Persian Minakari

This is a project that was inspired by an Iranian jeweller coming to my studio with an enamelled bowl and asking me what materials he would need to re-create this technique. The technique is called Mina-kari (which is Persian for "azure glass"). He had actually been taught to do it when he was young - but it had been so many years he didn't remember much. I hope this will jog his memory! To me it looked like fairly straight-foward sgraffito. So I decided to do some simple tests.

This is a series of tests I did to try and figure out common materials to recreate this ancient (and very beautiful!) technique. Here is a traditional piece


I started by trying three "paints" on three whites I used Ultramarine fines (the medium blue), China paint (the darkest) and Prussian fines (the lightest) all mixed with a water medium that I got from Coral Schaeffer (#1368) Iused 1010 Undercoat, 1020 Titanium and 1030 Foundation as my whites. You will see that the Prussian fines did not scratch very well.These were just initial tests so I didn't put too much effort into the design ;-)




The next level of test were influenced by an observation that my apprentice Alex Bolduc made - noting that the colour inside the lines was underneath the scratch marks - and must have been painted on before scratching - so I decided to try painting both the background and the pattern before scratching. I had eliminated the fines after the first test - I didn't have enough control - they were too 'slushy'. In the subsequent tests I used only blue china paint mixed with Coral's water medium. It is very slow to dry (at least 10-15 minutes on top of the kiln before it is dry) as opposed to the Thompson acrylic blue (which was the only other colour used in these tests) which dried very very fast.

The first tests were done of 1030 Foundation white

I scratched a line around the bottom design - but when fired the enamel paint spread and covered the line

 

The next tests used the same paint material - but were on 1010 Undercoat White

In the final piece (base 1020 Titanium) I tried putting the acrylic paint on quite a bit thinner when it was a base coat. This worked much better but for some reason it would not flow when it was painted over the china paint

Now for the final tests I eliminated the 1030 Foundation - the paint seemed always to go too blurry with this base. I felt that the china paint lost it's brightness and became to much like navy on the 1020 Titanium - so I used the 1010 Undercoat for the final tests.


I mixed the china paint with white liquid enamel - but I had the same problem with it not flowing. I am very happy with the turquoise background - but will need to go out an purchase some white china paint before I am entirely happy with the darker blue.
The red was Thompson Acrylic. It is by itself on the turquoise piece - but I thought it needed to be deeper - so I mixed it half and half with brown.
The trouble with Thompson Acrylic - is that the palette is limited to 12 colours - while china paint can be purchased in an unlimited palette. I will be doing some more tests with different mediums (I am going to try an oil medium today) so I will keep you posted!

The Lagan Love Collection: Leanan Sidhe

The Aes Sidhe (pronounced ees shee) are the fairy folk of Ireland. Literally it means the people of the mounds - as Irish flklore identifies mounds as the dwelling lace of the sidhe. Since archaeology identifies these same mounds with ancient burial sites there is some speculation that the faries are the spirits of former (pre-historic) peoples of Ireland. While it is not generally known the Celts are not native to Ireland - there was a  race of people living there before the Celts arrived (probably around 500BC) Since all fairy lore includes the information that iron is anathema - it forms a further link with these bronze age people.

The leanan (lover) sidhe is one who takes a human lover, and acts as their muse. Lovers of the leanan sidhe are said to live short but inspired lives. In the novel, Lagan Love (by Peter Murphy which inspired these pieces) she symbolizes the often destructive nature of the creative force.She holds the life of the lover in her hands and her fiery heart brings inspiration.

She played all kinds of tricks on me as I attempted to visualise her! I tried several new techniques when I put these pieces together and ran into innumerable small problems while executing them. It is part of the hazard of being an enamelist that there are hundreds of things that can go wrong - so I was somewhat used to her tricks ;-)

The Lagan Love Collection

Lagan Love is a novel that has many levels. On the surface it is the story of an ill-starred love affair- but on a deeper level it is about the mysterious relationship of the artist to their inspiration and on an even deeper level about the juxtaposition of the past on the present.  When I was commissioned by the author to create the Lagan Love Collection, I wanted to illustrate and evoke these themes. 

The author, Peter Murphy, is a friend of mine. Long ago we were in a band together playing traditional music and hanging out at sesuins. He was one of those friends who drop off the radar for years. He recently re-emerged with a published book under his belt! Re-connecting on a personal level has been important - so it gives a special significance to  the project for me. These pieces are also about my past and my present.

My own love affair with enamel was sparked by a visit to Ireland way back in 1984, when I first discovered that the Celts were Europe’s first enamellists. The technique they used is now called champlevé (for champ, field, and levé, raised – because the design is created using a raised field of metal). So, the first piece that came to me was in this technique and was, inspired by the leanan-sidhe, a constant figure throughout the book of the devouring inspiration that  destroys as it creates. This design came quickly - inspired by a long thin medieval figure from an early illuminated manuscript. The initial sketches will be formalized to suit the technique.

