Trade School

I cannot believe I totally forgot to mention this!? I caught this super-cool show called Trade School on the DIY Network recently.? It is a half hour?program focusing on selected individuals getting the “hands-on know-how about the careers that interest them the most”.? This particular episode was called “Decorative Painting” and was shot in 2007.? The show featured?Andre Martinez teaching a newcomer, Gary Gomez, some tricks of the trade under his School of the Applied Arts Apprenticeship Program.? The viewers themselves pick up on great information.? On the episode, they were working on a builder’s home in Colorado creating a classical French style.? It featured gold leafing, lime plasters, marbling, trompe l’oeil?and making a mold of existing intricate moldings to recreate the pieces that had broken off.

Coincidentally,?my friend Lucinda of Portland’s Shakti Space Designs recently posted about her own marbling class with Andre Martinez on her site’s blog.? The samples are gorgeous.

Personally, my favorite aspect of the show was the part about?creating molds — I learned how to do this in a Dave Schmidt class years ago and it was nice to see the art in use.? It’s great?knowledge to pull out of your bag of tricks when the right?commission comes along.? If you get a chance, look out for the episode the next time it airs.