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Harold Balazs, True Artist, True Friend

on February 8, 2018

Balazs at work in his studio, 2002. Photo by Rajah Bose

With the death of Harold Balazs, a wonderful enamel artist who worked beautifully in many media, the art and craft community has lost not only a tremendous talent but a true friend. Balazs passed away on December 30, 2017, at the age of 89.

His career over the years was that of a resourceful, versatile, and multi-talented artist. Originally from Ohio, where as a child he encountered the work of enamel artist Edward Winter, he studied fine art at Washington State College, where his family moved in the 40s.

He earned a living with a combination of production work and commissions: enameled jewelry, architectural designs, public sculpture, posters, paintings and drawings. He left a legacy of public art throughout Spokane. His work can be found everywhere in the city, from churches to corporate headquarters.

Large mosaic style panel, 1950s

But Balazs also left another, less visible legacy: He was an incredibly generous mentor to young artists, providing generations with encouragement and studio space. Center for Enamel Art founder, Judy Stone, was a close friend of Balazs.

“I met Harold in the early 90’s when I attended the Pacific Enameling Symposium in Seattle,” says Stone. “At the time I was feeling my way into a very established enamel community and was wondering how I could fit in and whether my work was any good. Based on Harold’s demeanor as he taught, created collaborations among students and answered questions, I decided to ask him if I could show him some of my work at the end of the symposium. I was scared, but felt Harold would do his best not to hurt my feelings. His critique was loving, constructive, and tremendously positive. From then on I considered Harold a mentor and a friend.”

Balazs gave this piece to Center founder Judy Stone. Enamel on copper, 4″ x 4.5″

“In 2003, when I was co-coordinating the Enamelist Society Biennial conference ‘On the Edge’, we asked Harold to be our keynote speaker,” recalls Stone. “His keynote, like the man himself, was about matters much bigger than himself and enameling. He talked about art and craft education in K-12–which at the time was getting slashed from many school budgets–saying that art was as important to human development as breathing.”

Balazs was that rare breed of artist — dedicated to art as a process and a way of life, not just for himself but for others, too. Of the many beautiful works he left us, that may be his greatest. “To the very end,” says Stone, “Harold lived his life as someone who cared about others succeeding.”

In categories Creativity, Uncategorized Tagged with enameling, enamelist, Harold Balazs, Spokane

Be a Part of Our Blog! Share Ideas and Work, Strengthen Our Community

By Center for Enamel Art

on December 13, 2017

We are all in this together! Enameled work created in Radical Enameling workshop taught by Melissa Saneholtz, fall 2017.

As you know, enamel artists are an inventive, passionate, determined bunch. We have to be, to pursue this medium that is technically demanding, that sometimes feels overlooked and obscure, but which has tremendous power. And we thrive on community–the community of classrooms, shared studios, craft fairs, and online.

As the online enameling community grows, and people seek out fresh imagery, old secrets, and new opportunities, we are excited to be part of that growth by expanding the scope and reach of our blog. As always, we will use this space to explore issues pertinent to contemporary enameling today, and to share the work of enamel artists — we’ll just be doing it a little more loudly, a little more often.

We welcome your work and ideas. Exchanging work, insights and ideas helps keep enameling vital and evolving. That’s part of the mission of our blog. Your blog editor loves to find your work in her inbox — email her at . We also have a terrific Instagram feed at @centerforenamelart.

In that spirit, here are a few images sent along by our readers recently.

Squished Tanky, enamel, copper, silver, nickel.

Squished Guard, copper, silver, nickel, enamel, cord.

Aaron Decker, a newly minted MFA grad from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, constructed and enameled these killer jewelry pieces inspired by his childhood toys. Each a few inches across, they were just shown at ornamentum gallery at Design Miami. Above, a brooch and a necklace from the series “Glass Cannon.” More of Aaron’s work is at his website, aa214.com, and on his instagram, aaronpdecker.

Jay Leritz, who showed at the Philadelphia Museum Craft Show in November, sent along a detail shot of a large wall piece made from enameled steel. Find Leritz on Instagram, @jay_leritz

And we loved the mixed-materials approach from ARTISANworks by Rainmaker Designs, who make large sculptures from carved wood and metal, inlaid with enameled pieces.

Music stand, wood and enamel on copper, Rainmaker Designs

Find more Rainmaker work here.

The enamel community is vibrant, strong, and growing. We are thrilled to be a part of it, and to be building it with you.

