Guild of Enamellers Challenge

This piece was inspired by a recent walk around Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The two figures are based on the shapes and style of Barbara Hepworth - The Family of Man.
Members of the Guild of Enamellers were sent a pack of materials to create an enamelled piece, based on the theme The Great Outdoors.

This challenge was much harder than I imagined. It made me realise I’m not used to including different materials in my work. My first ideas involved flowers, trees and cows. After playing around with different compositions I still wasn’t inspired. 

As I was looking through my photographs I came across some my husband and I had taken during our first visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and in particular the Barbara Hepworth Statues, The Family of Man. These statues are arranged on the hillside and I found them thought provoking and beautiful. It was our first trip out of Leicestershire for several months and the change of scenery and art in the landscape was inspiring.

My enamelled piece is an attempt to represent the hills of Yorkshire in the background and the two figures in the foreground represent me and my husband and all the many walks and places we have visited over the last year.

I wanted to use each of the materials that Jill had sent us. I also tried not to waste any of the materials. The square of copper was cut into 2 to represent hills in the background and as the copper was quite thin and soft it was easy to bend it into an undulating shape. The copper tube became the bases for the two figures and the rest I flattened and cut into the shapes for the figures. I cut holes and domed a couple of the pieces to try and make it more three-dimensional. When it was time to enamel (all W G Ball) I used clear flux (477) then budgerigar green Transparent (430) on the hills, some areas with grass green opaque (686) and celadon green opaque (664). I used the sequin waste as a stencil for some of the background on the hills.

I enamelled the two copper tube bases with clear flux (477) then bronze green transparent (492).The shapes on top were enamelled with flux, then a layer of bronze green. One of the pieces has some transparent orange (468), which I scratched  into. A piece of the  silver foil is included on one of the shapes. I did not know what to do with the steel washers, they looked a bit too shiny, but I liked the size and shapes . I counter enamelled one side and was quite pleased with the effect. All of the pieces are counter enamelled and glued to the dowel with epoxy resin. 

The figures are supported by the wooden dowel, with the pipe-cleaner wrapped around both bases and glued into the copper pipe. I decided that I felt the wood was too light and dyed it with some drawing ink to match the colours of the sequin waste. I wrapped the silver plated wire around part of the dowel to give a different look. 

I really enjoyed making this piece! It pushed me out of my comfort zone by using different materials and also having a figurative aspect of my work which is something I rarely do. If I was to make it again I would make more of a contrast between the background pieces and the figures as I feel they get a bit lost in the landscape. 

I love the Barbara Hepworth style shapes on the figures, I think this would look great as a pair of earrings. I’m not sure what Barbara would have thought though!

Originally I had intended to make the background one piece by riveting it together. I’m glad I changed my mind as it’s nice to arrange the pieces in different ways. With a bit more planning I feel I could have used a more contrasting colour for the figures, everything is quite green. 

A little video

It’s tricky talking on camera…trying to say something to an unseen audience! This two minute video shows a few pieces of my work and gives a quick glimpse into how I make my jewellery

https://youtu.be/BS_i90UN6X8

Large enamelled brooch

Working on these larger pieces encourages me to experiment with textures and colour. My pieces still need to be wearable and so I had soldered on some fittings for the pin before I added the coloured enamel.

Several layers of different blues went into making this piece, as well as some glass ‘threads’ and beads. there is some planning along the way, but the kiln works its own magic!

New work, enamelled brooches.

Using my new kiln has encouraged me to make some larger pieces. My big brooches and pendants are always a talking point and I love having the large area to fill with texture and colour. Looking through a sketchbook I rediscovered some images of cells. The shapes really lent themselves to large, textured and formed copper pieces.
Making paper templates was the first thing I did. Cutting and filing the copper was straightforward…then I used a O shape steel punch to put the first marks on. Hammering and doming gave the gentle curve I wanted.
This is so much fun, and the best thing to do when your mind is busy and you need a creative outlet.

