Friday, March 18, 2011

Gilder's Paste

One of our favorite products is Gilder's Paste. It's a wax based product with a high concentration of pigments. It's used by gourd painters and antique restorers, and now by polymer artists. It comes in 28 colors, which can be mixed for a custom palette.
We started using the paste on our raw brass filigree to color the metal, and discovered it could be used on polymer clay. We are busy figuring out different ways to use it. The metallic colors are great for creating faux bezels. It can be used to antique a piece, instead of acrylic paint. It can be drybrushed on, diluted with mineral spirits to use as paint, or rubbed on with a finger or cloth. Our latest experiments are using the paste in place of metallic foil in mokume gane. Whenever we go to a polymer retreat we encourage everyone to experiment. At the Buckeye Bash in Dayton, Ohio, Debbie Jackson spent a happy afternoon playing with our samples and came up with some great pieces. Her textures are amazing, made even better by gilder's paste.