Hello Mitra !
I made a batch of rabbit skin glue gesso using bologna chalk and titanium white. I added 5% titanium white separately from the chalk, and despite using a sieve, the brighter titanium is visible in a near infinity of tiny clumps. When I brushed a sample of gesso out I could feel the clumps and break them up with my finger.
I let the gesso sit for a number of days and prepared one panel with it. Once sanded smooth it looks and feels like all the other panels I’ve successfully made in the past.
My Questions: Have the mini titanium clumps absorbed enough gesso to be bound properly? If not, do you think the gesso layers will be stable given the distribution across each layer of possibly improperly bound titanium white flecks?
I’ve attached a picture of the gesso in gelatinous form where you can see the distribution of titanium white.
Thank you!
eli
Hello Eli,
With what mechanical mean did you disperse and grind the chalk and titanium white into the the glue? How long did you work that dispersion before use?
From the looks of it my hypothesis would be a little lack of mechanical grind or dispersion wetting time to break down the early lumps in manufacture.
Cheers,
@lussh Hi,
I used a sieve to sprinkle the chalk and titanium into the warm glue. Once the I’ve finished sprinkling the whiting, I pour the gesso through the sieve back and forth a few times and let it cool. The chalk easily absorbs into the glue, but the titanium does not and stays in these clumps. Perhaps letting the solution stay warm longer so the titanium has time to absorb, and/or perhaps my titanium was just clumpy and needs to be ground a bit before adding to the glue. Thanks for your thoughts – eli
