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An early Italian Renaissanceframe made in Siena

incorporated sgraffito stars in the frame panel.

& Revitalizing an Ancient

TechniqueGranito:

Sgraffito

Frame maker Bob Kulicke was perhaps oneof the great masters of our time. His sgraf-fito frame is a classic example of his mas-

tery, not only in the sgraffito technique but alsoin imitating antique patinas (top, facing page).Even his imitation wormholes are cleverly doneto complement his masterfully imprecise sgraffi-to design. There is an inherent beauty in suchobjects. He seems to have tapped into some-thing great in his quest for the ultimate frameduring his life (1924-2007).

Art historian Dr. John T. Spike wrote inDissimilar Revelations that the beauty of a workof art is derived directly from the quality of theidea from which it is created. He says, “Greatworks of art encompass ideas which resonatelike silent, mighty chords across the barriers of

Today’s framers are combining contemporary

creativity with this historic style

By William Bruce Adair

of time, traveling on a universal fre-quency of our shared humanity.”

There are works of art through-out the centuries that become greatforces of human expression. Amongthe pantheon of these forms is thathumble appliance, the picture frame.

One of the oldest designs is thesimple zigzag chevron. Made byscratching, incising, punching, andembossing on early bone tools, thesepatterns may be as old as 20,000years and can be seen in the museumat the famous caves at Lascaux,France.

It’s no surprise that artisans stillemploy techniques developed by ourprehistoric ancestors. Take, for exam-ple, early Italian Renaissance frames,such as those made in Siena. Thesewere created by artisans who under-stood the importance of integrated design,linking a painting and frame with sgraffitostars similar to a star emblazoned on thecloak of the Virgin, linking her with thecelestial realm.

Sgraffito and GranitoSuch designs are among the many tech-niques used in sgraffito and granito decora-tion on frames, first popularized during theItalian Renaissance but still common today.In sgraffito—which means “to scratch,”—the surface of a burnished water-gildedframe is painted over with egg tempera.When dry (or “leather hard”), the thinlyapplied paint is skillfully scratched off witha sharp wooden stylus, creating intricatelinear designs that reveal bright gold linesand what appears to be a “thread” of theunderlying brilliance. Historically, it thus imitated rich,embroidered fabrics that were among the most valuable com-modities of household inventories of the time.

Sgraffito is akin to “estofado,” a Spanish frame decorationtechnique that literally goes over the top of carved and gildedornaments. The addition of few drops of olive oil to the pig-ment and egg tempera allowed for a longer scratching timebefore surface hardens, allowing an artisan to work at a less

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frantic pace.Granito is another related

technique in which surface embell-ishments are added that resemblegrain or little bits of grain andreflect small points of light. Thereare also a myriad of other relatedartistic techniques used on gildedframes, including detailed stamp-ing on painting in the backgroundof duecento and trecento panelpaintings and their mouldings.

Many of these gilding tech-niques are produced by variousmetal tools applying pressure thegold surface, both with and with-out an over-layer of paint. Thesedesigns have become a great sourcefor contemporary moulding design-ers to draw on for inspiration.

One of the most useful andrewarding methods of frame embellish-ment is punch work or granito. Thiswas an early Italian technique used forcreating texture and patterns in thebackground of gilded surfaces. Exquisitebeauty of the gilded surface was createdwhen a variety of tonal effects weremade by using texture to produce lightand shadow. Just as a good painting hasdistinct values ranging from dark tolight, so should the frame, which sur-rounds the art. To amplify the effects ofdifferent textures, a thin glaze might beapplied to the surface. Granito requires agreat deal of patience. Once mastered, itis a most satisfying decorative process,second only to burnishing gold.

Punching the freshly laid gold withmetal stamping tools is also one of the

oldest techniques of surface decoration. In the early four-teenth century, elaborately punched backgrounds were creat-ed to embellish the halos of holy family icons or the texturedclothing of the saints. Many of the early craftsmen madetheir own tools. A bird’s-eye punch, stars, and hearts areamong the multitude of punch work patterns. A less-expen-sive and very available source of punch tools are leather sup-ply stores. Crude tools can also be fashioned by hand by fil-

This antique Italian combination of sgraffitoand granito was used to make a pattern ofrichness and beauty, with an insignia of a family crest.

This Bob Kulicke sgraffito frame is a great example of amodern craftsman’s interpretation of an ancient craft, withgreen egg tempera over gold leaf and a sgraffito design.

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In this antique Italian design, translucent paints were used over thegold to create the effect of small jewels embedded into the surfaceof the frame.

The best way to prevent this is to lay a moist (notwet) cloth over the area to be tooled. You can also put aframe in a plastic bag; the moisture will gradually pene-trate the layers and give you a perfect consistency forpunching without cracking. Italian master CeninnoCeninni suggested placing a frame is a damp basement forseveral days to soften the surface prior to punching. Thetool should be held perpendicular to the surface with one

ing nails or other pieces of metal and mounting them on astick.

