About Our Courses The following are just some of the finishes that can be learned at The New Studio. The first five are offered more or less on a continual basis.  Courses are usually five sessions, however some may be shorter or longer. Please refer to the schedule page for dates and times.  Each course discusses the origins and historical background of the finish as well as how it is used today. Besides the courses below, we offer special workshops.  Click here now to find out more about our workshops.

Curriculum

Students may choose to become proficient in specific areas and to follow a sequence of courses in order to achieve this goal. However whatever the concentration chosen the beginning student needs to take the Introduction to Furniture Painting and Decorating and Antiquing classes. These will familiarize the student with the products and techniques necessary to prepare a piece for any specific techniques such as Marble, Gilding etc. It is very helpful to take the Design and Color Theory classes as soon as possible as this will be of great help with any subsequent techniques.

The New Studio suggests these courses in order to attain expertise in the following areas of concentration (for more information about individual courses please refer to the Courses section):

Marble/Stone Specialization: Glazing, Marble, Breccia, Lapis, Malachite, Marble Intarsia

Gilding: Basic Oil Gilding, Finishes for Gilded Surfaces, Introduction to Water Gilding, Pastiglia, Verre Eglomise, Fine Line Gilding/ Vermiculation Pen

Folk  Finishes: Distressing, Vinegar Paint, Graining: Country Burl, American Ring Cut, Country Scene painting, Milk Paint, Egg Tempera, Decoupage

European Finishes: Japanning/Vernis Martin, Decoupage, Pen Work, Patination, Chinoiserie, Italian Painted Furniture, Italian Fantasy Graining, Cailloute

Asian Finishes: Gilding, Negoro Nuri, Eggshell, Golden Grain, Maki-e

Rare and Precious Materials: Shagreen, Tortoise, Ivory and Bone, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Porphyry, Faux Bois.

Botanical Drawing: Visiting instructor Olivia Marie Braida-Chiusano offers a Certificate course  For more information visit her web site at www.omartdesigns.com.

Description of Courses:

1)       Introduction to Furniture Painting:  Unfinished or prepared wood surfaces are painted using oil based and water based paints. In this class sample boards are painted in both oil and water based paint and a table and picture frame (provided by the studio) are prepared for the Decorating and Antiquing class.

2)       Decorating and Antiquing: A simple form of decoration, striping is used to enhance the pieces painted in Introduction to Furniture Painting. Oil and water based paints are used. The decorated pieces are then given interest and personality by the application of an antiquing technique selected from a variety of methods.

3)       Glazing:  This finish is a translucent wash allowing the interplay between the colors of the base coat and the glaze. With this technique many different color combinations and patterns in the glaze can be used creating rich and varied effects. This finish has been used at least since the 18^th century.  The course teaches the application and manipulation of glazes as well as the interplay of base and glaze colors.

4)       Distressing:  Students work on a piece of their choice (a small cabinet or table), apply two or more colors of paint and learn techniques to achieve the appearance of age and wear that would naturally appear with the passage of time.

5)       Introduction to Gilding:  This is a very old finish dating from Egyptian times which now refers to the application of metal leaf, using real gold or a variety of other metals, over a specially prepared surface. The Gilding class teaches the application of a variety of sizes and metals, as well as several patination techniques.  Students complete several sample boards and two pieces of their choice.

6)       Finishes for Gilded Surfaces:  Toning using waxes, powders, pigment washes etc.

7)       Design and Shading:  This course covers the history and principles of design, techniques for creating and reproducing designs and how to choose a design in accordance with the style of the piece. Principles and use of shading are also covered. Students may develop and paint a design for a piece of their choice.

8)       Color Theory:  A practical examination of Color Theory, including the color wheel, color harmony and mixing.

9)       Country Painting Techniques:  In this group are included a variety of finishes that mimic or replicate the work of usually self taught artisans working in the countryside of  Europe and America.  In each of the following, students will complete practice boards and a frame, box or small piece of furniture.  The list includes:

• Folk Art Wood Finishes:  Techniques used to imitate the appearance of rare, expensive woods such as Burl Walnut and Mahogany.  Often called “Graining”, these finishes were very popular in America in the 18^th and early 19^th centuries.

• Provincial Ring Cut: Fantasy rendering of tree ring cuts, a form of decoration often used in American Folk Art.

• Milk Paint (European style): A traditional country finish used on both sides of the Atlantic. Casein (milk protein) is used as the binder for the pigments.

