Gold Fusion
Lathe turned, quilted maple center, gold gilding, 37″ H x 7″ D
From David: This piece has four different types of genuine gold leaf on the surface: 22 karat gold, Thai gold that I brought back from Thailand, 23.75 karat gold which is used for exterior gilding, and Moon Gold, which is 21 karats and an alloy that gives it a silvery color. The back of the piece is completely finished with a chemical patina and sealed with lacquer. The center piece on the front is a highly figured piece of big leaf quilted maple which I have oriented in a diamond pattern in the center of the sculpture. I cut the center piece into a four faceted surface before inlaying it into the center of the sculpture. The center piece and the sculpture are turned on my lathe and there are two layers of gold leaf on the surface. I call this technique double gilding. I wanted to create a textured surface as opposed to a smooth surface. I achieved this by building up multiple layers of a gesso like putty on the surface. This way it looks more like cast gold. There is also a very subtle pattern that I have hand scribed into the surface. Essentially it is a geometric pattern layered onto the surface to divide the different types of gold panels. One of the more obvious ones would be the four spiral patterns emitting from the center which signify the four seasons, winter, spring, summer, fall. A less obvious one would be the 12 panels surrounding the center which signify the 12 hours on the face of a clock. This ties in to the outer seven rings which subtly implies the 7 days of the week.