Gilding with Calligraphy

Instructor: Patti Adams

Prerequisite: Knowledge of calligraphy

Description:
This course introduces two beautiful elements of personal expression: calligraphy and gilding with gold leaf.

For the first few weeks, we will focus on:

The copperplate hand
Copperplate flourishing
Correct body posture, pen placement, and tool usage

In the second half of the course, we will delve into gold leaf gilding, exploring techniques for:

Gilding on hot press watercolor paper, gessoboard, and vellum
Using sheets of genuine gold leaf and 23K patent gold leaf (transfer gold)

To avoid requiring students to purchase costly materials, a $75 supply fee covers all gold leaf, sizes, and gilding papers. Various burnishers, embossing tools, and ruling pens will also be available for use.

Please bring cash or a personal check on the first day of class to cover the $75 supply fee.

Supplies to Bring:

Speedball oblique pen holder (or similar)
Nikko G nib
Ink (Higgins Eternal Black Ink or your preferred non-feathering ink) or gouache
A pad of Canson Pro-Layout Marker paper
Metal ruler with cork backing
2H pencil
Paper towels
Two water containers
Small jar to decant your ink
Good quality synthetic watercolor brush (size 4 or 6)
Kneaded eraser

Spring 2025

3/10/2025

4/14/2025

9:00 AM

12:00 PM

MON

Main Building

330

Check Availability

Instructor:

Patti Adams

Patti Adams is a professional artist and musician who has lived and worked in New Orleans since 1982. Her work is defined by her wide-ranging interests in calligraphy, gilding, painting in watercolor and oils, book illustration, and color theory.

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