Most punch work is done after the gilding is completeand while the gesso is still relatively soft. It's still difficult toget all the painstaking punching done while the gesso ismoist, especially if you live in a dry, hot climate. If thepunching is done when the gesso is hard, there will be fis-sures that may cause the surface to deteriorate prematurely.

A contemporary Max Kuehne design used silver leaf along with tempera paint to create a luxurious surface pattern. The silver wascoated with an orange varnish called “mecca” to give the silver thelook of gold.

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hand, and with the other, a light mallet is used to gently tap the punch. It takessome practice to obtain even and consistent results.

Most of the time the punch work will follow the outline of a frame’s orna-mentation—usually either pastiglia, sgraffito, or other forms of surface decora-tion. All you do is follow the background in a consistent, steady manner. If thereis a flat panel with an elaborate design, then you must make a stencil or use car-bon paper to transfer the design to the surface.

Designs from a WorkshopThese techniques were practiced in a session at The National Conference thispast January (Sgraffito and Granito Workshop). Attendees traced their designsfrom an original with tissue paper. The tissue was then used as a template to

transfer patterns to the surface of anew frame. A ballpoint pen with arounded tip was used to draw a pat-tern on the surface, and it was readyfor granito. Work produced in thisWCAF session (facing page) has beenused as a small exhibit at GoldleafStudios in Washington, DC, thissummer to evoke reactions fromclients. PFM

William Adair is an instructor at The

National Conference and will be teaching

classes similar to Sgraffito at this year’s event.

The side of a hammer was used to stampa granito pattern into the surface of thegilded frame with a metal punch, creatinga unique surface texture not obtainable byany other method.

William B. Adair received his B.F.A. inStudio Art from the University of Mary-land in 1972. For the next 10 years heworked for the Smithsonian Institu-tion’s National Portrait Gallery as amuseum conservator specializing inthe treatment of picture frames. In1982 he formed Gold Leaf Studios tomake frames and conserve gildedantiques. His clients have included theU.S. Department of State and theNational Park Service. He is thefounder of the International Institutefor Frame Study, a non-profit archivededicated to collecting and dissemi-nating information on the history offrames. He can be reached atbill@goldleafstudios.com.

“Mine was the dragonfly frame. Iwanted to make it whimsical andbeachy, so I tried to lightly paint itin blues and greens and distress it.I was hoping to catch some of theshimmer and transparency of thebeautiful dragonfly.”—Maureen Gagliano, Madison, CT

“My sgraffito ‘moment’ wasto create many sgraffitodesigns with desktop softwareso they could be easily scaledand edited from one frame toanother each time we createa new frame. For this frame Icreated and executed a Celticdesign. I have since appliedmy honed sgraffito skills onan antique reproductionframe for a client. The frameis meant to look hundreds of years old with cracked joints anda worn finish but is only a few weeks old.”—Andy Stemple, Metropolitan Frame Company, Denver, CO

“Before attending the class, I hadjust completed an etching of abird’s nest, which I felt would be agood subject for this project. Iwanted to include all three ele-ments—trees, bird’s nest, andbirds. The frame shape suggestedwhimsy, so it seemed natural tocreate an asymmetrical design.” —Marla Hoppenstedt, Baton Rouge, LA

“This class helped me pull inspira-tion from a necklace I was wear-ing that was in the shape of acrown. I tried to create symmetryin the piece, while keeping it ele-gant.”—Rena Patel, Lancaster, CA

“My frame was probably the sim-plest in design of all, but I made itthat way on purpose. As a customframe builder, I am always tryingto not compete with the art butcomplement it.”—Jim Graehl, Kalispell, MT

“My frame is a loose interpretationof art nouveau with a little rococoflair. I added my initials at the bot-tom to give it a more traditionalcustom feel. A variety of line andtexture were added to increasemovement and interest in the flatframe.”—Christina Harrelson, Sheridan,WY

“This design came from thelotus flower, a symbol of allthings good. The lotus allowedfor me break away from thelinear designs common withsquare frames to a radialdesign that emanates from thecenter. The bold colors areconsistent with the lotusdesign element and arabesqueshape surrounding the outsideof the frame and help to bringinterest in the stark contrast of the gold, black, and red.”—Elizabeth Hellsten, San Antonio, TX

“This piece was based on fab-ric patterns in popular interiordesign. It lent itself well tomany of the techniques usedin sgraffito, so I tried them all.Then, in all of its feverishoverkill, I was able to "wipeaway" the boldness that camefrom not being able to containmy excitement, and this iswhat evolved. I have a feelingthis is the way my future workwill manifest itself.”—Lisa Marie Sopko, Darlington, PA

“I came up with the design forthe frame by envisioning theart piece it would contain. Forsome reason, Marc Chagallcame to mind. I knew I want-ed an approach that wouldremain very lightweight visual-ly and a little playful, whilealso keeping the design simpleenough to finish in class.”—Jeff Protsman, Denver, CO

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