This workshop, led by Elizabeth Kent, introduces participants to the art of verre églomisé mirrors, where gilding and painting meet on the reverse side of the glass to create exquisitely delicate mirror effects. Through preparing the surface, applying gold or silver leaf, creating designs, and mastering the interplay of transparency, each participant learns to compose unique pieces that blend brilliance, depth, and artisanal precision. Between traditional techniques and contemporary exploration, this immersive experience allows participants to design a fully personalized verre églomisé mirror, revealing the richness of a rare and timeless craft.

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

• Prepare glass for gilding
• Use gilding tools to apply gold or silver leaf to glass
• Create a painted design on glass to combine with the gilding
• Work the gilded surface with tools and brushes to create marks, textures, and patterns
• Use varnishes and protective sheets to seal the gilded design
• Understand the potential of the medium to create more complex pieces

This four-day immersion opens the doors to a luminous craft: the art of verre églomisé, a technique whose brilliance has endured through the centuries. Originating in Roman antiquity and reinvented in the 18th century by the gilder Jean-Baptiste Glomy, who gave it his name, the practice involves applying gilding and paint to the reverse side of the glass to create shimmering and vibrant surfaces. Long associated with the most refined decorative arts, it is now experiencing a resurgence of interest among contemporary designers and artisans, captivated by its ability to sculpt light.

Throughout the sessions, participants discover the essential techniques: preparing the surface, creating the "size," applying gold or silver leaf, and burnishing to achieve a perfect mirror finish. They also explore the nuances between water gilding and oil gilding, two techniques with distinct textures and effects.

The practice continues with graphic work where each participant composes their own visual language. Stencils, masks, and brushes allow for the creation of patterns and overlays, playing with transparency, depth, and contrasts. In these successive layers, the artisanal gesture engages with chance, intuition, and the subtle variations of the material.

The finishing touches—textures on the gilding, paints applied to the back, and protective varnishes—reveal the full richness of the decoration.
At the end of this process, each participant designs a unique églomisé mirror, a personal piece where technical heritage, precision of gesture, and creative freedom converge. It's a way of inhabiting centuries-old knowledge and projecting it into a resolutely contemporary aesthetic.

Schedule

The visit to the the Barbini Brothers' glassworks in Murano will take place according to the instructor's schedule.

Day 1

Morning

• Presentation by Elizabeth Kent of the gilded samples and techniques studied
• Cleaning the glass panels
• Preparing the surface for water gilding
• Handling the gilder's tools: gilding cushion, cutting the leaf, loading the brush
• Applying gold or silver leaf to wet glass
• Drying and inspecting the panels, correcting any imperfections

• Creating a design for a painted panel
• Visualizing the artwork in successive layers
• Creating the design on glass using stencil film, direct painting, or drawing under glass
• Handling various tools and paints on panels trial

Day 2

Morning

• Burning and retouching of the gilded panels
• Infill gilding on the panel painted the previous day
• Exploring matte oil gilding and its effects combined with glossy gilding

Afternoon

• Continuing burnishing and retouching
• Creating a new gilded panel
• Introduction to drawing on gilding: exploring lines, patterns, and textures
• Practicing drawing on a gilded surface

Day 3

Morning

• Exploring Poor Man's Etch to create a mirrored effect of the painted motif
• Painting over gilding to enrich colors and shades

Afternoon

• Gilding in inlay on the previous day's designs
• Working with color and light
• Creating stencils and painting a stencil-painted panel

Day 4

Morning

• Gilding the stencil panel
• Finalizing the poor man's etch panel: cleaning, removing excess gilding, adding painted backgrounds
• Preparing for finishing before sealing

Afternoon

• Final burnishing of the stencil panel
• Varnishing and protecting the gilding
• Applying protective sheets
• Group review: revisiting techniques

Skills acquired, questions, and approach to more complex projects

• Workshop cleanup

• 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