Matchstick Flames

Contemporary Gilding

Each little flame is carved from lime wood, water gilded, burnished, and then has lustre added with dragon's blood (yes, it’s really called that…an ancient pigment made from tree resin.) They stand on a cherry wood base polished with camellia oil. 

The matchsticks are carved from lime wood, which has been charred, taking inspiration from the Japanese technique of Yakisugi. The flames are held together only by the dowel, so the matchstick can be rotated or removed from its base. 

Water gilding is the traditional technique of applying gold and hasn’t changed much since the Egyptian period. It involves layering rabbit skin glue, gesso (glue and chalk), clay bole (ground pigment and glue.) Then alcohol (I used cognac) is brushed onto activate the glue, and the thin sheets of gold are added with a squirrel hair brush. I used 10 layers of gesso and each element, including the glue, is made from scratch, so you can imagine it’s a time-consuming process!

Water gilding allows you to burnish the surface with an agate stone which gives it a liquid looking mirror finish. You can also tone the gold with oils and add lustre with pigments to add depth and drama, as I did with the dragon's blood.