Finishing off the enamelled Herbaceous Borders.

Adding the copper wires, little silver circles and beads was fairly straightforward. they just needed the tiniest spot of Klyr Fire to glue them into place. They were sunk into the layer of enamel simply by popping them into the kiln and letting the heat do the work, softening the flux so they could sink down.

The colours needed some planning - the lower temperature colours needed to be fired last. I also had to make sure the rivet holes did not fill with enamel.

Luckily the larger pieces did not warp in the big kiln, it was worth counter enamelling!

The final stages still needed to be done with care. I prefer to see the copper edges, and cleaned those up. The riveting went smoothly, no cracked enamel! A copper chain was added to the pendent, and that was it! The Herbaceous Borders were complete.

Colours, the fun bit!

I started early, and it was as much as I could do to stop for a tea break or even lunch! Adding the colour to these large pieces was very absorbing and a whole day just flew by.

I started off by wet packing, adding washed and wet, ground enamel to the background areas of greens. Wet packing meant I could move the enamel around and have some control over where the different greens ended up on my copper. I’d also textured, cut and shaped some circles of copper, as well as some copper wire which I embedded into the clear flux underneath.

Once the greens had dried and had been in the kiln, the fun could really start. Even at this stage, I still had to plan which I was doing and in what order I’d fire the colours. I knew that the red would need to be fired last. I also added decorative elements to add interest and colour. There are glass threads as well as copper discs and some tiny little copper and silver circles from when I made the holes for the rivets. To give texture I also found a few colourful glass beads.

It was great fun and the large Paragon kiln was much easier to work with than my usual Kitiki kiln. It gave me an even heat inside the kiln and more room to manoeuvre. These large pieces just would not have fitted in my other kiln.

Usually I make notes and keep track of the colours I use and the temperatures I fire too. As I got further into the day, my note taking stopped.

When I knocked over a whole pot of Lapis Blue enamel powder onto the carpet I knew it was time to stop for the day.

Adding Enamel

Enamel is not forgiving if you make a mistake. I think I’ve worked out how to join the different pieces together and the order in which I would make the two pieces I’d planned. Quite a long list of jobs. The texture had been hammered into the copper, holes for rivets were drilled. So it was time to fire up the kiln!
The backs of my pieces also needed to be “counter enamelled “ to help stop the copper warping. This means that I had to work out how to support these large pieces when they have enamel on both sides. There were a few wobbles…

The clear enamel, or flux, is going to act as a foundation for all the bright colours, and will hold the wires and copper circles in place.

Making a start

When you start to make a new design there are so many decisions to make - what do you do first? When a piece is going to be enamelled all of the metalworking really needs to happen first. Any cutting, hammering, soldering or filing could crack or chip enamel
Planning is tricky when it’s a totally new design. If it’s never been made before there are bound to be changes, mistakes, surprises and improvements along the way.
I had got as far as I could go on paper. The scissors came out and I started to finalise the shapes for my ideas. Then I used these paper shapes to start cutting into the copper sheet. How I was going to join them, the colours I would use would be decided later.
The copper was drilled and textured with steel punches. The copper flowers I’d made a few weeks ago were useful, they gave me ideas as I moved them around.

Working on a bigger scale!

The Guild of Enamellers are holding their conference online this year, and invited members to submit enamelled work for their online exhibition. I decided I’d have a go at the Flower Show theme.

Starting with a few old magazine pictures, a google search and my memory of seeing Chelsea Flower show on TV, I started sketching. Flower pots, marquees, and lush looking borders gave me ideas. But how to make it into an enamelled reality? A combination of pencil, scissors and paper seemed the best place to start.

Watch this space to see how I get on…

A bit about me!

Like many people I don’t always find it easy to talk about myself. Being in my workshop making stuff is where I feel most comfortable, hearing my voice played back to me is not always comfortable!