• Country Scene Painting: Naïve representation of landscapes characteristic of an American style used in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

10)       Rendering of rare and precious materials from animal sources:  From earliest times such materials have been used to fabricate and decorate a large variety of objects. These are now either prohibitively expensive or unavailable because many come from endangered species. It is possible though, to replicate these beautiful materials using different techniques for each finish.  Finishes taught in this course group include: Tortoise Shell, Ivory and Shagreen (sharkskin). The Tortoise Shell class teaches the application of multiple glazes in order to reproduce the unique richness and luminosity of real tortoise shell.  The various patterns that are found in the natural material will also be discussed and demonstrated. Students will also learn a technique called "stringing", a decoration of very fine edging imitating ivory or ebony that is often found on antique tortoise shell objects.  Students will practice on boards and may bring in their own object to refinish as long as it is relatively small, in good condition and appropriate in shape for this particular finish.

11)  Rendering minerals and marbles:   A great variety of stone, some semi-precious, has been and is being used to produce objects and to enhance pieces of fine furniture. There is a long tradition of replicating these materials in paint, whether to decorate furniture or walls. In these classes students learn the characteristics of the stone and how to reproduce them, where the stone is found and how it was used in the past. They complete practice boards and either a table top or a piece. This group of courses includes:  Veined Marble (relatively monochromatic with contrasting veining) and Breccia Marble (made of fragments of stone that were compressed and reunited through geological events). Examples of semi-precious stones are Lapis Lazuli (a deep blue stone with flecks of gold) and Malachite (a bright green stone with dramatic patterns within it).

12)   Asian Finishes:  These are based on finishes used traditionally in Japan and China. Europeans imported many examples of various styles from Asia starting in the 17^th century; these highly prized and very expensive pieces started an enduring fashion for anything “oriental”. Two of these finishes will be covered in the Asian Finishes class: Negoro Nuri which is a dramatic finish of a brilliant red or yellow over black. Students will work on a practice board and on a piece. They may bring in their own Asian style pieces to work on such as a box or a tray.  Eggshell uses tiny fragments of real eggshell set within a glaze to create an unique textured effect.  A practice board and a piece will be completed.  If students wish to bring in their own piece it should be small and of Asian or Art Deco style.  Hand mirrors or small boxes are particularly nice in this finish.

13)   European Finishes:  This group covers a range of finishes used at different time periods and in various areas of the world. We now use materials and methods that are more practical and efficient than in the past but produce the same results. In each class students complete practice boards and work on a small piece. The list includes but is by no means limited to the following finishes: Japanning, a sophisticated form of glazing using multiple layers of glaze.  This finish imitates 18th century Japanning and Vernis Martin. Cailloute´, from the French “covered in pebbles”, a design from antique porcelain. Pen Work, an 18th century form of decoration usually done in black and white, with neoclassical, oriental or floral designs. 18th Century Italian Painted Furniture, a highly decorated and colorful finish very popular particularly in Venice and Genoa. 18th Century Italian Graining, a fantasy wood graining. Fine Line Gilding/ Vermiculation Pen:  Originally vermiculation referred to worm-like carvings (from the French “ver” meaning an earth worm); by extension it is a type of decoration consisting of sinuous fine lines applied by using a vermiculation pen. The pen can be filled with “gold size” varnish which allows the application of leaf to the design.   Patination:, includes antique bronzing, verdigris, art deco finishes.   14)   Workshops: Usually one or two sessions. Please refer to the schedule page for dates and times. Finishing: How to choose and execute the right finish for a piece. Varnishes and waxes and their application will be covered as well as various sanding and buffing techniques. Decoupage is the art of decorating objects with paper cutouts, either hand-colored prints or engravings.  It was introduced by 17th century Venetian cabinetmakers to meet the demand for elaborately decorated furnishings popular at the time. Cutouts are glued to a painted object and covered with many coats of varnish or lacquer. Students learn decoupage techniques and how to lay out a design. Students will work on a tray choosing their own design and lay out. Painting on fabric, a method of painting on natural fabrics using special paints. Students may work on an item of clothing or a household item such a cushion cover. Napkin Rings/Jewelry: Students learn to prepare and create designs for wooden napkin rings or bangle bracelets using a variety of techniques.. Box Lining: Students learn how to give boxes a personal & professional finishing touch by lining them with specialty papers.

For more information about these techniques click here for a suggested reading list.

To find out about classes available at The New Studio....

Click on the Schedules link below.

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