The Artist
The continuous exploration of the medium of enamel on precious metal is an ongoing adventure for me as an artist/enameller/jeweller. I began at the other end of the spectrum to most enamellists, in huge format, having begun my career as an artist/painter. On discovering enamel, I marvelled at the brilliance and intemsity of colour. The opportunity of using these colours in a palette was unlimited, with the added choices of transparency, opacity and opalescence.
I was introduced to enamel early on in my career, this quickly developed into a passion. For many years I used enamel on large sheets of copper to make large format paintings and highly decorated copper bowls. I then decided to return to study gold & silversmithing at RMIT so I could further my practise in enamel jewellery and metal work. I then began teaching at RMIT which I enjoyed tremendously for many years. Now I give workshops when time allows, for the Gold & Silversmiths Guild of Australia and in my own studio. I was secretary of the gold and silversmith guild of Australia for quite a few years and am still on the council, which has introduced me to many of the amazing gold and silversmiths of Australia practising today.
I enjoy commissions as it often forces me to explore other avenues, which often leads me into new ideas and directions. In 1993 I was commissioned to do the mural for the Brisbane International Airport which took two years to complete. It is of the beautiful Daintree Rainforest which is a very popular tourist attraction. The dimentions of the mural are 16 metres by 3 metres high and is two dimensional. It was a personal triumph for me as it was the largest and most difficult piece to fabricate. Since then I have concentrated on smaller pieces – sterling silver boxes, jewellery pieces and small panels and objects. My preferred choice of techniques is cloisonee but I employ many others. After 45 years of enamelling I am still passionate, enjoying the intricacies of enamel in the jewellery context and constantly trying to push the boundaries of this very difficult art/craft which has very strict rules to be adhered to for a perfect finish.
Apart from the different enamels one can use there are different techniques of application;
Sgraffito – Where one can scratch through a layer of freshly laid enamel to a pre-fired enamel surface.
Basse-Taille – Where the metal beneath the enamel surface has been textured in some way with a transparent enamel on the surface.
Champleve – Where areas of metal are removed and filled with enamel, fired and ground back to a smooth surface, then re-fired to revive the gloss of the enamel.
Limoges – Where extremely finely ground enamel is painted on a pre-fired surface with successive applications and firings of very fine layers to build up the design.
Cloisonee – Where fine wires form “cells” and very thin layers of enamel are placed within the cells and fired. After 4 to 5 layers the enamel is ground down to a smooth surface with the wires showing. A final firing will restore the sheen of the enamel.
Plique a Jour – Where transparent enamel is used as stained glass. The enamel is suspended within a frame and light passes through to show the beauty of the jewell colours because there is no base metal, only the fame.