Help Bridgette Become a Royally Trained Master Gilder

Bridgette would love your help! She just landed the opportunity of a lifetime but needs your financial support to make it a reality! By supporting her, you will be helping to preserve the 5,000 year old tradition of gilding and paving the way for her to be trained by world renowned artists and teachers at the King's Foundation.

I met Bridgette in 2022 when we were enrolled in a program that supports rural artists. Since then, we have developed camaraderie and friendship, and have collaborated on several artworks. Bridgette is a teacher and a student, and I believe part of her lifework is to pursue higher levels of skillfulness in gilding. The dedication she has to her art is evident in her meticulous attention to detail, and her unwavering commitment to improvement. When I found out that Bridgette wanted to attend this program, I immediately wanted to help and knew this endeavor would need the support of a community of friends, family, fellow artists, and aesthetes. Thank you for being a part of that community.

What is the opportunity? The King’s Foundation School of the Traditional Arts in London accepts only about 10+ students per year from applicants around the world for their two year MA program and Bridgette has been accepted! It is the only MA program focused on traditional arts in the world. Her declared focus within the program will be gilding (gold leaf work) and murals.

School starts this September and she needs funds to cover housing, living expenses, art materials, moving from Idaho, USA, tuition and Visa. The School awarded her a 50% tuition scholarship. Her tuition portion together with the visa is about $13,000. The School is very rigorous and to work at the same time isn’t advised. It is also small and offers no work study or housing. Because this campaign is designed to support her living expenses over the two years in addition to the initial tuition, visa and moving costs, all of the money is not needed before September though the more available this summer, the better her foundation will be at the start of school as she budgets for a place to live.

Bridgette, who can donate? “Anyone! Though my goal with art is to be a source of positivity so please only give if it brings you joy to support me and the arts.”

Bridgette, what are some of your life highlights that indicate you are a good candidate for this venture? “I was recruited as volunteer consultant gilder at the Bahá’í World Center in 2017 which is UNESCO World Heritage Site. I first painted murals in Beijing where I developed my large scale painting style based on traditional Chinese architecture. My first US gilded mural was for the Portland, Oregon Bahá’í Center dome ceiling and most recently, I painted and gilded two murals and a large canvas for Wayfarer Theaters in Highland Park, Illinois. I have also volunteered as a gilder on several historic buildings with the international Society of Gilders and teach gilding and related traditional arts through the Society of Gilders and a local non profit art center. In 2021, I attended the only online semester offered by the King’s Foundation School's Pakistani affiliate school, VMCTA. Additionally, I’ve won four merit based grants from the Idaho Commission on the Arts since moving back to my home state four years ago.”

Bridgette, what are you going to do with your degree. “I believe through it, I can help carry forward the 5,000 year old tradition of gilding and associated art skills into new work, service and teaching. The international connections at the School will help me form alliances with organizations, institutions and individuals that value the power of traditional arts to elevate and inspire.”

What are her options beyond crowdsourcing? Bridgette has a body of art work available for sale at https://colorandgold.com

How does this donation platform work? Bridgette will get 97.1% of every donation less 30 cents per donation. If you see a tip added to your donation, you can zero that out, keep or adjust it. The tip goes to the platform, not Bridgette.

Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey!