London! Enameled Books

My friend, Amanda, reminded me that an enameled books show we are in at Studio Fusion would open while I was in London. How cool! I made my books at Penland, one during a summer class I visited and the other in February in the textiles studio. (That was such a nice day. Amanda and I hung out together--I was making a book, she was threading looms.) The exhibition features the work of the Ele Annand, Beate Gegenwarte, Cath Fairgrieves, Jane Wells Harrison, Amanda Thatch, Barbara McFadyen, Elizabeth Turrell and Eileen Wallace. It's a great collection of styles from simple to complicated and I am pleased to be a part of such a great group, especially with some Penland friends. I have been interested in making books for years so this opportunity was a real treat, too.

one of my books

Amanda Thatch

Ele Annand

I created a set on Flickr that includes process shots along with more views of the show.

Thanks for reading.

Heat Exchange: SNAG Week Part 4

 Work by Beate, Elizabeth, and Melissa

I was recently invited to participate in Heat Exchange, an exhibition of enameled works curated by Elizabeth Turrell, Melissa Cameron, and Beate Gegenwart. The exhibition will open in May and will be on view during the SNAG conference. Here's what the Exchange is all about:

"Heat, in physics, is defined as an exchange of energy. In thermodynamics, a heat exchanger is a system built to effect efficient heat transfer. In most heat exchange systems the exchange is mediated so that the hot and cold media do not come into contact. Typically it is only their energy that is exchanged. This exhibition seeks to replicate this exchange. The participating artists, located in North America, Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom will exchange ideas and inspirations without actually coming into contact with one another. The main interface for their exchange is this blog."

Although not an enamelist per se, I have done some enameling and have wanted to focus more attention on it. Between spray paint and my solo show, however, I have not had a chance to do so, until now. This show is a fantastic opportunity for me to move forward with enameling and to participate with a such fascinating group of artists. I like the idea of interacting via the internet and look forward to the give-and-take that situation will afford all of us.

During the summer I made an enameled book while Elizabeth was teaching a class here at Penland. Something went "wrong" during a firing of one of my steel pages, but Elizabeth suggested I look at it in another way. This "mistake" will be my starting point as I begin work for this exhibition. I am also happy to report this little book will head to London for an exhibition of enameled books in September, 2012 at Studio Fusion Gallery.

Thanks for reading.

Yellow is my other favorite color.

Here are more samples from the time I spent enameling last week. I was excited to try the liquid yellow and planned to layer white on top of it, but once I was finished stoning it I knew it was great on its own. The faint dots appeared when the color dried and I crossed my fingers that they would still be visible after firing. Happily, they were. Elizabeth thinks they occur due to the very beginnings of rust on the steel plate.

 detail

yellow and white samples

More images of the yellow series on Flickr.

Thanks for reading.

An Enameled Book

 front cover

I spent some time in the metals studio this week with Elizabeth Turrell and Eileen Wallace who have been teaching the class "Enameling for Books and More." I've been interested in book making for a long time and finally had a chance to learn how to build a simple book, made even more exciting for me because I got to make a metal book. I began by chopping up some steel into 2" x 2" pieces and brushed each with liquid enamels (just like I did a year ago in Helen Carnac's class). I used a scribe to draw on each, creating a sketch that linked from page to page. I had some problems with a few of the panels during firing and thought they were unusable until Elizabeth suggested I sandblast them. So I played around with sandblasting, removing material in specific places. Then I added more enamel, re-fired, and tried to reveal a little of the layers underneath as I smoothed the surfaces with an abrasive pad. What resulted is a wintry landscape that felt more like my work than my original plan for a simple linked drawing. Once each panel was complete I made an accordion style book with book cloth and Gudy V, a very sticky and strong sheet adhesive.

 pages

back cover

I loved enameling again after a year and it was fantastic to learn something new outside of my medium! It was also such a treat to be in the studio again with Elizabeth and to spend time with Eileen.

Lots more images on Flickr of the book and a few other samples.

Thanks for reading.

...speaking of enameling

yesterday i learned a little enameling from elizabeth turrell and her students in the penland spring concentration metals class. ( i tried enameling in college and when i say "tried" i mean one of my friends' showed me and i spent maybe an hour at it.) this time around i spent the day and just did some experimenting. elizabeth explained the different colors and fluxes (all liquid enamels), showed me how to fire my first plate, and how to stone (file/sand) away the layers. then i just went for it, trying not to think to much. it was really fun and so different from what i usually do! i like the plates i made, too, and will probably make a series of pieces using them. most of the plates have two or three layers of enamel which i have drawn into with different tools and stoned to highlight and define certain areas.
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

thanks for reading.