GRAND OLD DAMEunglazed stoneware, copper leafing, bronze powder, 22K gold leafing, linen, wood, glas

GRAND OLD DAME

unglazed stoneware, copper leafing, bronze powder, 22K gold leafing, linen, wood, glass, paint - 8½"x 12½"x 2½"

In drying the surface of the clay cracked slightly, and I came in and carved the dried clay in the corners slightly. After it was fired I applied a layer of copper leafing over the whole surface, allowing the sheets of leaf to crack and reveal the whitish stoneware below. If I had wanted to get an even uniform layer of copper I would have applied a second layer of leafing to cover the cracks — but in this instance I liked the way the irregular leafing worked with the finely cracked surfaces of the fired clay. I came back with dark bronze powder to color the textured carved corner at lower right, then the surface was sealed and lightly washed. I drew a short horizontal line using dark green color pencil with light pressure, and then applied a thin line of 22k gold leaf over it so the pencil line would appear as a shadow. Then I applied some rectangular ‘patches’ with copper and gold leafing to finish the design of the lips. 

The linen shadowbox interior was very lightly ‘washed’ with copper powder, and the slightly textured surface of the shadowbox frame was lightly rubbed with copper paint on only the front surface, leaving the sides and inner edge of rabbet lip simply brushstroke-textured black.