24k Gold Leaf Masterpiece!

Have you ever wondered how gold leafing is done? We had the opportunity to speak with Francis Bastow, Owner of Donehere Inc., located in Newark Valley, NY and he shared a couple of his most recent projects, and some gold leafing tips with me. Having been involved in the signage/bronze industry for most of his life, he is now retired and strictly does high-end work for churches.

Many of the projects he does involve gold leafing and lots of it. Francis has done work in churches all over the country, and most recently completed 2 separate Seraphim’s for churches in Warren, OH and Binghamton, NY.

Historically, many of the art pieces inside churches are done using basswood. Unfortunately, over time, humidity changes cause basswood to crack. On these last two churches, Francis opted to try Precision Board Plus HDU because it holds up well in extreme temperatures and will not absorb water.

These particular Seraphim’s were designed using ArtCam and routed from Precision Board Plus PBLT-18. Francis then primed them using FSC-88WB Primer/Filler. He then proceeded to the gold leaf stage. While many sign makers use 17k gold when gold leafing signs, Francis prefers to use 24k, which is pure gold. The benefits of using 24k gold leaf are that it will not tarnish, especially when touched by people.

Starting out, he applied sizing to the primed Precision Board Plus – he prefers a “slow” sizing, giving him more time to work. Once the sizing was applied, he knew when it was ready to apply the gold leaf by pressing his knuckle against it, and feeling it slightly stick to the surface. According to Francis, this is an old-timers trick. He then painstakingly applied the 3.5″ squares of 24k gold leaf until the Seraphim was completely covered. Once it was finished, he then applied raw umber to highlight the darker areas for definition.

You can see a  great guide on gold leafing by Sign & Digital Graphics here.

Additional info can be seen on Francis’ website at: http://www.donehere.com/.

 

Story telling through design

Learning to be a good designer takes time. I believe it comes through practice and also by truly seeing (and taking careful note of what we see) good design around us. There are some good books available, the best most likely the one by the late Mike Stevens. I hear it is available in digital format. It’s a dry read – puts me to sleep every time but there are some very sound principles there and it is well worth the read.

I believe it is also important to know where your sign is going to live. It needs to be in context. Every sign needs to tell a story, no matter how mundane it might seem.
A sign I did a while back is a good example. It isn’t nearly as flashy as much of my work. There are no cartoons here. Instead I took my cues from the development. The logo and name were done by others. I just had to make it work. My design cues came from the buildings themselves, the colors and shapes the designers had chosen. I even used elements of the woodwork trim in the sign. Textures were from the TEXTURE MAGIC collection, used in a subtle fashion for this project. There is a lot more going on here than is apparent at first glance and yet it looks simple and elegant, fitting for the development.
The sign was routed in pieces from 30 lb Precision Board and then assembled over a welded steel frame. The client had the concrete pad waiting and so installation took mere minutes, unloading it from the trailer with the help of a backhoe working on the site. I then unscrewed the eyebolt from the top of the roof ridge, patched the hole, touched up the paint and put in some anchor bolts through the base plates. A couple minutes with a rake brought the landscaping materials up to the sign and covered up the concrete and bolts.
-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

New Jersey Sign MAGIC Workshop less than a month away!

I’ve heard there are still some seats available in New Jersey. I’ve made my plane and travel arrangements. With the Sign Magic Workshop in New Jersey now less than a month away I’m starting to get very excited. It should be a fun and informative time. We’ll be working on all kinds of 3D routing techniques and also talking about marketing, designing, and a whole lot more. We’ll also be doing plenty of hands-on work, learning how we do our painting and glazing in our shop. A little sculpting is also on the menu and it is my bet that each participant will go away knowing they can do a whole lot more than they thought they could going in.

SIGN MAGIC WORKSHOP INFORMATION

The Sign Magic Workshop is to be held in at the MultiCam East Technical Center, Hackensack, New Jersey on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, November 6, 7 and 8, 2012.  Seating is limited.

I hope to see you there!

-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

Gathering ideas

For the next week or so I’m in Disneyland. You can bet we are having the time of our lives sharing it for the first time with our grand daughter Phoebe. It is fun to see a park I love through the wide open eyes of an almost eight year old. Because she spends so much time in our shop, much of what she sees isn’t new to her. She even knows how much of it was put together. But like her we are suspending our disbelief for a while and simply taking it all in – thoroughly enjoying the experience.

But you can bet I am also keeping my eyes peeled for inspiration and new ways of doing things. I took note of how digital prints are now often combined with dimensional work – especially on things like menu boards because they need to be changed often. Long gone are the days when everything is hand painted. We’ve been seeing this kind of work for a few years now. It looks pretty good and is a practical way of doing these kinds of signs – without losing the magic of 3D.

But digital prints are old news these days. More and more I am seeing digital screens for things like menu boards. Changeable in an instant or during different mealtimes in the day I believe they are the way of the future. But they can still retain the MAGIC of 3D – with the addition of a carved surround.  Disney of course ramps it up one more level. The artwork on the digital screen was superb and then they took it one notch higher yet and added animation. 

I of course was busy taking notes – and pictures. Seeing how these ideas could be used tougher effectively put about a thousand ideas into my brain.
Today was only the first of many days here. My brain could well explode before we are done…
-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

Weathertop Woodcraft HDU Video

Richard Malacek, owner of Weathertop Woodcraft has been making signs for over 30 years, and has done some great work!

Be sure to check out his Etsy page where he has a biography and signs for sale.

This video shows many of the spectacular Precision Board Plus signs created by Weathertop: