One of the fantastic things about the Stockholm Furniture Fair was the amount of student and graduate work on show, and one of the fantastic things about the student and graduate work on show was Malin Isaksson. The Swedish-born gilder and framemaker had two pieces in the show, Gilded Butterflies (above) and He Who Laughs Last, Laughs the Longest (below).
Both pieces are part of a project called “levande hantverk” (living craft), intended to show how traditional craft techniques can be applied to contemporary design.
The mirror was made by applying gold leaf to the reverse of a sheet of glass; a method known as “verre églomisé,” used for centuries by sign makers and mirror makers. The butterflies were made of lace covered with gesso; a white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, and gilded with 22 karat moon gold. The frame itself was made of plaster, clay, and gesso.
The skull was water-gilded with 23.75 karat gold and made of plaster, clay, gesso and bole. Water-gilding is one of the oldest ways to apply gold leaf to objects and dates back to the earliest civilizations.
Malin Isaksson is currently studying gilding, faux painting and woodworking at Folkuniversitetet Hantverkscentrum.
Our trip to Stockholm for the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2012 was supported in part by Airbnb.com.
