enameling part 10, finale

for my last post on enameling i thought i would share some images from a walk i went on with helen carnac. i took her to spruce pine to explore one saturday morning and we just wandered, talked, and took pictures.

now two weeks after the end of the class, i'm working on other things, but i think about what i learned a lot. i'm curious to see what happens when i try out some of the marks and layering i did in enamel on my spray painted pieces, i'm wondering about the orientation of my marks--almost always along one side, and i'm thinking about why i love white or the lack of color so much. hmm...(it was such a great class!)

more images on flickr.

thanks for reading.

enameling part 3

a sampler of marks on the opaque enamel

after spending the first two days thinking about mark making, we started enameling on wednesday. helen began by introducing us to liquid enamel (industrial enamel--think large appliances) in 4 basic colors: an opaque white, a slightly transparent white, black, and "flux" that varies in color from white to brown to clear depending on the firing). we were also given a stack of steel plates to enamel on. then helen demonstrated the basic process and some ideas for making marks in the enamel before firing.

one big scratch also on opaque white-i got some nice blue undertones one this one

liquid enamel requires lots of time which i came to really appreciate. although the firing part takes just moments, all the steps leading up to it and then after it need time in order to get the best results consistently. for example, once the enamel is applied, the piece should dry for a long time, say overnight. then once the piece has been fired, it's best to allow the piece to cool, again, at least overnight. the materials and process sort of "forced" me to slow down and i liked taking my time. as for the limited color palette, i also really liked it. i tend to gravitate towards white generally and found only a few colors to choose from helped me to stay focused while learning something new.

more on flickr.

thanks for reading.

dinner with elizabeth

elizabeth turrell

last night i made dinner for elizabeth turrell and her husband roger. elizabeth is an enamel artist and senior research fellow in enamel at the centre for fine print research at university of the west of england. she is also the current metals instructor at penland, teaching a course on enameling. we had a lovely time chatting about art and travel. elizabeth gave me a copy of the catalog from the exhibition "the enamel experience - the international badge exhibition" which she curated. you can read about the show and see the pieces at velvet da vinci. i have posted a few of my favorites.

helen carnac

mark hartung

jessica turrell

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guest star friday #26...liana pattihis

today's guest star is liana pattihis. liana's jewelry consists of simple frameworks that are covered in layers of enamel. the enamel is applied in such a way that certain areas are covered completely, while others remain visible, giving us a glimpse of what's underneath. i like the texture she achieves through her process and her use of layers to create depth and dimension. due to the application process she uses, there is probably little she can control. the results lend a lush, organic quality that can only be achieved by allowing the materials to do what they want.


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my grandmother's locket

here is a picture of my grandmother's locket which i mentioned in my september jewelry of the month post. i'm not sure what it's made of, although i'm guessing it's gold plated. i do know the front is enameled and it had tiny faux pearls framing it... only a few of those remain. inside is a picture of my grandfather.

thanks for reading.