Cloisonné is perhaps the best-known enameling technique – perfected in the Byzantine era and brought to Europe after the Crusades. In this technique I saw the juxtaposition of doors – archways from the ancient Clonmacnoise superimposed on the famous colourful doors of Dublin. The piece is meant to incorporate two double meanings: of portal and threshold; of  past and present. It always a challenge to take a piece from a sketch to a finished work- and I will be making a little video that hopefully will let you in on the process a little.

For the third piece I wanted to use my newest technique of grisaille (from the French gris meaning grey) dating back to the 15th c . Selkies – or the mythical seal people of Celtic folklore-  seemed ideal to treat in this grey misty style. However this design did not come easy. I originally wanted to do the silouette of a full seal with a woman's body inside it - but it just never looked right. I had to go away to the country and sit in front of a fire making endless sketches for 2 days until I came up with something I liked. I gave the human face the large liquid seal eyes which seem to emphasize her other-worldliness.

Each of these three themes in the book contains and evokes the others – so each piece is meant to evoke more than one feeling or thought, and include the idea of transformation a constant theme in early Celtic Art, as well as in Lagan Love.

I will be writing further blogs on the development of each piece - so stay tuned!

Georgian Enamels

Help needed for Georgian Enamel Gallery and School

Enamel Art Gallery [Ornament] is a unique institution in the small world of enameling.  Not only is it a sophisticated gallery space in the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia, but it also has a concurrent school with prominent instructors.  Over 400 people have learned traditional Georgian cloisonné enameling through Ornament and have gone on to earn their living from enameling.  Thea Gugenidze, one of the leading founders of the current revival of enameling in Georgia, is co-owner of Ornament and teaches at the school.  Her passionate commitment has been to the revival of cloisonné enameling as a part of Georgian history and culture as well as a means of economic development for underprivileged Georgians.. 

Ornament was founded in 2000 and is located in Tbilisi’s old town, which is prime territory for gentrification.  The  Georgian government has decided to “privatize” a lot of prime real estate once owned by the state, including the site that is now Ornament and the Enamel Art Gallery school.  The gallery owners cannot afford to buy the building and are seeking some kind of state aid to help them  Otherwise the building that houses the gallery and school will be sold to the highest bidder and the space most likely used for either an upscale restaurant or shop in this very touristy area of old town Tbilisi.  The deadline for help is the end of September.

Mary Chuduk and Judy Stone, who have both gone to Georgia on behalf of the U. S. State Department to work with Georgian enamelists, are asking  all enamelists, enameling organizations, and related organizations to send a letter of support to the Georgian Government to help the owners, Thea Gurgenidze and Khatuna Babaunashvili, purchase the building they are currently leasing.

Letters of support [no digital signatures please] can be sent via PDF file attachment to enamelart@gmail.com. Address the letter to “To Whom This May Concern” or to “Dear sir/madam.”  Letters will be sent on by the gallery to the authorities that are dealing with their situation.  If you would like to make a direct financial contribution, you should contact the gallery at the above e-mail address as to best way of sending a donation.

Visit Ornament on Facebook. 

George Brown Continuing Education Enameling Class

Casa Loma Campus, 160 Kendall Ave, Toronto

 Yes, it's time once again to  encourage would-be enamelists in the Toronto area to come out and take the challenge!

I have been teaching at George Brown College (Casa Loma Campus) for over 6 years now. This is the most comprehensive class that is being taught in the area, providing an introduction to all aspects of enamel practice. I really enjoy teaching the class at George Brown. My students there are the most serious - and quite a few have gone on to become enamelists in their own right.

Three large kilns (area 5 on the left)

Teaching at the folk schools can be fun - but the reality is that most of those students don't actually want to learn. They will never buy a kiln - or experience the joys and pains of mastering this demanding medium. They want me to guide them in a fun and interesting way through the steps of making something that they can take home.  After all - for most of them folk-school is a holiday - not a true learning experience. However it does give them a greater appreciation for the dedication and skill involved in being an enamelist - and that in itself is a worthwhile goal.

12" x 12" x 6" interior

But those who really are smitten by the alchemy of glass and metal fusion should join me at George Brown. We can really build an understanding of what enamel is and how it works (and what it can do!)  For me enameling is not just fun - it is a passion. Every time I put a piece in the kiln I get a rush of excitement to know what it will become under the transformative influence of fire!

If you want more detail on what the course entails - please follow this link to my teaching site. To register go here


Hope to see you there!

Enameling basics: Annealling

Fired 12-20 times

One of the difficulties with enameling is that sometimes - when you don't follow best practice - everything works fine. Countless times students say - "but I did this before and it worked fine".  If you don't mind sometimes failing, you can be careless - and things might even work out frequently - but if you want to gain control over the outcomes - meticulous attention to detail becomes important. I have found that developing meticulous habits is the only way to reduce your failure rate.

Fired 3-4 times

For the first few years of enamelling I would say that my failure rate was about 25% - that would be typical for a beginner. After 25 years of enamelling my failure rate is less than 5% - but it's still not perfect. That is simply the reality of the world of enameling. The failure rate will, of course, depend on the difficulty of the technique -- but it will always be there. There are literally hundreds of variables and sometimes a few seconds too long in the kiln can ruin a week of work. Enamelling is not for the faint of heart!

