional ing= redients when they improved either the dependability or burnish of the ge= sso. The names only seem different, but they are truly, in essence, the = same. THE INGREDIENTS CALCIUM SULFATE DIHYDRATE: The comm= ercially prepared chemical equivalent of slaked plaster. CaSO4.2H20 is s= uperior in purity and consistency to the home-made galvanized bucket/wood= en spoon method or product. Those who would like to pursue this 6-week l= ong process can find it in Graily Hewitt's "Lettering." This ingredient = give bulk and body to the gesso. WHITE LEAD: Poisonous if inhaled or ingested over prolonged, repea= ted periods. With reasonable care, it is safe. It gives malleability, b= ulk, and body to the gesso. Substitutes will be discussed later. FISH GLUE: Seccotine blue binds the ingredients together and onto t= he paper (or vellum). It has the quality of remaining flexible after it = has dried. This is especially important in a book where the page is turn= ed. Fish glue from a jar rather than a tube is preferable, as it will no= t have glycerine in it. The glue is hygroscopic which means it draws mo= isture from out of the air. = PURE CANE SUGAR: Not beet sugar. Easy to obtain in the US, but mor= e difficult in Europe, where rock candy (made from cane sugar) is used. = It is also hygroscopic. Do notuse powdered sugar, as it contains corn st= arch. RED DRY PIGMENT: Both Windsor Newton Indian Red and Venetian Red ar= e chemical equivalents of Armenian Bole (a finer form of jeweler's rouge)= , but are consistently more finely ground. This gives the gesso a pinkis= h color. This color base gives the extremely thin gold leaf a warmer, ri= cher cast or appearance. Cadmium Red can even be used! (NOTE: use a Ul= tramarine Blue for silver or aluminum leaf.) DISTILLED WATER: Pure, not mineral water. A TSP MEASURE: Most dependable for the grinding time shown. Incre= ase the unit of measure to =AC tsp and you double the grinding time. METHOD of GRINDING: An unglazed ceramic mortar, about 3" to 4" wide,= and a pestle will grind the gesso most completely and homogeneously. Ot= her methods (ground glass and muller) are not as thorough and are more co= stly. The 4" mortar comes with a pestle whose handle is long enough to g= enerate greater leverage, grinding more efficiently and wearying the hand= less. When you begin grinding the gesso, it should be the consistency o= f thin cream (like half & half). That consistency should be maintained b= y adding a little distilled water every 5 to 10 minutes. It starts off a= bit lumpy and granular, but smooths out nicely while grinding. PREPARATION OF TRADITIONAL GESSO MATERIALS: 3"TO 4" mortar & Pestle 6 craft sticks paper towels tsp measuring spoon shot class with rounded inner bottom 8=AB" X 11" sheet of bond paper gesso ingredients (note the "wet" and "dry" separations below) 2 each 9" x 11" pieces of rigid cardboard covered with plastic wrap "WET" INGREDIENTS: = 1 unit pure cane sugar (same as rock candy) 1 pinch red (or blue) dry pigment (Armenian bole in old re= cipes) = 1+ unit of fish glue (seccotine) 10 units distilled water "DRY" INGREDIENTS: 8 units Calcium Sulfate DiHydrate (slaked plaster) CaSO4.2= H20 3 units white lead (2=AB units of Titanium White dry pigme= nt can be substituted) You start by mixing separate batches of the "wet" and "dry" ingredie= nts for the gesso, for the same reason it is done with cake batter to m= ake a complete and thorough mixing of the ingredients from the outset. ************************************************ * TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS * * IN SUCCESS WITH GESSO IS THE COMPLETE * * MIXING AND THE COMPLETE GRINDING OF * * THE INGREDIENTS. THIS SEEMS A SIMPLE * * CONCEPT, BUT IT TAKES ATTENDING TO AT * * SEVERAL UNEXPECTED STAGES. * ************************************************ Grind up an excessive amount of sugar in the mortar to a powdered st= ate. Overfill the measuring spoon. Compact it down and level it off aga= in. Put it into the shot glass. Discard the excess sugar and clean out = the mortar. Make sure it is dry before starting the next part. With a craft stick, put the merest bit of red pigment into the shot = glass. Put a little more than a level spoon of the fish glue into the shot = glass. Use the craft stick to coax out all the glue you can from the spoo= n. Some will remain in the spoon, but the next part will take care of th= at. Put the first unit of distilled water into the spoon and stir it wit= h the craft stick to dissolve any left and put it into the shot glass. U= se about 7 units of the water at this time, the remaining 3 units will be= used very soon. Dry off the measuring spoon. NOTE: A word about the amount of glue in your recipe it can vary. = Generally, for any gilding base (not just gesso) the stickier it is, the= less brilliant the gold will burnish up. However, the gold will stick = a mighty encouraging virtue to beginners or for someone working under a = deadline. Learn to experiment use more glue in your first few tries at= the recipe, and a bit less as you get more experienced. = Stir all your "wet" ingredients up with a craft stick for a few seco= nds (still in the shot glass). That is all it will take for them to diss= olve thoroughly. Set the shot glass to one side. Put an 8=AB" X 11" sheet of bond paper in front of you on the table.= Dip the measuring spoon into the Calcium Sulfate DiHydrate. Compact it= down with a craft stick and level it off. Bring over to the bond paper = and turn it upside down. Tap out the contents to form a little mound. M= ake 8 of these little mounds. Carefully crease the paper and let all 8 m= ounds slide into the mortar. You won't lose count with this method. Put the bond paper in front of you again and place the mortar in the= center atop it. Put the container with the white lead next to the morta= r. Very carefully and slowly, open the cap on the container to minimize = the amount of white lead that might fly into the air. Dip the measuring = spoon into the container and use a craft stick to compact it down and lev= el it off. Do this over the original white lead container. Place the 3 = little mounds of white lead directly into the mortar. Cap the container = immediately and wrap up the stick and measuring spoon immediately in wet = paper towels. You can discard the craft stick and bond paper as soon as = possible, and wash the measuring spoon VERY carefully. Use another craft= stick to slowly break apart and stir together the "dry" ingredients, but= not vigorously. You want to keep the amount of dust to a bare minimum. = Form a little mountain in the center of the mortar and then put a "crate= r" in the middle to hold the "wet" ingredients. Stir the "wet" ingredients thoroughly and pour about half into the "= crater" of your mountain of "dry" ingredients. A valuable tip on not was= ting any of the "wet" ingredients while pouring from the ungainly shot gl= ass: touch the craft stick to the lip of the shot glass and pour the liqu= id down the stick. Now, with another craft stick, slowly stir the conten= ts in the mortar. Keep it from riding up the sides of the mortar. It wi= ll not yet be a creamy consistency far from it. It will be more like b= read dough with too much flour. Stir the "wet" ingredients again and pou= r the remainder into the mortar. You will be surprised to note that desp= ite all your attention to detail, there is still probably a sizeable amou= nt of residue at the bottom of the shot glass. Now, take the last 3 meas= ures of distilled water and put them into the shot glass. Stir and pour = them into the mortar. Stir the contents of the mortar slowly. As lumpy = and granular and bubbly as it may be, it should approximate the liquid co= nsistency of thin cream. Put a few drops of distilled water on the head of the pestle and pla= ce it into the mortar. Slowly, and with some force, begin grinding. Gri= nd for about 45 minutes. Stop every 5 minutes or so and dribble a little= distilled water down the pestle to keep the consistency of thin cream. = Some gesso will want to build up on the inner sides of the mortar. Use y= our pestle to "wind" up the sides of the mortar as if you were unthreadin= g the lid of a jar, then "wind" back down into the bottom of the mortar. = Don't do this too many times, just try to keep the pestle in the mass of= the gesso. Don't take it out to peer into the mortar to see what is goi= ng on, this will make air bubbles when you put it back in (not a good thi= ng). The grinding is tedious, so have a friend over to help or watch a m= indless TV program (or maybe you need a mindless friend...ha, ha). = Place the two plastic wrap-covered boards in front of you. Take the= pestle out of the mixture. Using another craft stick, wipe all the gess= o off the pestle you can back into the mortar and set the pestle aside. = Gently stir the gesso with the craft stick. It should be smooth now and = the proper consistency (yes, thin cream). Now, begin pouring out "button= s" of gesso about the size of nickels onto the boards. When pouring the = gesso out of the mortar, use the same trick with the craft stick against = the lip as you did with the shot glass. ** It is important that you stir = thoroughly before pouring out each and every button.