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.

All things Silver

It was Silver Clay jewellery making day at the studio yesterday. Linda and Shelagh make beautiful silver jewellery but had never used Silver Art Clay before so booked on a day's course.
Linda had been talking about the course to someone at a china painting exhibition she went to and Mary turned up and decided to stay for the day too.

We started the day making a pendant and rolled out the clay. We then used sweet cutters to make a shape and added decoration.

Linda made a teardrop shape and added small rolled balls of clay to her design.

Shelagh can be seen putting the finishing touches to her pendant, before firing it. She had cut out a triangle and added thin strips of clay as decoration.

Mary was hard at work on a similar design to Linda's pendant. She had cut out her shape and added small balls of clay to finish it off.

We then went on to use silver clay paste and painted it over leaves several times, this shows all the small tiny veins in the silver when it is fired.

I demonstrated making a ring and Mary chose to do this project after lunch while Shelagh made earrings to match her pendant and Linda did another beautiful pendant by making a triangle then folding the sides onto each other which made a cone type shape.

It was Linda's birthday and her husband had made a rather yummy cake which she brought along and then I totally embarrased her by getting everyone singing 'Happy Birthday' - sorry Linda but I do work in a school and it is sung to everyone in the dinner hall, no matter how old you are - secret is ... don't let on it's your birthday when I'm around.

We finished the day by enamelling a piece of copper and then laying some very fine pieces of silver art clay on top and firing into the enamel. We nearly had a disaster as a piece came off Shelagh's but she moved it around, refired it and it looked really good.

I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and I hope the girls did too.

Busy Busy Busy

It's been a busy few days at the unit with courses. I had an evening class last week then 6 people on Saturday for the whole day and a couple of people last night. All in all busy busy busy. Here are just a few pics of some of the things I've been working on lately. I've got a few of them for sale on my web site which I'm trying to update to show more of my work http://www.honeycombcrafts.co.uk/

This top picture is a panel I scragfittoed in the style of a McIntosh Rose. It's just very simple but I liked it.

This next one is a pendant I made. I drilled holes along the bottom then enamelled it with black opaque powder. After firing the front and back around 5 times I added some glass pieces then swirled a design while it was still in the kiln. When it was finished I added some swarovski crystals which picked up the colour of the swirls.

Shattered but great day.

I was truly shattered after yesterday's course. 6 people to teach enamelling too but they were a great group of people and we had a great day. The pieces they worked on were excellent and I could tell immediately that they were craft minded, their ideas just flowed. By the time the day was over every part of my body ached, legs, feet (as I'd been on them all day), arms - needless to say it was an early night. I'll post some pics soon.