Tuesday 30 July 2019

Home is where the heart(h) is; 1. A fireback project and some gilding

Hello my friends,

You have seen this lovely fireplace before but today's post is mainly about the chimneyplate or fireback that I have made. 


July is drawing to a close and it is mid summer in the northern hemisphere. The weather is warm and dry but thankfully not as dry as last year. And for some reason I am busy with my fireplace. Not really a summers project. :-) More on that later, first I want to Welcome Birgit as a new follower. Thank you for taking interest in my wanderings in the world of miniature.


Now, Mrs. M. Has pointed out some Etsy vendors in her blog and so I found these beautiful brass stampings which I ordered from Jewelsdumonde. Lovely frames that will be turned into miniatures. I got a few ideas for these but that is for another blogpost.


In the picture above you see a stamping shaped like a plaque. It depicts a woman carrying a wheat sheaf and a putti harvesting the wheat. It could be an alegory on the harvest or autumn. Perhaps even depict the goddes Ceres. But as soon as I saw it I thought "fire back"!

So as soon as my order arrived and I could find a free afternoon I started by cutting out a back for the plaque out of manilla card. Great stuff, tough but a also a bit tricky to cut out curves. And perhaps most important pretty water resistant so no problems with water based glues and paints. I cut out a backing for the plaque and a piece for the bottom. It now follows a classic shape for Dutch fire backs.
I assembled the three pieces and let the glue dry.

Once dried I painted them with black enamel paint two thin coats. It already looks quite good. But it is as yet too shiny. I added a bit of graphite/charcoal to matt the shine down a bit.


And here is the result. An elegant and decorative fire back.


I also found the time and courage to complete the gilded details on my marbled fireplace I made in the workshop of last march. In the picture above you see the unfinished gold details. I spilled a lot of gold paint outside the lines.


So after retouching the gold details I retouched the marbling. That was the most daunting part. But after enough trial and error I managed to mix the chrome white and ivory black in the right quantities. I am very pleased with the result.

That's it for now. I hope you have enjoyed this little post and wish you a very good day.

Until next time!

Huibrecht.


16 comments:

  1. Quelle belle inspiration et un résultat magnifique !
    Vos autres achats vous inspireront sans doute autant pour notre plus grand plaisir !
    bonne journée

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    1. Merci Claude, je vais bientôt essayer de te montrer mes plans avec quelques-uns des ornements en bronze.

      Huibrecht

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  2. You have any right to be pleased with this result! ;O) So good that you've found the courage to finish the painting of this stunning fireplace. No doubt that this was a difficult task - but the result is stunning. And this plate was a great find - just perfect for a fireplace's shield.

    Greetings
    Birgit

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind compliment, Birgit. I try to show progress on some of the other little ornaments too. Som will become wall sconces I hope.

      Huibrecht

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  3. What a stroke of genius to use the metal piece to create such a wonderful fire back plate! You've done a precision job and I hope to see this fabulous piece in a room sometime soon!

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    1. Thank you Jodi. The room will be made, but the rest of this summer I want to concentrate mainly on furniture and other miniatures.

      Huibrecht

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  4. Your fireplace and your fireback look Wonderful together! I love the subject matter of the relief and the way in which you mounted it and finished it, which is Perfect!

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    1. How kind, Elisabeth. I am glad that you like it. The combining of different materials and turning it into something completely new is partly inspired by your blogposts. This was a simple combination, but more will follow. :-)

      Huibrecht

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  5. Très bons achats et très bonne utilisation de la plaque pour votre cheminée.
    Je suis curieux de voir ce que vous allez faire avec les autres acquisitions, à bientôt!

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    1. Merci beaucoup, Jean Claude. J'espère que les résultats vous plairont avec les autres pièces de bronze miniatures.

      Huibrecht

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  6. De marmer-techniek beheers je goed, Huibrecht! Een prachtige combinatie met de haardplaat!

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  7. Hallo Monique, dank je wel. Ik ga binnenkort proberen om andere soorten marmer na te maken. Hopelijk lukken die ook.

    Huibrecht

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  8. Gorgeous gorgeous !!! What room awaits this, so thrilling to follow this. Glad you found the adress useful. Big summer huggss Mrs M

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    1. Thank you Mrs. M. This fireplace and fireback are destined to go into what is known as the small or green salon. (https://swinnendael.blogspot.com/2018/04/maquette-de-vertrekken-bel-etage-ground.html) Here the family usualy drink their tea. The walls will be covered with wooden panneling in pale green and cream colours. The white marble fireplace will stand out.

      Big summer hugs to you too.

      mr. H.

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    2. Mr H, I can totally see it. Many years ago when House & Garden had a strore in Paris it was lined in planking over which they had laid moldings then color washed it all in pale blue grey and the effect was fantastic and has stayed with me since. Your build is going to be amazing ! huggssss

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