** When you can pou= r out no more gesso, add about 4 more units of distilled water to the mor= tar. Slosh it around with the pestle, thus dissolving all the remaining = gesso on each implement. Pour this off into buttons (but just a little b= igger as they are also a bit thinner). You may, if you wish, use the freshly prepared gesso directly on a w= ork from out of the mortar (if you need to). Usually, however, you will = be storing the gesso as the dry buttons. Let the buttons dry overnight. = Slit the plastic wrap and "pop" off the buttons. They can be stored in = an empty film canister, jar, or anything that will keep them dust and moi= sture free. They will last indefinitely. RECONSTITUTING GESSO Crumple a gesso button into very sm= all bits into the bottom of a shot class that has a rounded bottom inside= =2E Add a drop (or two at the most) of distilled water for each gesso bu= tton that has been crumpled...and wait at least 5 minutes. During this t= ime, the bits of gesso will absorb the water and soften just enough so yo= u can put a finger cot on your finger and mass the bits into a mass at th= e bottom of the glass. Cover the mass with " or so of distilled water a= nd wait about 10 more minutes. If any gesso is stuck to the finger cot, = let it remain, because you will use it for more working of the gesso. To= ugh the finger got to the top inside of the glass and slowly "wind" it do= wn along the inside for the slow stirring all the way down to the bottom = of the mass of gesso. Keep going until you feel everything is dissolved = and smooth. This should not take too long. Now, tilt the glass toward you and bring the finger cot up the side = of the glass and over its lip. Any bubbles that had been in the gesso sh= ould be congealed about the finger cot. When it is wiped over the lip, t= he bubbles will immediately begin to slide back into the gesso. You need= to have a very vigilant pinky finger to make a hawk- like swoop down and= whisk them away before they get all the way back to the rest of the gess= o. Immediately wipe your pinky on a damp paper towel. The finger cot al= lows you to mix the gesso thoroughly, as you can feel when there are no m= ore lumps or bits remaining while also protecting you from absorbing whit= e lead (now in a liquid state) in through your skin. = LAYING THE GESSO The gesso is now ready to lay. Once a= gain, check its fluidity so that it flows comfortably, with control, from= our of whatever implement you are using pen, brush, or quill. Make su= re whatever pen you are using is flexible enough to release the relativel= y thick fluid (like a distempered Mitchell nib without the reservoir). I= f you are using a brush, dip it into some distilled water first and squee= ze the water and air out of the hairs before dipping into the gesso. **= YOU DO NOT WANT TO LAY BUBBLES INTO YOUR GESSO!! IF YOU DO, ATTEND TO T= HEM IMMEDIATELY OR YOUR GESSO WILL DRY WITH CRATERS IN THE SURFACE. ** = If you do get a bubble, stop immediately and pick up a straight pin or ev= en an eyelash (one with no mascara on it, ladies) and wipe a little skin = oil on it (you can use the side of the nose or from behind your ear). It= is the oil that breaks the surface tension of the bubble more than the s= harpness of the implement you chose to "pop" it. Continue laying the rest= of the gesso. Every time you dip into the gesso with a pen or brush, be= sure to stir the gesso thoroughly. This ensures there is no settling i= n the shot glass and will make for the most dependable gilding results. = When using a pen, you really need to stir it well and then turn the nib o= ver so that you use the cupped underside of the nib as a spoon to load. = You will want to lay down at least two or more "coats" of the gesso, bein= g sure it is totally dry between. The number of layers will depend on ho= w raised you desire the base to be. If there is any gesso remaining in the shot glass when you have comp= leted your gilding base, you can simply add just a little distilled water= to it and then pour it back out into a button. Let it dry and store as = before. For the best results, your gesso should dry for no less than 6 hours= but overnight is probably better. The time range depends on the tempe= rature and humidity in the room and on your technical skill, experience, = and touch in gilding. Gilding works best when it is fairly humid at le= ast 50% or higher. - --------------44485E9F6E227A4732703F52-- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 19:57:24 -0800 From: elsworth@erols.com Subject: [scribes]: Gesso Recipes - safe > Does anyone out there have a good gesso recipe that doesn't involve white > lead? I'm looking to try one out so the proportions needed are a must - > I've seen several posts on various ingredients, but without the "pinch of > this" details it's difficult to figure out how much to put in of stuff. > > Tetchubah of Greenlake > Kingdom of Caid My high school art teacher taught us a class on doing egg tempera - the gesso recipe he used is safe, and gives a smooth finish like the lime and lead period gessos. It is: Titanium White Whiting (the abrasive powder used by etching artists to clean zinc plate) Rabbitskin Glue The measurements he gives are: 10% Titanium white to whiting; 1.5 parts whiting/titanium white mix to 1 part rabbitskin glue. The glue must be warm and in it's reconstituted state to be