enamels :: Center for Enamel Art

Archive for enamels

The Saddest Aisle – A talk by Keith Lewis

on November 16, 2019

The Center for Enamel Art is honored to sponsor a talk by enamelist/jeweler Keith Lewis.

For over 20 years, Lewis has investigated the ways that jewelry can represent a form of regard and remembrance. Beginning with a series of brooches commemorating friends and acquaintances who died of AIDS and continuing through work that explored gay male identity and sexuality, Lewis has used jewelry as a vessel of love, regard and political memorialization.

In his newest body of work, “The Saddest Aisle”, Lewis addresses his longstanding belief in the obligations of empathy through the abandoned, forlorn baskets in the aisles of Goodwill. Silent, uncomplaining receptacles of joy and pain, he believes that they deserve redemption and regard. So he takes them, renders them permanent and then dresses them in finery as a recognition of the lives that they have witnessed.

In his talk, Lewis will discuss the trajectory of his work and the ways that the current series–– despite being ornamental and non-narrative–– continues to allow him to explore his longstanding goals and preoccupations.

This is a free talk, so there’s no need to register. Everyone is welcome to come and learn about Keith’s work and his techniques for enameling. The talk is in conjunction with the Enamel Oddities workshop he is teaching at Silvera Jewelry School this weekend. The workshop is hosted by Silvera and is part of the Center’s 2019 workshop series.

In categories Tagged with enamel, enameling, enamelist, enamels, experimental, Keith Lewis, presentation with no comments

New Approaches to Cutting Precious Metal Foil Shapes and Enamel Layering Over Foil – with Harlan Butt

By Judy Stone

on October 15, 2018

with no comments

Register Now.

This 3-day Masters workshop, which is the third in this year’s new Master Workshop Series Butt gives some insight into new approaches of preparing precious metal foils for enameling.

Cutting silver foil by hand for enameling is great but it is difficult to cut precise delicate shapes. Commercial paper punches can be used on foil but there are only a small number of shapes available and many of those are not very aesthetically interesting. With the Ecliips2 DYI Electronic Cutter the kinds of shapes that can be cut in foil is almost limitless. Nearly any silhouette that can be copied, downloaded or drawn on a computer software like Photoshop can be cut out in silver foil. These shapes can then be applied and fired onto an enameled surface and transparent colors can be layered over them. Once the process is understood and the technique accomplished the artist has a whole new way of looking at design possibilities using enamel.

Basic enameling experience and some experience with Photoshop would be helpful but not necessary.

Harlan W. Butt is an artist with over 40 years of experience working in metal and enamel who specializes in making vessels inspired by the human relationship to wilderness and the natural environment.
Harlan is a Regents Professor of Art at the University of North Texas where he has taught since 1976. He is past President of the Enamelist Society, past President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths and a Fellow of the American Crafts Council.
His work has been exhibited internationally and is represented in the permanent collections of the Enamel Arts Foundation in Los Angeles, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute, the Museum of Art & Design in New York City , the Mint Museum of Art & Craft in Charlotte, NC, the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, Denali National Park Visitor Center in Alaska, the Houston International Airport, the Wichita Center for the Arts, the National Gallery of Australia, the Cloisonné Enamelware Fureai Museum.

Workshop Hours:

Monday – Wednesday 10 AM to 5 PM , with meal breaks at the Crucible in Oakland, CA

Cost: $505 plus $35 materials fee

Materials List: Provided upon registration or when ready

Registration: Limited to 10

Refund Policy: No refunds unless your workshop position can be filled by another person.

Lodging, Meals, Transportation:

Coming from out of town? Check AirBnB, Priceline, and other discounted online lodging sources, The Center will try help you make your stay comfortable and stress free while you are a workshop participant.

In categories Tagged with enamel, enameled copper, enameling, enamelist, enamels, experimental, Harlan Butt, Masters Workshop Series, The Crucible, workshops with no comments

Tools and Supplies: A Conundrum, Part 1

By Judy Stone

on April 14, 2017

Here is a conundrum: If vitreous enamels, and related tools and supplies, aren’t readily available, people can’t enamel. If people can’t enamel, suppliers can’t sell supplies. This chicken-and-egg problem is a huge obstacle for the growth of enameling in the U.S. and worldwide. How do people who use vitreous enamel deal with this conundrum? How does it shape enameling today, and how will it affect enameling’s future?

Share the Heat is pleased to announce a series of blogposts about tools and supplies for the enameling community. We will be examining the state of supply availability in interviews with several small independent U.S. suppliers, including Coral Shaffer of Enamelwork Supply, and Scott Ellis of e-namels.com. We will also be posting insider tips on how to find supply resources.

Part 1 of this introduction will give a little background and recent history in order to put the tool/supply conundrum into perspective. It will focus on why supplies, especially enamel powders are not easy to find; why there is not much diversity in enamels that are available for sale; and why quality and customer service are sometimes problematic.
Part 2 will be about industrial enameling supplies and tools specific to enameling, such as firing and application tools.
Part 3 will focus on how the internet has changed availability and information about supplies and supply sources.

The Center for Enamel Art is committed to helping enamelists in their professional development. We believe strongly in the sharing of resources of all kind. We hope that this series of posts begins a much-needed discussion about one problem that has hindered the growth of enameling as a recognized art medium.