This training invites participants to enter the fascinating world of gilding, where materials are transformed, light is harnessed, and gestures become almost choreographic. Participants will discover two complementary techniques: oil gilding, direct and intuitive, and tempera gilding, more demanding, more refined, almost alchemical.

Upon completion of the training, participants will be able to:

• Differentiate between oil gilding and tempera gilding
• Prepare and differentiate between various surfaces
• Manage drying time
• Apply tempera gold leaf

Learning gilding means entering a world where gesture blends with precision, and where the material reveals an unexpected dimension of light. The training offered introduces participants to the two main techniques of the craft: oil gilding, now widely used for its versatility, and water gilding, inherited from ancestral know-how.

Students will discover the essential ingredients of this craft: Meudon white, rabbit-skin glue, gilding plates, and the renowned, exceptionally fine metallic leaves. Guided by Béatrice Blanchard, they will learn to recognize the tools, understand their role, and above all, adopt the correct techniques—those that guarantee a clean and luminous gilding.

The section devoted to oil gilding allows for a quick introduction: participants will learn how to prepare the surface, apply the oil evenly, determine the precise moment it becomes mordant, and finally, apply the leaf. The almost immediate result allows one to grasp the subtleties of a craft where the eye and hand must work in perfect harmony. This more contemporary technique adapts to a wide range of surfaces and offers a variety of finishes.

Tempera gilding, on the other hand, demands greater precision. It immerses participants in a method where every step counts: applying the sizing with a brush, the successive layers of preparation, the precisely applied gilding gesso, and then the burnishing, which reveals a perfectly smooth surface. The leaf is applied to a dampened surface in a delicate gesture that requires calm and concentration. Burnishing with an agate stone, the key moment of the technique, then reveals a characteristic, crisp, and vibrant sheen that only traditional gilding can provide.

But the training doesn't stop at learning the techniques. It also explores decorative effects and patinas, showing how to give a piece a more antique, softer, and more nuanced character. Wax, pigments, talc, natural earths: participants will experiment, test, compare, and discover how gilding can become a medium of expression, bridging restoration and contemporary creation.

At the end of the workshop, each participant will leave with a finished piece, a tangible testament to their progress, and with a solid understanding of both techniques. A comprehensive guide, including techniques, recipes, and tips, further enhances the learning experience.
More than just a workshop, this introduction to gilding offers a unique glimpse into a craft where tradition remains very much alive, and where light is worked with as much precision as sensitivity.

Schedule

Day 1

Morning and Afternoon

Understanding the Difference Between Oil and Water Gilding

• • Discovering and Handling the Equipment
  • Presentation of Different Gilding Techniques, or How to Distinguish Between Oil and Water Gilding
  • Presentation of Equipment
    - Tools: cushion, gilding palette, gilding knife
    - Brushes: priming brushes, burnishers, round brushes, deer feet...
    - Materials: gilding sizes, whiting (Meudon white), rabbit-skin glue, gilding gesso, different types of gold leaf (copper, aluminum, and silver)- Suppliers
  • Presentation of Different Supports for Oil and Water Gilding

water

• Recipe and sizing of supports for water gilding

Day 2

Morning and afternoon

Recognizing the different possible supports, knowing how to prepare them, managing drying time

• Priming the supports
• Applying the first coats of primer throughout the day
• Recipe and preparation of traditional gilding grounds
• Preparing two supports with 12-hour gilding size
• Gilding tests with white gilding size or water-based gilding size

Day 3

Morning and afternoon

Learning how to prepare your support for water gilding and applying the leaves to the gilding size Gilding

• Gilding with copper, gold, aluminum, and silver leaf on the prepared surfaces from the previous day
• On the tempera gilding surfaces:
  - Application of the final coats of primer
  - Smoothing of the various primed surfaces
  - Ground application: application of the ground to be gilded (3 coats)
  - Burnishing: of the various primed surfaces.

Day 4

Morning and afternoon

Learning to apply gold leaf using the tempera technique, burnishing, and mixed media techniques

• Experimenting with tempera gilding:
  - Burnishing: polishing the gold leaf with an agate stone
  - Touch-ups and repairs
  - Matting of the gilding: recipe and application

Day 5
Morning and afternoon

Knowing how to give gilding an antique look by different

Béatrice Blanchard

Béatrice Blanchard belongs to a generation of creators who are challenging the established norms of materials. An artist, craftswoman, and designer, she dedicates her work to gilding and contemporary creations where gold, her preferred material, is reinvented far from its classical representations.

Trained in traditional gilding, she lends her expertise to exceptional projects, both in France and abroad. Historical monuments, private residences, heritage sites: her precise and demanding craftsmanship has earned her the attention of those seeking projects where excellence is paramount.

But Béatrice Blanchard doesn't simply perpetuate a traditional craft; she innovates. Her discovery, laGaluchette, transforms gold into organic and mineral surfaces, offering a unique material that blurs the lines between tradition and contemporary creation.

Influenced by the Bauhaus movement and its penchant for interdisciplinary dialogue, she champions meticulous, meaningful craftsmanship. Her works—furniture, objects, experiments, and conceptual pieces—are as thought-provoking as they are captivating, asserting a unique aesthetic and a responsible approach to precious materials.

At the crossroads of art and design, Béatrice Blanchard continues her research, exploring the value, origin, and transformation of noble materials while grounding gilding in a new modernity.

• Classroom, multipurpose room, workshops with professional equipment
• Materials provided
• Individual and collaborative work
• Workshop sessions
• Active participation and experimentation by participants are encouraged

• Group and individualized monitoring of work, regular check-ins
• Self-assessment of technical skills
• Group presentation
• Attendance sheet for each half-day
• Certificate of completion issued by Campus MaNa