Gold leafing adds much needed bling to campus

by: adam hurlburt
Staff Writer

Notice anything different on campus these past few weeks, maybe a little extra ‘bling'? If not, wake up and take a good long look at the amazing gold leafing on the carving of St. Ambrose found outside of the Beehive.

The leafing is the work of Ambrose alumni and sign painter, Jeff Young.

When the carving of St. Ambrose on the stone façade of the Beehive began to show its age, maintenance knew that there was only one man to call.

And that man was Jeff Young of Young Art and Sign.

"I had done some work for the school before, repairing one of the signs out front after it had been shot with a paintball," Young said. "Maintenance got all the paint off, but removed some of the gold leafing in the process. I came in and re-leafed the whole sign."

"The carving of Ambrose on the beehive was gold leafed originally, but after the leafing fell off, maintenance began painting it gold," Young said. "Leafing the carving turned out to be a lot bigger job than I thought it would be. I really underestimated it," Young said. "I had about 18 hours into the job by the time I finished."

Gold leafing is a process in which gold leaf, or gold foil, is adhered to a surface for decoration. The gold leaf sticks onto the surface by way of a slow-drying, tacky varnish called sizing that is painted on to the surface.

The gold leaf is then placed on the sizing where it slowly adheres to the surface.

"It’s (gold leafing) very forgiving work," Young said. "You can just keep cramming gold leaf on the surface without any seams or irregularities showing up."

This is because separate pieces of gold leaf instantly bond together.

The final step in gold leafing is to brush over the completed surface with a soft bristled brush. This brushes off the excess loose gold leaf, leaving behind a beautiful, precise piece of work.

"I don’t get a lot of requests for gold leafing, but I try to push it when I can. It is really a beautiful addition," Young said.

Gold leafing is most commonly found in the lettering on fire trucks. Young has done a few fire trucks in his day.

If you are interested in gold leafing but may be hesitant about it, take solace in Young’s words.

"I really taught myself how to gold leaf, just from reading a few trade magazines and technique books," Young said.

Young Art and Sign is located on West 15^th Street in Davenport. Young has been a sign painter for 22 years.