With 30 years experience restoring 18th century gilt mirrors and frames I was always drawn to the glass—to the mirrored glass. The glass tells the story. Its history is undeniable—its age and patina is not easily reproduced. It has a sense of history—it has seen and been seen by generations. It has insight, presence and secrets. It is mysterious yet pure. It absorbs more than it reflects. I try to recreate the spirit, this life, to find the pulse within the mirror.

 

I began experimenting with patinating mirrors to put in gilt barn wood frames I was working on years ago. I took old throw-away broken and salvaged mirrors, removed the painted backing and experimented with different acids and chemicals. Intrigued with the results, I added images to create a type of faux-eglomise with inspiration from antique bronze-age mirrors, Tibetan Thanka paintings and Venetian mirrors. Each mirror is unique due to variations in the original silvering process making the distressing technique at times unpredictable but always interesting. For more information, email: contact@neillayne.com.