As we announced just before New Year’s, we have been offered a wonderful opportunity: our own space for large-scale enameling in a new facility that
KVO Industries has acquired in Santa Rosa, CA. This space, which we are calling
the Annex, is the first dedicated artist-use large-scale enameling space in the U.S., and will be an incredible resource for the Center. We hope you will be a part of this new exciting new phase, and will help contribute to our efforts if you are able!
Enameled steel sign at KVO Industries. Together, we can make it happen!
Our plans for the Annex are ambitious. The space will provide a place to create large-scale enameled steel art, including public and private commissions. Artisans will be able to design and produce enameled steel products. The Annex will also be a place to explore new applications and techniques for enameling steel. We will be able to offer groundbreaking classes, host visiting artists and eventually, provide ongoing residency programs. Although KVO’s large (8′ x 5′) hanging belt furnace is particularly suited for two-dimensional work, the Center is encouraging all who are interested in working three-dimensionally in enameled steel to come to the factory to work.
We are delighted that the Annex will be inaugurated with a workshop from master enamelist, John Killmaster, from July 6th to July 9th. Killmaster, at age 83, has experienced a resurgence in his career. A younger audience, which has recently embraced the use of liquid enamels, is now flocking to his work and his teaching.
We will offer regularly scheduled, facilitated weekend workdays at the Annex. In addition, our plans include workshops, factory tours and workdays for schools, and three- to five-day residencies for those working on projects or commissions. To find out more about the 2018 KVO program schedule, please contact the Center.
We believe that a space like this, created in a close partnership with an artist-friendly industrial facility like KVO, is essential to the future of enameling. It will allow us to share the possibilities of industrial enameling with more artists, and to bring new techniques, and more and larger work, into public view.
As we work to bring our plans to life, we will share our progress with you here on our blog and on Facebook. Along the way, we will ask for your help as we develop our large-scale enameling program and related educational programming. Even though KVO has been extremely generous is making this space possible, there is a cost. Our monthly lease payment is small for what it includes, but our programming cannot pay for all of the expenses associated with the space.
Please consider a contribution towards these goals.
- $50 can purchase tools and equipment.
- $100 can fund scholarships for classes and workshops.
- $250 can fund promotion for outreach to all artists
- $500 or more can create a residency program for artists wanting to work inside an enamel factory.
- If you would contribute to the space by naming it, please contact the Center for more information about naming rights.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW. It’s simple and easy, and makes a huge difference to our work!
As a member of the enameling community, you know how rare and valuable an opportunity this is. We are grateful for your involvement and support. Together, we can create an exciting future for enameling!
The process of enameling at KVO was a bit of a fast – slow – slow pace. I would have windows of time that I would have my spray gun ready to hop into the spray booth and get a coat on during the workers’ breaks. Their workday would usually begin at 6am and go until 3pm. I got into the habit of getting there around 7am, enjoying the time just being in the space and listening to the guys chat. 
Finally midday my crate arrived and work would really begin. The panels would need to be sanded in the areas where rust had begun to form and a few needed additional tabs added for hanging. The interior of the KVO kiln is eight feet long and seven feet high and three feet deep. There are hanging tracks on both sides so during high production they do not have to wait for a load to cool and be unloaded before doing the next firing. By the end of my second day the panels were washed and ready to begin work.
