Conference

Easter saw Linda and I going to the Guild of enamellers annual conference. This year held in Nottingham so not so far to travel. We were on the University Campus which was very nice but I have to say there was a lot of walking uphill and down and my feet were aching by the end of our stay but it was great fun and fabulous to see everyone's work.
The theme this year was 'Pearl'. My efforts were not brilliant but I did manage to make a type of book out of silver art clay which I then enamelled in an ivory colour and painted a verse on about the pearl of great price.

Linda and I both put some work on display. Mine was an enamel box that I hade made out of copper foil. I made a small flower to put on the side and was quite pleased with the result - I also displayed a brooch I had made from foil too.

Linda put some of the jewellery she had made on display. I especially like the one top right but can't for the life of me remember how she said she got the pattern on but it looked fab. We did a workshop with Dorothy Cockerill on cloisonne. It was a fabulous day. Dorothy had to work with people who ranged from beginners to the more experienced but no one felt left out or not able to achieve something. My attempt is pictured below and I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out so well. Dorothy does some amazing work and if I can get some more pictures uploaded I will show you the cloisonne work she had on display.

Linda and I were surprised to see our workshop pieces pictured in the Guild's magazine along with several others. My little flower box was also pictured which was a huge surprise.

Saturday

It's Saturday morning and I'm getting ready to go up to the studio so I can spend the day enamelling. I'm in the middle of doing a couple of items I may take to conference this year but I will wait and see how they turn out. I must get a better camera so that I can load pics straight to the computer. I'm sure I can do that off my phone but I've not worked out how yet. Maybe get Marc to help.
I've 7 children coming this afternoon to have an enamel party, friend of my daughter in law. One of them is my grandson Ben and he is so enthusiastic. I'm sure everyone else will be too. I'll try and get some pics posted later.

Daisy bowl

A little enamel bowl I made and then painted with small daisies.

Shrewsbury

A regional meeting of the Guild of Enamellers saw Linda and I in Shrewsbury again. This time we got there without having to go twice round the roundabout.

Jane Moore was demonstrating transfers on enamel. Jane told us about herself and how she started out as an enameller and she showed us the different types of transfers she used and some of her own designs that she had created.

Jane showed us how to lay the enamel onto the silver pieces and went through the process of firing and then rubbing the enamel down smooth and refiring ready for laying the transfer on.

The enamel had to be very finley ground and this had been expertly done by the Guild's Chairman, Lynne Glazzard, who had come along to meet us all and it was lovely to see her at our meeting. She was wearing a beautiful bracelet that she had made, I think it was faux bone, I know it wasn't enamel, but non the less it was gorgeous.
















After Jane had shown us what to do we had lunch and then set about creating our own pieces. I thought I was doing ever so well until I'd smoothed the enamel but I forgot to fire it before putting on the transfer and I got little holes appearing on the transfer. Someone said it looked like raindrops on the flower so I'll go along with that.





We were shown how to oxidise the silver and then to polish it up.

It really was a great and relaxing day. Everyone is so friendly and helpful and it is such fun too.

Encaustic Art

A couple of encaustic art pics that I created - the first one I wanted it to look like an underground cavern. I visited caves some years ago on Gibralta and the way the cave was lit up with coloured lights was beautiful, I hoped I'd be able to recreate something like it and this is as good as it got when I put the coloured wax blocks on the iron and spread it on the paper. I liked the effect I got. This scene turned out better than I thought - it was one of those happy happenings. I had wanted to create something that looked like a winter tree scene and I got the added image of what looks like a snowy owl flying from the forest. I took these photoraphs through glass so they are not as clear as the real thing.

I do enjoy doing encaustic art although I don't seem to have much time these days to do any.

I'm on Folksy!!

Can't believe how long it is since I last posted on my blogs but things have just been so hectic lately and I'm no computer expert so can't get pics up very easily on here and as I had no new ones I guess I just haven't posted but hey, just thought I'd tell you about my little studio which has been busy over the holidays with workshops and me just busy making, which is the part I like best.
One of the artists on the site is having an exhibition in her studio nearer Christmas and has asked if I'd like to put some of my work in. She's doing it on a flower theme so I've been busy trying to put some things together and it's going well. I need to make a few more along with pieces for the shop but I'm sure I'll get there.
I've managed to put a couple of items onto Folksy and Coriandr so it you want to take a look follow the links. I'm hoping to be able to add some more when I have a better way of getting my pics over onto my computer. Possibly a new computer as this one is so old I think it came out of the ark but it does the job. http://www.coriandr.com/item?item=3661
http://folksy.com/items/56216-Enamelled-Pendant

Riso Screen

Linda and I had a fabulous day at the workshop for the region with the Guild of Enamellers. We are never to old to learn new things and Bonnie Macintosh came along to show us how to use riso screens.
This was a first for Linda and I and I must say a big thank you to Linda as she took photocopies along and some blanks already enamelled for us to work on. We had been given such short notice of what we needed to take that I'd never have got anything with me.
The people were very friendly and helpful and we learned such a lot that I think we'll be going again. That's the lovely thing about enamelling, no matter how long you have been doing it for there is always something new to see and to some new technique to learn.
Photos will follow shortly.