The History of the Kingdom of The West
Scrolls

Learning gold leaf techniques

Photo and Contribution
by Tatiana Nikolaevna Tumanova

"Oh, boy -- gold leaf! Having acquired the requisite tools and materials, Aldith and I set out to try gilding. The place chosen to do this was at a Scriptorium in Cynagua. It was a very hot, very dry day in a large air-conditioned room with many, many witnesses as the two smarty Laurels proceeded to botch the entire operation. There was a high Cuss Factor. We found that the right tools are really indispensable, that a draft free area is required, and much patience (something which I have in short supply). Various media were tried gesso, fish glue, glair, and plain white water based glue. There were varying degrees of success in getting the gold to stick, and it was difficult in the extreme to get a crisp edge to anything. Luckily, outlining in ink goes a long way to disguise this, as one can see by the ivy leaves to the right. Copious notes were taken and another practice session was held, this time in a very small room with no ventilation. Results were much better, although still far from perfect. However, the only way to get better is to just go ahead and do it, so Aldith began work on gilding Juan's scroll." -- Tatiana Nikolaevna Tumanova

The West Kingdom History Website was created by and is maintained by Hirsch von Henford (mka Ken Mayer).