The Gold Leaf Day event is held around August 9th every year. This year, we invited Ms. Sayuri Morio, a conservation and restoration specialist, as our lecturer. Participants experienced “Églomisé.”
Many readers of this magazine may not be familiar with the term or technique “Églomisé.” In short, it is a French gilding technique in which gold leaf is applied to glass and then part of it is carefully scratched away to create an image.
Before the workshop began, Ms. Morio gave a talk accompanied by photos of some of the pieces she has restored, as well as some of the challenges involved in conserving artwork.
There are said to be extremely few restoration specialists in Japan.
The audience listened to her story with keen interest.
For this workshop, participants traced their pre-prepared designs onto tracing paper, transferred the illustration onto the gold-leafed glass, and then scratched away the gold to reveal the image.
At first glance it seems simple, but unlike ordinary drawing, the process of scratching away the gold leaf to make the image appear proved difficult for many attendees.
However, as they silently worked, they gradually began to get a feel for the technique.
After the lecture, the workshop began.
Participants had been asked in advance to bring their original drawings or designs.
Drawing a sketch on tracing paper and scrape it on the glass with gold leaf. At first glance, it is a simple task but writing with a pen or brush on a white canvas. It is different from such work. Everyone was struggling with the process of scraping the foil to make the picture stand out. However, as I moved my hands silently, I gradually got a sense of it.
Time flies by. Finally, The work is done. "Cute!", "Amazing!", happy voices full of a sense of accomplishment were heard at the workshop.
Even if we are familiar with techniques and the difference between gold gilding in Japan and overseas, this was a new and fun workshop.
At the end, it ended with taking the annual group photo.
Thank you again to everyone who participated. We also look forward to your participation in the next Gold Leaf Day event.
