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Rick Glawson had lots of ties to this area; Nevada City, California. He would come to a big antique show held at our local fair grounds. The person that puts on this show, also would give Rick antique signs to restore. Now, this guy hasn't anyone to do the restorations, and found me through a friend, and asked if I could gold leaf an antique beer sign. I said, "yes", and got directions to his place.
Upon my arival, I was greated to antiques as I was going up his driveway. There was a "Water Cannon" (used for strip mining) antique gas lamp posts, still working, as they illumated my way to the front door. I was greated gracously, and we entered into his home. The "awe" was quite evident on my face as I looked around. He was living in a museum of antique glass signs, guns, reverse glass signed photos,(Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, ect,) plaqus... you name it...
I asked if there was any of Rick Glawson's work. This is what he showed me.
This next photo shows a small bottle which has a picture that Rick had adheared to a very thin piece of glass, then formed it to the bottle by heating it up to 200 degrees, so that it would form to the contour , and used animal hide glue to secure it.
I took about 75 photos of glue chipped glass, reverse glass, gold leaf, silver leaf, ablone, formed copper, domed and curved glass, stain glass, reverse glass paintings. All of which, were done pre-1900. I wish I could show you more but the owner said I could take the pictures, if I didn't "plaster" them around.
-------------------- Richard Bustamante Signs in the Pines www.signsinthepines.com Posts: 781 | From: Nevada City, California | Registered: Nov 1998
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Richard that was a cool visit and a new good future client, Glad to hear you were an honored guest. Yes sad to say Rick will be missed by many, but as we all know...He was one BADD Gold Leaf Dude! (BADD=epitomy of a master, for those who don't understand my lingo) By the way received your card, Thanks, not sure when I can up up that way, but if I do let me know when the Flea Market is? You know I'm in denial when it comes to Flea Markets!
-------------------- aka:Cisco the "Traveling Millennium Sign Artist" http://www.franciscovargas.com Fresno, CA 93703 559 252-0935 "to live life, is to love life, a sign of no life, is a sign of no love"...Cisco 12'98 Posts: 3576 | From: Fresno, Ca, the great USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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thanks for the pictures.Rick & lola took a bunch of us out to one of his collector/customers houses at one of the conclaves, 1990 i think.Amazing stuff. At that time Rick showed me a bit about doing reverse glass pictorials by first painting on simplex paper and when the paint was dry he would adhere it to the back of the glass with a strong gelatin mix. When that was dry he would wet the exposed back of the paper and gently peel it off, leaving nothing but paint on the glass, as if it had been painted in reverse. The slumped glass label was then adhered to the pharmacy bottle using pine tar and resin.I've used west system epoxy to stick colour copies and inkjet prints to the back of glass and areas blasted out of mirrors with good sucess. 1 shot uv clear 4005 and frog juice also work. The paper goes clear and the colour gets wishy washy, but onnce the epoxy or clear dries just paint the back white and the colour all comes back.I hope more little bits of info and glawsonisms keep coming back and I hope we all share them . He'd like that. Thanks again for the pics and I promise not to tell if you show more! Pete Payne
-------------------- Marj Payne Canadian SignCrafters Supply www.signcraftersupply.com 75580 Wildwood LIne South Bayfield, ON, N0M 1G0 800-663-9753 cansign@tcc.on.ca Posts: 16 | From: Bayfield, Ont | Registered: Dec 2001
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-------------------- Richard Bustamante Signs in the Pines www.signsinthepines.com Posts: 781 | From: Nevada City, California | Registered: Nov 1998
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I had the fortunate chance to meet the man. Si took us to his shop the Wednesday before he met his maker.
These are a couple of the last pieces he was working on. The Whisky panel was almost complete ... just had some of the gold lettering to be repaired.
The back painted glass panel on the left had a lot of the top right side missing. Rick had drawn the outline on the front of the glass and had started painting the missing scene back from an old photograph. You could not even tell where the original finished and his work started ... matched color and brush strokes!!!!!!!!!!!
Who is going to finish them?
[ March 27, 2003, 11:01 PM: Message edited by: Jon Butterworth ]
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I wonder if this is the same place Rick took a bunch of us from a Letterheads meeting up there, his garage was an antique store where everything was for sale. Even the downstairs was full of dolls, and the bathroom, the jars around the tub. The number of reverse painted glass, train panels were amazing.
Any of you remember the doctors home in LA!!!!!!! I still think and speek of this place.
Who could ever forget meeting Rick.
-------------------- Bill'n'Annie Davidson Heathcote, NSW, Aus. my Aussie wife, a Toohey's Old, my Holden Ute, Retired from the rat race! Posts: 309 | From: Heathcote, NSW, Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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Yes Bill, that's omne of the places, and there was that place with the long white rock driveway too. David Trujillo, who apprenticed to Rick and worked with him for the past thirteen years is the most qualified to do the restorations and is starting his own business and will be contacting the former clients of Fine Gold. David has been doing the bulk of that work for many years. He has the blends and formulas and sequences down and is real good at it.
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6718 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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