mixed - otherwise I find the mixture gets very lumpy and wierd - a "gesso gross" if you like. ;) Apply eight coats to the panel, applying each coat perpendicular to the previous, allowing to dry between coats. This was one of the most valuable classes I ever took - and the gessoed board can be sanded so smooth it feels like silk. Hope this helps, Mistress Isobel Bedingfield, Atlantia ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 00:43:16 EST From: FITCHYBEAR Subject: Re: [scribes]: Gesso recipes In a message dated 98-02-26 12:28:37 EST, meistern@netusa1.net writes: << Carolyn Richardson wrote: > Does anyone out there have a good gesso recipe that doesn't involve white > lead? I'm looking to try one out so the proportions needed are a must - > I've seen several posts on various ingredients, but without the "pinch of > this" details it's difficult to figure out how much to put in of stuff. > > Tetchubah of Greenlake > Kingdom of Caid ---- Tetchubah, >> I saw several recipes off the links at Sinopia's website (www.Sinopia.com). Sinopia is a supplier for muralists and sign makers as well as enamellers and other tradespeople-JimBear ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 00:54:32 -0500 From: randyaf@provide.net (Randy & Melody Asplund-Faith) Subject: Re: [scribes]: Gesso recipes >Does anyone out there have a good gesso recipe that doesn't involve white >lead? I'm looking to try one out so the proportions needed are a must - >I've seen several posts on various ingredients, but without the "pinch of >this" details it's difficult to figure out how much to put in of stuff. > >Tetchubah of Greenlake >Kingdom of Caid I was asked about this a little while back. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to go into a full discussion on all of the aspects necessary to doing a gilding job, but the following will help an experienced gilder. The recipe from de Arte Illuminandi used no white lead. It relies on bole. Most gilding on frames is just hide glue and gold on top of a gesso ground which is sculpted, so we can infer that other ingredients are added effects. The lead makes it soft and smooth. That is also accomplished with bole. The recipe ingredients I use are: 1) 1/4 tsp. of: a pre-ground combination of 4 parts slaked plaster to one part bole, 2) 5-6 drops of warm new honey from an eye dropper (the amount of honey varies by the age since older honey which has been heated several times seems to be thicker or more heavy in the sugar. start with less and add after testing) 3) 1/4 tsp of melted hide glue (which was combined in the ratio of 1 part glue granules to 14 parts water.) Combine all in a wram sake cup and stir often while using. The gesso an cool, but it will also start to dry so you can add a slight amount of water as you go. I suggest testing it by painting out two layers and letting them dry all the way. If it is shiney, there is too much honey. if you breathe on it and it gets tackey for a short moment, it is good. If it won't get tacky at all, it needs more honey. This gesso should be laid thick enough to cover the nap of the parchment, and should be smoothed with knives or sandpaper before gilding. If you put it on thick, make real sure it is dry all the way through before gilding. Otherewise your burnisher will eat it. nother trick is to combine elements in a small ceramic mortar and grind them well. This yields a smoother finish which is less likely to fail. Good luck, Randy Asplund-Faith 2101 S. Circle Dr. Ann Arbor, MI. 48103 http://www.provide.net/~randyaf ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 00:23:45 -0600 From: Dennis and/or Dory Grace Subject: Re: [scribes]: Gesso recipes While we're on this topic, I'm wondering if anyone else has run across a book called "The Technique of Raised Gilding" by Jerry Tresser? He claims to have correctly translated Cinninni's recipe, including the proper order of steps, including a short-cut to slake gesso in 30 minutes as opposed to 30 days. Some of his procedures sound similar to that laid out by Meisterin Katarina Helene in a recent missive (thank you, that one goes into my files ;->), and the logic behind his slaking short cut makes perfect sense. His main inspiration for doing the research he did (besides his incessant-to the-point-of-tedious bashing of D. Jackson and others) was the supposition that medieval scribes wouldn't have had the luxury of waiting 'till the day was humid enough or play with recipes each time they mixed up a batch, so they would have needed a consistently serviceable medium to work with. Of course, I have yet to actually crack out the ingredients and *try* the recipe myself. Anyone else out there know what I'm talking about? Aquilanne Dory Grace--The Inkwell denouncer of Tytyvylus & warrior crone amazing@mail.utexas.edu ------------------------------ End of scribes digest V1 #91 ****************************