In categories Creativity, Exhibitions, Uncategorized Tagged with cranbrook academy of art, design miami, enameled steel, ornamentum gallery, philadelphia museum craft show, rainmaker designs, wall piece

The New Aesthetics of Enamel

By Center for Enamel Art

on December 6, 2017

Quick: If I told you I’d bought an enameled pendant, what would come to mind? Something clumpy and heavy, with garish colors? Maybe a small, jewel-toned piece, carefully polished?

Enamel is a highly technical art form often taught as a craft. Like many crafts, it has been vulnerable to having a few specific aesthetics baked into it (so to speak). Work taught in jewelry or metalworking departments was often small, using cloisonne and champleve, layers of transparent jewelry enamel to create controlled, gem-like colors and effects.

Enamel got looser in the 50s and 60s, when kitchen-table enamelists, using small home kilns and glass threads and chunks, produced a burst of tiny Abstract Expressionist-ish works that had a more primitive, modern aesthetic than the work by their highly trained counterparts.

But the pieces were still small, still usually jewelry, and limited by the scale of the supplies and the equipment. The aesthetic became a cliche.

Since then, though, a shift has occurred, as enamel is taught less as a craft and more as part of the vocabulary of art. It is attracting artists who are discovering the terrific potential of enamels purely in service of visual ideas.

Take these works, for example, by British artist Lisa Traxler, for whom vitreous enamel on steel is just one of several media she works in. With their scale, volume, and attention to line and color, these are like three-dimensional paintings. They have more in common with the crushed metal sculptures of John Chamberlain than Faberge’s precious eggs.

Volume Sculpture A,F, C and D, vitreous enamel on metal, gallery installation view

Zaar, by John Chamberlain, painted steel, 130cm x 174 x 50cm

More work by Lisa Traxler here.

June Schwarcz, of course, was one of the original pioneers of enamel in service of art. She exploded the possibilities of jewelry enamel into pure form and color.

Works from Invention and Variation, at the Renwick Gallery, June Schwarcz’, summer 2017

This Latvian artist has created large images from smaller copper pieces, much like enamelist Fred Ball.

Contrast, enamel on copper, 49″W x 26″H, by Lion Dina

And now back to jewelry: We are starting to see mainstream work that uses enamel for its rich color and permanent quality, but that strays from traditional techniques into a style that is more free, more inspired by visual art, as with this enameled silver ring from Gucci.

Do you have work that pushes the boundaries of the old enamel aesthetic? Show us! at .

In categories Creativity, Uncategorized Tagged with enamel, enamelling, gucci, john chamberlain, june schwarcz, lisa traxler, renwick gallery

T Mag Redeems Itself, Mentions Melting Point of Enamel

By Center for Enamel Art

on November 17, 2017

Last week we posted about T Magazine’s lackluster treatment of enamel in their pages. So it was a pleasant surprise to see enamel featured again in the newest issue, in beautiful close-up — an enameled Verdura cuff set with stones, called the Ravenna (scroll to the bottom of their list).

This time, they even mentioned the melting point. Extra credit! For $79,500, we want all the information we can get.

In categories Uncategorized

Think Big, Really Big! Enameled Furniture Old and New

By Center for Enamel Art

on November 8, 2017

From the ’30s to the ’60s, large-scale enamel works like signage were common, and so were the industrial facilities that produced them. Artists like Edward Winter and John Puskas made oversized 2D works on steel, and some innovative designers like John Keal added sheets of enameled copper and steel to wood tables.

John Keal for Brown Saltman end tables, hardwood with enameled panels

But in the mid-20th-century, as CEA founder Judy Stone detailed in a post last year, the signage industry declined and enamel was marketed as a kitchen-table hobby. Enamel became almost entirely a small-scale art.

And yet the potential of enamel on a sculptural scale is unchanged. In recent years, a few designers have revived the medium, bringing a jolt of pure color to their forms.

Kelly Wearstler designed this custom bureau with an enameled front for the Manhattan apartment of Leslie Blodgett, founder and former CEO of the cosmetics company bareEscentuals.

Custom cabinet by Kelly Wearstler in brass with enameled front

And the experimental furniture designer Kwang Ho Lee draws on the tradition of enameling in Korea, where he is based. He creates minimalist forms from thick-gauge sheet copper, and then douses them in color. When he first started showing his work, he says, even veteran artisans didn’t recognize the technique, so completely had it disappeared from the public eye.