Fried to burn-out (usually undesirable)

The good news is that sometimes when things go wrong the results are quite beautiful! However learning to diagnose what has gone wrong will enable you to reproduce those beautiful results. If you want to make a living as an enamelist this becomes important.

So I am going to do a series of  blogs on the basics of enameling. Enameling is an art that requires meticulous attention at every level. The more care that is taken in the initial steps - the less likelihood that unexpected or unwanted results will ensue!

ANNEALLING

The first concern of the enamelist is to prepare the metal. It must be perfectly clean before the necessary molecular bond will be formed.

Different enamelists develop different procedures for cleaning the metal depending on what techniques they use - I will outline a standard procedure here.

The first step is annealing. This means heating the metal to around 1500 degrees. This may seem simple - but there a quite a few things that need to be kept in mind. Accuracy in annealing will make all the other stages go more smoothly.

In a perfect world - when you bring the piece out of the kiln it will have a thin layer of grey firescale, which will flake off immediately upon dropping the piece in cold water (quenching) The metal will look light pink and be only slightly mottled.

If the piece has not been heated long enough it will be a dark or yellowish red even after quenching. If it has been heated too long it will have heavy firescale that will take a long time to get off. 

As in many cases in enameling - it is possible to give an accurate diagnoses of the problem after - but not possible to give exact times/temperatures  before the fact. Success comes only with practice.

As you place the piece in the kiln there are a few things that will give you clues as to when the piece is ready. 

First the tray will start to glow the same colour as the kiln and then the piece will,  but you want to get the piece out just before that. There is a fairly small window ( a few seconds) when this happens and the piece is perfectly ready.  Once you take the piece out of the kiln it will look different. The tray will no longer appear to be glowing, but the piece should be glowing a dull cherry red. This will only be noticable once the piece has come out. Inside the kiln it will look greyish. These observations are VERY subjective. There is no substitute for making your own observations.

This does not accurately represent what the eye sees - but shows how subtle the changes are over a few second breaks

Careful attention to kiln temperature and time at the annealing stage will give you a benchmark time for firing later.

After quenching the piece should only he held LIGHTLY by the edges, or by the underside (the side you are not working on.


A short time in a COLD pickle of Sparex #2, citric acid or vinegar and salt. Enamel should not be put in a hot pickle as this may cause deterioration of the enamel.


After the piece looks completely pink, remove it by the edges and neutralise it with a bit of baking soda. If the firescale doesn't come off with a LIGHT brushing it needs to go back in the pickle.


Now you are ready to apply enamel!

Enamelling Classes

The Devil's Workshop, Toronto ON

25 years ago I started on my own personal odyssey with enamel. At that time, unless I joined a full time jewelry course (of which enameling was only a small part), there were no classes in available - especially in the somewhat unusual technique of champleve that I was specifically interested in. It didn't occur to me at the time that I should learn the basics before tackling this difficult technique - I had a very specific vision. I got a lot of books from the library and experimented for a couple of years. I found a night class taught by Allen Perkins - which gave me the basics and I struggled on alone. I now know that there were other resources available for me - but that was in the days before the Internet - and no-one (least of all me) knew how to access them.

Catskills Irish Arts Week, East Durham NY

Now that I am a teacher myself, and know that it is best to start with the basics, I try nevertheless to honour the passion that people bring. It was my passion and vision that carried me forward, and it was 15 years later, on taking a class with Fay Rooke, that all of that experience came together in my mind under the expert tutelage of a master.

Public Library, Lindsay ON

I don't think of myself as a master (yet!). As a working enamelist who has to make a living at what I do - I don't have the leisure to explore really advanced, or experimental techniques. Whenever I sit down to design a piece I am conscious of the price it will demand and who will be able to afford it. But I do think of myself as having some mastery - and a thorough understanding of the relationship of glass and metal. But mmost especially I have a passion and love for the medium, and this is what I try to pass on to my students - so that they will be able to take enamel where their dreams lead them. I never teach design in my class - and never tell my students that their ideas are not 'modern' or 'relevant' or 'traditioal' enough. I feel that their vision is their own, and my job is to give them the best tools to realise it.

Cedar Lakes Craft Center, Ripley WV

Even before moving to Toronto 5 years ago I was given the opportunity to teach at George Brown College in the continuing education department. I used to commute from Lindsay once a week! My class is not required for a jewellery certificate - but is a credit towards one. The studio is large and spacious and has three large kilns. I love teaching there because the students come with some skills that they can then adapt - and some have even gone on to become working enamelists in their own right.


Current Classes

George Brown College, Toronto ON
Devil's Workshop, Toronto ON
Catskills Irish Arts Week, East Durham NY
Augusta Heritage College, Elkins WV
Road Scholar's Program, Cedar Lakes WV


I also do travelling classes: if you can get 6 people together (including yourself) I will bring a class to you!