Beginners Gold Leaf Gilding Workshop

Hello I am Liane Barker and welcome to my workshop page.I began my signwriting career in the early 1980's as one of Queensland’s few female apprentices, earning the prestigious Top Apprentice award in 1982. Trained in my father’s business, Barker Signs, I developed both the craftsmanship and business acumen that have sustained my 43-year career in traditional signwriting and gilding. In 2024, Barker Signs (established in 1964) celebrated 60 years of traditional craftsmanship. I have made it my mission to continue the craft and my father's business by offering custom hand-painted signs, gold leaf shopfronts, wedding and special occasion artworks as well as vintage boat lettering and interior gilding. My skill and dedication have earned me international recognition, including invitations to exhibit and teach at prestigious events in the U.S., U.K., and Europe including teaching a group of typography students at the Dublin Design School in 2019. I was an invited guest tutor in 2019 at the Brushmasters Getaway 4 day Custom Pinstriping, Airbrushing and Signwriting retreat in Paonia, Colorado, USA and ran a couple of "Intro to Signwriting" workshops in Chicago and Boston the same year.Committed to preserving the craft, I launched my own online signwriting workshops during the 2020 lockdowns, expanding my reach further worldwide. In 2021, I was nominated for the Women in Signpainting Award by the prestigious Signs of the Times Magazine (USA). In 2024, I released my 'Mastering the Art of Signwriting' online course and continued to run in-person signwriting and gold leaf workshops as well as private one-on-one tutoring via online and in person.I started teaching reverse glass gilding workshops in Feb 2022 under the name of Mastering the Art of Signwriting, the first being in Melbourne and then Brisbane mid year, closing out the year teaching in Amsterdam to 10 eager students from Europe and UK.In 2024 I was given the immense honour of teaching a glass gilding workshop in the old city centre of Florence, Italy. Walking past the Duomo every morning on the way to the workshop was truly a highlight and I had to pinch myself that this was actually happening! A special highlight of this workshop was a behind the scenes tour of Giusto Manetti Battiloro Gold Leaf Factory in Florence. This is one of the oldest family owned and operated gold manufacturing companies in Italy, established in 1600 and still practicing the noble craft of gold beating for over 15 generations. My students and I were the first ever signwriting group to visit the establishment and were lucky enough to witness the hands on production of various carats of gold being transformed from ingot to leaf.My latest glass gilding workshop was held this year in the famous Ruth Tappin's Restoration Gilding studio in Leek, Staffordshire UK.I have also run Intro to Sign Lettering workshops in Dublin, London, Copenhagen, Netherlands, Edinburgh and Brisbane. I hold a degree in creative arts majoring in printmaking and sculpture and when I am not signwriting or teaching, I make custom props for burlesque and drag performers.I recently moved to Melbourne where I will continue to offer inclusive workshops in Reverse Glass Gilding, One Day Decorative Lettering, Intro to Signwriting and Art Based Gilding on Glass and my new fun workshop, Foil me Fabulous up-cycled Shiny Glam for your footwear.