This video conversation was recorded as a conversation which felt a lot more natural than talking to my phone with no one answering. Here it is, recorded for prosperity, my chat about my work!

Gifting from afar

Like many small businesses I offer to gift wrapping and messaging service with my jewellery. I can post to an address of the buyers choice. It feels in my own small way I am helping people connect with someone they will not see. It is a privilege to be able to do this, and hopefully it feels special to receive something that has been carefully chosen just for them.

Online market? Or in person event?

Okay, so I know which I prefer. I love meeting old friends, catching up with what they’re doing and seeing new people with their artwork in person. However during the last year I have learnt it’s also quite possible to keep in touch with people through social media. It’s not quite the same but at least it is some human interaction. One of the real pleasures of handmade Items is that you know somebody has put their heart and soul into the designing and making that goes into producing it. There’s a good chance it’s the only one in existence and you get to meet the person who made it and even take it home with you.

I’ve managed to interact with several of my craft market friends on Instagram and Facebook. I’ve even met some new people virtually at least, and got to see how they make pieces as well as the final product. You can learn about the different stages of the creative process.

Coming up soon is the Fargo online Mother’s Day market. There will be familiar faces there as well as lots of new makers so I’m looking forward to see what’s on offer. Following them on Instagram or Facebook I’ll be able to see the buildup that goes into preparing work for a market such as this. Those of you that already follow me on Instagram or Facebook will know I like to share technical parts as well as showing off something when I finished it.

Do join us online if you can look for the Fargo Instagram or Facebook accounts, they love to highlight who is involved and you almost feel as though you do know them. We areindividuals, with very different backgrounds and products. But as a team we can produce a fascinating event. I hope you’re able to come and just have a browse absolutely no obligation to buy!
Hope to see you there!

Out of hibernation

January is always a quiet and largely uninspiring month. I had planned to work on some new ideas and designs and just enjoy the quiet time being creative and experimenting with new ideas for my enamelled jewellery. Somehow January has flown by, and I feel like missed it all together! I didn’t do half the things I had planned but this really doesn’t matter things are pretty crazy in the world at the moment.

I did start to design some garden themed pieces. Not sure where I was going with these I just made…lots and lots of flowers. Drawing in my sketchbook was relaxing and let me get my thoughts down on paper.

2020, what a year!

This has been a year when plans have been changed, to say the very least!

Yesterday I had a tidy up and stock take in my jewellery workshop. I remember doing this in 2019…If we’d been told what would go through this year we would not have believed it. Incredible shocks and loss within our family added to the most emotional and scariest rollercoaster of a year.

Through it all though, making and creating gave me an oasis of something resembling normality. My diary filed up with lovely events to work towards and look forward to in 2020. One by one these were cancelled or rearranged for next year. That does seem optimistic now!

I did manage one days teaching workshop in early March. Lovely ladies, who took me up on my offer to take the masks they’d used on the workshop home.

What have I learnt?

Being adaptable, its not the end of the world if I need to change my plans.

Online social stuff can be almost as good as in-person events.

Making Videos….I taught for three decades, why should I feel self conscious talking to a camera?

Looking forward I have some plans and ideas. I will work towards new goals, develop my techniques and create new pieces, but this may change. And that’s OK.

Tidy workspace, waiting for 2021.

Online Markets this weekend!

This weekend - the 21st and 22nd of November is the busiest online weekend so far this year. As events have changed to being online some organisers have been working hard to make sure that we still have some sort of experience of getting together, looking at wonderful art and design work, and getting our Christmas shopping done with local makers and crafts people. I for one love the feedback I get from customers,

Last year I tried to imagine all the people opening up boxes with my jewellery in, it gives you a real buzz to know somebody is chosen a piece of your work. Online events do go some way to replace this and it’s lovely to have feedback and comments through Instagram, Facebook or my Etsy shop. . I’ve been busy taking photographs preparing little videos, ready sharing on my social media posts.

