Illuminating Your World with the
Radiance of Pure 24k Gold

The Gilded Hart

A Golden Symphony of
Luxury & Purity

Our story

Born from humble beginnings as a therapeutic hobby, our journey has evolved into a deep passion for craftsmanship and a steadfast commitment to preserving artisan traditions. Through the creation of exquisitely gilded pure 24k fine art and meticulously handcrafted precious element gilding adornments, we are so blessed to have cherished connections with so many wonderful people around the world who love our gold!

Today, The Gilded Hart stands as a refined calling and a noble promise to share not only the finest craftsmanship but also the uplifting essence of pure 24k gold with the world.

Come, join us and immerse yourself in this enchanting symphony of artistry, passion, and the luminous charm of pure 24k gold!

(See our Blog post “Golden Beginnings”)

History:

During the early Medieval and Renaissance periods (early 4th and 5th to 14th to 16th centuries), female illuminators and gildresses were highly favored and trusted by royalty and wealthy nobles. These rare roles were often held by princesses, noble women and nuns, as these positions in the royal scriberies were among the few occupations permitted to them. Entrusted with rare pigments and precious metals, they created beautifully detailed manuscripts and documents hand gilded with precious metals. Their refined skills and trustworthiness in handling precious materials and confidential decrees and information made them highly valued and protected in their roles.

Over time, demand for goldwork and illuminated manuscripts grew to an extent that monastic libraries began to employ secular scribes and illuminators. These artists lived close to the monastery and often dressed as monks when they entered the monastery, but were allowed to leave at the end of the day. The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in c. 1440 CE marked the beginning of the end of hand-made, illuminated books, but they remained popular among the wealthy, and some collectors disdained printed books and continued to commission hand-made works as a sign of their status and wealth.

The occupation of a mastercraftsman Gildere (Aurifex) / Illuminateur and rarer still the Artisane Illuminesse, is ascribed to only a small society of artisans keeping the ancient and noble skills of refining and crafting with pure gold and precious metals alive in the modern day.

Illuminesse:

[noun] A female gold artisan skilled in the crafting and artistry of gold

A distinguished craftswoman and fine artisan specializing in the combined art of both illumination and gilding.
The term Illuminesse is derived from the masculine Old French illuminateur (illuminator) and the Old English gildere (gilder), as well as the Old French illuminatrice or illuminatrix (female illuminator) and gildress (female gilder), with the feminine French suffix -esse to signify delicate grace the profession requires.
This term signifies a female artisan who possesses specialized skills of gilding, refining, illumination, and mastery of the delicate luminescent properties of gold and light for exquisitely crafted gold and fine art.
Plural: Illuminesses

About the Artist:

Karena is among the few remaining artisans in the world passionately dedicated to preserving the ancient art of gilding, illumination, hand-refining gold, and creating pure 24k gilded fine art.

She is an lIluminesse - one of the few female gold artisans specialized in both gilding and illumination remaining in the world also with the exceptionally rare knowledge and skill to hand-refine pure 24k gold into ultra-fine dust.

Her ultra fine dust is crafted with the warmth of her bare hands requiring sensitive discerning skills to refine the gold by touch for several hours into an ultra fine dust with further crafting over a three day period. Once complete, the precious gold particulates are more fine than pollen, measuring between 2 and 10 μm (microns)! She also uses her specialty ultra fine gold dust to create the finest pure 24k gold shell paint!

Her exquisite 24k gold powders and pigments, are crafted with thousands of hours of study and expertise. These rare, hand refined, luxurious, precious pigments are known for their purity and refinement and are highly sought after worldwide!

Her illuminated art is infused with artisane skills and expertise as an illuminesse combining her gold in a unique fusion of past and present her work is in cherished private collections around the world. Each piece is meticulously hand-designed and painted whilst drawing upon historic pastiglia, sculpting, and traditional gilding techniques.

Using only the finest materials, her creations are adorned with multiple layers of her handcrafted gilding adornments, rich with meaning and gracefully illuminated by the gentle glittering light and warmth that only pure 24k gold can provide.

Above: Karena and her beloved husband - This photo was from the exact day they decided to offer her hand crafted gold for sale to customers around the world!

Current:

She resides happily at their lake home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Northern Georgia with her beloved husband Russ, adorable dog and their darling deer herd that visits daily. Their two precious children are grown, and they are immensely proud of them!

Besides caring for her family, for over a decade she served as a Christian Counselor serving God and helping others, and began seeking a way to provide therapeutic art. She now fully pursues her love of illumination, gilding, goldsmithing and fine art, and is dedicated to the study of ancient manuscripts, codices, illumination, decorative and armorial art and has spent thousands of hours learning and refining her techniques.

She is proficient in traditional gilding, illumination, bas relief & pastiglia, hand-refining precious element gilding adornments, watercolour, egg tempera, oils, acrylics, armorial & heraldic art, iconography, sculpting, and decorative traditional arts and mixed media.

The art community and respected colleagues in the fine arts around the world are very important to her and she is a proud member of the Society of Gilders (SoG). The SoG is an international organization dedicated to the teaching and practice of gilding, she is also a member of many formal and social Armorial and Heraldic groups around the world including the International Association of Amateur Heralds, and holds certification in illumination study of The Book of Kells from Trinity College of Dublin.

*For more information or to commission custom 24k gilded art or pure 24k gold pigments, please send a message to thegildedhart@gmail.com.

Artist Statement:

"In a modern age of advancing technology, many of the centuries-old master skills are being forgotten; as an illuminator at heart, I am passionately dedicated to the study of gilding, illumination, traditional art and hand refining of the purest elements and the decorative arts. My inspiration is to preserve the traditional fine art of illumination and the ancient skill of hand-refining precious pure metals to offer beauty, joy and light to others in a meaningful way through the use of pure 24k gold.

Every illumination and precious element gilding adornment from start to finish is carefully handcrafted with a dedication to traditional techniques and the absolute highest regard for purity, quality and responsibly sourced precious elemental metals. My gilding adornments are always pure 24k gold (Element AU 79: 99.999％) and pure platinum (Element PT 78: 99.999%). These precious metals are hand refined through a highly labour-intensive, master craft proprietary process that has taken years of research and thousands of hours and experimenting to learn; NO chemical processes, mica, mixed or inferior metals are ever used in any of my gilding adornments or illuminations!

It is a humble honour and privilege to be one of only few trusted resources left in the world today devoted to the creation of these handcrafted, ultra-fine particulate, pure 24k gold and platinum precious adornments. We offer the perfect touch for fine artisans and creators seeking this rare, priceless, ultimate luxurious medium as the crowning glory for their masterpieces!

From my studio at the lake here in the mountains, where our precious deer watch over all of my creations, I present my best, purest 24k gold work for you to enjoy!

May the gentle, glittering light of pure gold brighten your day and bring you joy always!”

Warmest Golden Wishes,

Karena 💛