Thursday, November 14, 2013

FARRAGOZ: The Art of Patina - Module 2

Recently I was offered a 12-month online course given by Farragoz, in exchange for reviewing and blogging about my progress along the way. Today I am sharing my second completed project, a clock face, that I ended up making into a table.   To achieve an authentic aged patina, you learn to make all of the oil stains and paints using inexpensive and common household ingredients.  For example, the gold paint I used in my clock face project called for the yolk of an egg!  



After going through the process of making this clock face, I realize in hindsight it is relatively easy. You are given step by step instructions, including a template and lots of advice and guidance along the way from your own personal instructor.  And like the last project, you simply start out with a plain piece of scrap wood that you learn how to transform into a work of art!  

But before I begin, feast your eyes on the beautiful Farragoz version of this project.


So, below is the scrap piece of wood I used.  It is quite heavy and pressure treated, but simply a piece of scrap wood that I started out with.



After applying several layers paint that I mixed up myself using the Farragoz-supplied recipes, I used carbon paper to transfer the design.  You may notice that my paint is already starting to crackle in places.  That is what you want to happen when you are trying to achieve an authentic aged look.



Painting all the black details does require a steady hand and a fine tip brush, but already, you can see it start coming to life.


And now, using the 'secret' egg yolk recipe, I am able to finish off all those gold details.  


Then onto my favorite part.  Transforming it into an object that portrays an aged surface of what ordinarily requires a great passage of time, or an environment of harsh elements.  



As I mentioned in the beginning, I decided to turn my clock face into a table.  Below is a photo I took of it outside the front of my shop after mounting it on top of an old table base I had.  


I decided a glass top would make it more useful and would help protect its fragile surface too.  Plus I am getting a jump on the holiday season while I show you my completed project.  TA-DAH!


And now a close-up of all the yummy aged details.


Eventually it will get added to a new room I am planning for my shop, as a cozy place to sip coffee or tea and perhaps do a little reading.  For now, I give you my dreamy, out-of-focus version, until which time I manage to find the perfect little spot in my shop.  




I am being provided this course for free, but my opinions of it are my own, and just so you know, my opinions of it are very high!  Perhaps you want to learn more about this course.  To do so, there is a link up at the top of my sidebar that you can click on that describes this course so much better than I ever could.  All I know is that I am thoroughly enjoying myself and very eager to start working on my next project!

Linking up with Marian at Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Feature Friday