The LCB depot, in Leicester has a website with the makers who would’ve been exhibiting with them this year, here is the link for that http://www.lcbdepot.co.uk/event/art-makers-online-shopping

Also the Leicestershire Etsy team have selected 28 makers and artists and produced a “splash look book” featuring everyone who is taking part, well worth a look. https://leicestershireetsy.splashthat.com/?fbclid=IwAR0hH8Fqgb7r2XsLjtpfRU9-VxWtFhe0kBCdUG3IIafiP6KB_9w1hxkybSw

Fargo village in Coventry was one of my favourite places to go to last year, I love the arty buzz Music and the chatter. They also have an online winter market this weekend – here is the link for that. https://www.fargovillage.co.uk/events/winter-mini-market

As a little thank you from me for reading this far in my blog post, I’d like to offer you a discount code for my Etsy shop. You can use this at any time in the run-up to Christmas, direct from my Etsy shop….or just message me! 10CHRISTINEJEWELLERY for 10% off everything.

Collaboration with Cookson Gold

One thing that I have enjoyed during this lockdown period is working with Cookson gold on some jewellery making projects for beginners . They have recently published my beginners enamel pendant project in their Christmas booklet please click on the link to have a look at it.

It’s really exciting to see my work published like this. It has also given me something else to think about, and a chance to revisit my teaching. It’s strange to think I would prepare worksheets, or teach lessons this year all because of Covid. Making the videos and preparing the how to do it sheets gave me a sense of a different audience, albeit one which I cannot see.

If you fancy having a go at one of the projects I’d love to know how you get on!

https://www.cooksongold.com/downloads/files/Enamelled-necklace-Pendant.pdf

Online Markets

Online markets are proving a popular way for in person events to still get artists and makers together, virtually. Many sellers also offer discounts so it’s worth checking out some different markets from the comfort of your own home.
if you’d like to see the ones I’m taking part in follow me on Instagram and Facebook and I’ll add links to this page as I get them.
My Etsy shop will also be open 24 hours a day if you fancy a browse!

New Products

Thinking of new ideas is not something I have ever found difficult. It’s more about reining myself in so I don’t get too carried away. When I worked for a jewellery manufacturer they often just wanted slight changes, rather than totally new experimental pieces.
Working for myself I have the freedom to do whatever comes into my head. I’m going to try these square dropper shapes at my markets this weekend

Enamel painting on to Copper

These world brooches were actually a practice for some cufflinks I was asked to make a few weeks ago. They are hand painted enamel, each layer of colour is fired at a slightly different temperature. It’s similar to painting in oils, except the colours change with heat...a few seconds too long in the kiln and the colour is ruined. But once it’s fired the colour is permanent, glass is fired on the the copper. These are about 1” across, the cufflinks were a lot smaller.
I’ve been asked to make several one off pieces recently. These really pushed me out of my comfort zone - but I was pleased with the results, and so was my customer over in Paris!

Craft Fairs and getting back out there!

A couple of weeks ago I was back in Coventry, at the fabulous Fargo village. They called the market The Indie Reunion- and that’s what it felt like. All socially distanced, lots of staff around, hand sanitiser galore and even good weather help make this a lovely day. It was good to feel a such a positive atmosphere and chat to other stallholders. See what they had all been up to during lockdown. It was really nice to welcome visitors to my stall. Looking at things in person is definitely different to shopping online.

Everyone seemed to appreciate being able to show their work, meet other makers and feel part of a group activity, albeit socially distanced. I’ve missed been able to get feedback about my work and although online sales have been great, messaging customers and fellow makers has been possible through social media.

It is great to have taken a few small steps back into what we think of as normal. Yesterday I was in Burton on Trent at their outdoor market, out in the fresh air see what other people have been making and creating – you don’t realise what you miss until it’s not there anymore.

I’ve got a few events coming up before Christmas, and I hope to be able to add a few more. Most of them are outside so I’m going to wrap up warm and hopefully see you there!