Photo by Joseph Kramm
Miriam Ellner is revolutionizing an 18th-century technique through bold innovation and material experimentation. In this month’s Artisan Journal, we discussed the world of verre églomisé—reverse painting on glass with metallic leaf—and how layered glass, precious metals, and strategic lighting transform ordinary spaces into luminous works of art. To learn how tradition and modernity converge in a medium that’s both timeless and endlessly evolving, follow along below.
Each section of Miriam’s design for this translucent botanical screen consists of two glass panels laminated together and can be viewed from both sides. Credit: Photo by Wiley Kidd
Process & Innovation
CD: Walk us through your process for verre églomisé. Where have you innovated within the traditional technique of reverse painting on glass with metallic leaf?
ME: Simply put, verre églomisé is the process of gilding precious metals on the reverse side of glass, etching in a design, and setting it off with color. It has opened the door for me to explore the realms of reflectivity, opacity, and translucency. The magical nature of these materials—which take a number of layers to make opaque—affords endless opportunities to dream out loud.
In my early work, I used traditional approaches to the medium by water-gilding 22-karat gold leaf on the back of the glass. I then fashion my own wooden stylus to draw into the gold, creating images that are backed up with color. Some of my early explorations of texture were inspired by patterns found in wood, fabrics, and ceramics interpreted through the medium of églomisé. New materials, experimentation with textures, translucency, and the lamination of up to five layers of glass have allowed me to expand the basic tenets of this medium, utilizing the basic palette of precious metals and paint.
Three panels of glass with opaque and transparent textural finishes compose Miriam’s design for an asymmetrical laminated glass coffee table. Credit: Photo by Wiley Kidd
Contemporary Applications
CD: How are designers integrating verre églomisé into modern spaces beyond traditional mirrors and panels?
ME: Anywhere glass is applied can be an opportunity to use églomisé to enhance and transform an area. Doors, partitions, windows, screens, opaque or translucent backlit ceilings, glass paintings, tables, or lining the walls of a room are just some of the ways I’ve imbued a space.
CD: What applications surprise people most?
ME: Using laminated glass, where you can see through the panels totally or partially. Each image is deconstructed, and one or two aspects are arranged on each panel. Once all the panels are complete, they are laminated together and become whole. Because each panel is 1/4″ thick, there is space between one panel and the next, creating tremendous depth. I’ve used this to great effect on windows, partitions, and ceilings, with 2–5 glass panels.
Left: A collage of samples and drawings illustrates steps in the development of a lush landscape for Ellner’s original SPRING glass painting. Credit: Photo by Wiley Kidd Right: A full view of Ellner’s SPRING glass painting commissioned by Jayne Design Studio for a Connecticut residential estate (57” width x 80” height). Credit: Photo by Cesar Martinez
Balancing Heritage & Modernity
CD: How do you create pieces that honor the technique’s 18th-century heritage while appealing to contemporary design sensibilities?
ME: By expanding the use of églomisé. Anywhere you have glass, or the potential to replace another material with glass, can be very appealing for its unique qualities and adaptability. By exploring imagery, new materials, and techniques, you enhance and honor its heritage. It’s equal parts rediscovery and invention.
Technical Approach
CD: Your work requires exceptional spatial visualization. How does your process begin, and how do you manipulate transparency, reflection, and luminosity to create depth that flat painting cannot achieve?
ME: Each project is a new challenge and starts with what parameters are initially discussed. In many instances, research and experimentation are required. Once the concept is carefully planned and drawings are conceived, the optical topography is built up section by section. Everything is applied on the back of the glass, working “backwards”—foreground to background. The first layer is applied right on the glass, and each successive layer will appear behind it. Since it requires multiple layers to be opaque, a given passage can be composed of up to 20 layers of various materials. In this way, you can control the beautiful and varying characteristics of this ethereal genre: reflection, depth, luminosity, and more.
This HOKU WAVES double-sided screen, commissioned by Williams Lawrence, defines an open dining/living space in a Florida residence. It has a combination of opaque and translucent areas. To provide depth and softness, a second glass panel was striéd vertically to give the appearance of falling rain. Photo credit: Miguel Moscoso
Material Experimentation
CD: Are you experimenting with contemporary materials or digital integration while respecting the medium’s essence?
ME: Exploring new materials—precious metals, artist oils, textured glass, tints, powders, mica flakes, glass beads, mother of pearl, resin, modern reflective textures, and more—and investigating new techniques is a constant process and an ongoing part of my practice.
Collaborating with interior designer Wesley Moon, this vanity was created for a dressing room in a Manhattan penthouse. It is composed of flat, curved, and laminated glass with a chevron-and-chain border pattern. Photo by Antoine Bootz
Design Considerations
CD: What should designers keep in mind about lighting, placement, and how verre églomisé fits into the architecture when commissioning a piece?
ME: Lighting is essential to showing my work at its best. I think of each panel as a moving painting—it constantly shifts depending on your viewing angle, the time of day, and whether the light is natural or artificial. Because the work is highly reflective, avoid direct artificial light. Instead, use indirect lighting from above, below, and the sides, tailored to each project. This should be a key part of the architectural planning from the start.
Miriam’s West Chelsea, New York Studio Photo by Cesar Martinez
Future Applications
CD: What excites you most about verre églomisé’s potential, and where do you see opportunities for unexpected applications in contemporary design?
ME: It is said that alchemy is the search for spirit in matter. Verre églomisé is the medium through which I connect the world of things seen and unseen, ancient and modern. It is both solid and changeable, and the act of creating is my way of giving these ephemeral connections permanence. It is such a beautiful medium with unlimited potential. Applications can be found anywhere glass is found, and the unexpected is just around the corner.
To further explore Miriam’s work, I highly recommend her book. It’s a must-have for the informed interior design library.
GOLDEN GLASS: VERRE ÉGLOMISÉ, published by Pointed Leaf Press.
Available from Amazon, Bookshop, and IndieBound.